H-84 Refrigerator part source, or a "junkyard" for appliances

[Snick]

Does ANYBODY know where i could get shelving, seals, paint, door hinges/handles, etc from? Have a 50s H84 that used to work but the cord has been eaten off so i hope i can get a fridge repairman to fix it. Also any source on manuals?

Ive tried google searches, searches here, only found one very non specific site that might be good for seals.

 

[Dana Strong]

Does ANYBODY know where i could get shelving, seals, paint, door hinges/handles, etc from? Have a 50s H84 that used to work but the cord has been eaten off so i hope i can get a fridge repairman to fix it. Also any source on manuals?

Ive tried google searches, searches here, only found one very non specific site that might be good for seals.

Replacing the cord should be easy, assuming that access to the inside is possible. Is the original one cloth-covered, or rubber?
Sorry; no suggestions about parts for the furniture; I only have a little background in the refrigeration apparatus.
Have you looked for any refrigerator collecting clubs?
Are any patent numbers mentioned on the name plate, or elsewhere?

 

[scout2000]

I don't own an IH refrigerator or deep freeze yet, fingers crossed that day will be sooner than later.

That said, I've been subscribed to this sub-forum for several years. In no way am I suggesting that I've seen advertisements for shops/web stores/etc that offer any NOS parts, but I've seen plenty of links go by suggesting sources for gasketing, etc.

Short of someone jumping out here and offering parts, If I where in your shoes, I would search the forum archives for this sub forum, and figure out which resources are still valid, and which are not.

Good luck with your restore. Please post some pictures.

 

[Greg R]

Sometimes it takes a lot ingenuity i.e. adapting hinges, I've found adapting butt hinges sometimes works for older 50's models,; also the same goes for gaskets and shelving. Generic plain closed cell foam strip gaskets are the only fix for doors with old style latches that can compress the door gasket; otherwise the modern magnetic gaskets are the only option if you can get them to stay on with the darts inside the inner cover. Gaskets in the old days made up for manufacturing tolerances and they're just not as thick anymore. Every year or so was a new model, so shelving is a luck of the draw. Manuals might be found on eBay, and swap meets. The good thing is the modern electrical components can be matched up to the particular compressor requirements and non-electronic cold controls are still widely available. All that's needed in that area is a competent service person who knows compressors and their start and run theory, plus maybe capacitor matching for good measure.

Here's a link that might help especially with repainting technique: https://www.antiqueappliances.com/

 

[Randall Barringer]

I have a 1955 refrigerator that needed a door gasket. If you search in the appliance forum, you will find a thread I posted that gives a part number and source for the gasket I used. If you can´t find it report back and I´ll help you.

 

[Randall Barringer]

here you go:
http://www.binderplanet.com/forums/index.php?threads/1955-ih-refrigerator.129101/

 

[Snick]

Hopefully i did the pictures right. Thanks for all the advice ill get to searching. Also since im only 30 and not old enough to remember different types of refrigerant, i know i can get F12/R12 still on ebay, but would a serviceman recharge it with that or will i need to get my grandad to do it? (He used to work on it seems like everything, as long as it didnt have computers.) Id like to get the rest of the shelving and rubber parts the shelves go onto mainly. This is a hand-me-down, it was working about 10 years ago but it sat in a building for about 8 years when we moved and i dont know how long my grandad had it before then, it always sat in the back buried under car parts as long as i can remember before i dug it out.

Oh the old cord was just rubber.

 

[Dana Strong]

i know i can get F12/R12 still on ebay, but would a serviceman recharge it with that or will i need to get my grandad to do it?

What part of the world do you live in? That might determine how readily available parts are, near you. You can add that information to the box on the left of your post by clicking on your Personal Details (hover over your User Name on the top right).
The entire system should be closed, with no valves to leak and with a hermetically sealed compressor. Assuming no corrosion where refrigerant tubing was formed into the heat transfer plates (or soldered onto them), recharging shouldn't be necessary. Capacitors do get old and loose ability (BTW, old electrolytic ones need to be 'reformed' before having a full charge suddenly placed on them) but replacements are available, and the same applies to the relays whose contacts do wear out with long usage.
I don't know if current rules would prevent a licensed repairman from doing so, but there still are people with the knowledge, equipment and supplies (R-12) who could recharge it, if necessary.
I regularly see racks like the ones shown in your picture among the refrigerators being recycled by a local appliance distributor. I probably even have a few in my yard, gotten to use for other purposes. Even if they weren't the same size, similar ones could be carefully modified by cutting and/or welding, to match the originals. Just a matter of how much time, effort and expense you can give it. What abilities and equipment (or friends with it) do you have for such work?
Just curious; what was your Grandfather's occupation?
If I remember, I could take some pictures at the dealer's yard and post a new thread with them, showing some of what is still available here.

 

[jeff campbell]

View attachment 164820 View attachment 164821 View attachment 164822 View attachment 164823 View attachment 164824 View attachment 164821 Hopefully i did the pictures right. Thanks for all the advice ill get to searching. Also since im only 30 and not old enough to remember different types of refrigerant, i know i can get F12/R12 still on ebay, but would a serviceman recharge it with that or will i need to get my grandad to do it? (He used to work on it seems like everything, as long as it didnt have computers.) Id like to get the rest of the shelving and rubber parts the shelves go onto mainly. This is a hand-me-down, it was working about 10 years ago but it sat in a building for about 8 years when we moved and i dont know how long my grandad had it before then, it always sat in the back buried under car parts as long as i can remember before i dug it out.

Oh the old cord was just rubber.

You sure it don't work or get cold ? Needs to run for at least 24 hours. They just make a very faint HUM sound. I have 3 small cans of R-12. I'd let go.

 

[Snick]

It worked perfectly as of about 8 or 10 years ago, just need a new cord to try it. My grandad did mechanic work, HVAC, furnaces, silo stuff, refrigerators, carpentry, plumbing, electrician, welding, etc. A little bit of everything, there at least WAS a old school book of his from the 60s from a mail order school in DC about either electrical work or refrigeration. If it was in your house, on your farm, or a vehicle, he could fix it. I honestly dont know the first thing about refrigerators other than they make cold air, electrical stuff i have a basic understanding of, circuits, fuses, current, hot/ground, but again only basic. I could more than likely rewire it with his help of which wire is hot, but anything beyond that is beyond my knowledge.

 

[Snick]

Theres the cords

And theres what he said to do, its cooling! It actually still works! Other two he said go to the thermostat and light inside. Now to leave it for 2 hours.

 

[scout2000]

Thanks for posting the pics, and congrat's on your new-to-you fridge.

I've gotta second Jeff's comments. Unless you know for a fact that the coolant containment has been compromised, I would just fix the power cord, plug the unit in for 24 hours, then re-evaluate your situation from there.

 

[Snick]

Thanks for posting the pics, and congrat's on your new-to-you fridge.

I've gotta second Jeff's comments. Unless you know for a fact that the coolant containment has been compromised, I would just fix the power cord, plug the unit in for 24 hours, then re-evaluate your situation from there.

Im not touching anything dealing with that part of it unless hes physically here since like i said the only thing i (essentially) know about refrigerators is they get cold. Now since the thermostat isnt hooked up, will that hurt it or will it just hum its way to sub zero temps happily and keep humming away just as happily? Also is there a simple way to check for leaks?

 

[jeff campbell]

I'd keep an eye on it. May take more than 2 hours. But I don't think you want to run it too many hours. It will be ok to make sure its getting cold. Then I would unplug it. You need to cut the line and install a office to charge it with. Since they were built as a complete closed system. No way to recharge them. At least that's what I've gathered and learned over the years. I just may have a book for you is let go. Let me do some digging.

 

[jeff campbell]

Found a old pic of a parts manual. I'd have to look for it.

 

[Dana Strong]

A little bit of everything, there at least WAS a old school book of his from the 60s from a mail order school in DC about either electrical work or refrigeration. ... I honestly dont know the first thing about refrigerators other than they make cold air,... I could more than likely rewire it with his help of which wire is hot, but anything beyond that is beyond my knowledge.

I was always interested in mechanical things and took apart/reassembled (for cleaning) the 3-speed hub of my bicycle in about the sixth grade, having to jury-rig tools to do so. A neighbor's father had a small lathe on which we turned barrels for small zip guns we built. In high school, I used components from an old refrigerator to assemble a refrigeration unit that cooled a large aquarium in which I was raising aquatic insects like Dragonflies ... Everyone has to start somewhere, sometimes as an apprentice under someone, sometimes by reading books, and sometimes by just trying after doing the best to figure it out and know what to do. Too many people don't stop and think about things, they just look at them and are scared away because it's unfamiliar.
Over the years I've come upon lots of free stuff (often being discarded, even by the library) so have acquired it, including some early books in a series by Audel's. Even if one already knows more than what's in the book, it's still interesting history. Anyway, here's one I just found on Ebay that might be of interest to you wrt this project:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Audel...522505?hash=item2620693309:g:sQUAAOSwi6tdEqax


For further information, here's a search page showing much of the old literature that company put out, back in the day when refrigeration, welding, or radios were still spanking new:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=audel's​

And that search was just for one company's books.

Just a few shots from/of some old books I have:

 

[Dana Strong]

I'd keep an eye on it. May take more than 2 hours.

He should be able to put his hand on the cooling surfaces in the freezer section and feel it getting cold within a few minutes of starting. If it doesn't, something is wrong and it should be shut down. The refrigerant is what carries the heat away from the motor, keeping it from overheating the coils inside.
Yes, if it's working a few hours are required for the whole box to stabilize at some appropriate temperature.

Now since the thermostat isnt hooked up,

I couldn't tell from the picture that that was true, but if so, I agree the unit shouldn't be kept on all day, just enough to test it by running a few hours.

 

[Snick]

Wow. That for $10? I could even use that to fix our dishwasher thats probably from the 70s, as well as the house vacuum system. You linked the same page twice by the way but you got me a name, now to do some searching. Thank you!

What do those two wires goto? Theres no nubs or anything for them to goto Oh yea it still works

 

[Dana Strong]

You linked the same page twice by the way but you got me a name, now to do some searching. Thank you!

Sorry about that; I fixed the link. I was having trouble getting the pictures to download on my slow system, and had to delete the first post and start over when they got put in the wrong place ...The link to the search page now works..

What do those two wires go to?

I can't tell from here and don't have a wiring diagram to use to guess, but possible circuits used in those units include lights, defrost panels, interior fans and of course the thermostat.

 

[Greg R]

First off , if that refrigerator is still working; you need to take steps to protect it AND your house. That wiring, at least the exposed stuff, is dangerously close to a short circuit condition. The insulation is just too rotten to deal with, and if I was there; I would totally rewire the fridge for you. If the compressor start components still work, and it seems like they do, you're golden and leave well enough alone. The compressor doesn't look bad itself on the terminations, maybe just rewire to the compressor leads. Those extra leads in the picture can be anything. A thermostat, a mullion heater, or a light in the door could be part of the circuit.
You do not want the compressor to run forever, it needs to cycle. Freezers especially were forced to take at least a 15 minute break every 6 to 8 hours through use of a timer. You won't see the timers in 1950s models so much , but as the use and lifestyle changed, they were very important by the 1970s.

R12 is still available, legally. Practically: no one carries it or much at all. The cost is so high for a jug, and the demand so low that many shop owners don't see a short term ROI on having the stuff, plus some places have a business inventory tax so there's that. What I'm saying is R12 is rare, but not impossible. The next is service. A hermetic system such as yours was routinely serviced and charged years ago. It was my day job for 20 years and we had tools for such. It's not hard, but there is a technique. I do not know the field today, and I don't know what today's techs know. You can weigh the charge, or use a frost line.

Randall's gasket idea may work for you. I don't think so much for freezers, but fridges may work okay. You can check your gasket one of two ways. My favorite is the dollar bill test. Put a dollar on the jamb and close the door. A good seal will give slight resistance when you pull the dollar out. No resistance usually means no contact or a gap. Another is a chalk test. Take some blue carpenter's chalk and coat the gasket. Shut the door, then open it. Wherever the gasket contacts the jamb, there will be a blue line or mark.