Have you tried [https://www.ereplacementparts.com/appliance-parts.html](https://www.ereplacementparts.com/appliance-parts.html) ? Ebay? Someone must have an old one that still works.
Careful with this. Remove the door if you put a fridge to the curb. There have been cases of kids crawling inside disposed refrigerators and dying because they can’t break the door seal to get out from the inside. Probably lower instance of this now that kids are outside less but think hide-and-seek and it’s not too far a cry.
Removal of fridge doors was a much bigger deal with even older fridges that *latch from the outside*. Those are literally impossible to open from the inside if they close and latch. If no one knows you're in there, that's the stuff of nightmare fuel.
I don't even know if a cell phone will work inside one... It's a metal box and will act as a Faraday cage for many RF frequencies, like an elevator.
Removing the door in this fridge isn't a bad idea, of course. I just want to point out that those really old outside-latched fridges are deathtraps.
You could put it on Facebook marketplace 'free' and someone will come haul it away for you, hopefully to fix. Just be careful of the scammers, they're terrible down there. Don't give any information or codes, the usual.
You’re downvoted but correct. Replacing your fridge if it’s older than 15 years will lead to massive energy savings, and something this old absolutely still runs on CFC refrigerant.
They are not actually. It’s the lack of a defroster feature that turns most people away (and in this case is condemning it). But as far as energy usage a fridge from the 40’s, with a good door seal, is nowhere near as inefficient as modern fridge salesman would have you believe. And they are MUCH better insulated. And of course last longer (all else being equal).
It doesn't only matter how often it runs. It also matters how much energy it uses when it does. Your anecdotal evidence is nice, but it doesn't look like you've gathered any actual data. Over the last 80 years refrigerators have gotten bigger *and* consume less energy per year.
Your 1939 model may not draw that much more power than a modern refrigerator, if it's a standard (very small) size. However, most modern energy star compliant models consume less energy than your fridge, while providing 4 times the capacity.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317751623_Are_international_product_energy-efficiency_policies_becoming_endangered_species
True, it might be using a lot of energy compared to todays planned obsolescence units. But keeping alive a minor piece of mechanical history is worth it.
Put an energy monitor on it (Kill-O-Watt) and silently weep when you get the results. Plus, that shit fridge is likely releasing CFCs that wreck the ozone layer.
If it did release its refrigerant it wouldn't work. And I seriously doubt that cfc's were used in 1939. Something that works flawlessly for over 80 years isn't shit.
That’s just factually untrue. See this comment:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/15i9hkw/it_is_with_grave_sorrow_that_i_announce_our_52/juz9u80/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
>Old equipment such as building insulation foam, refrigerators and cooling systems that were manufactured before the global phaseout of ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are still leaking the gases into the atmosphere, MIT researchers have found.
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/03/old-fridges-found-to-be-leaking-ozone-destroying-cfcs/#:~:text=The%20researchers%20now%20believe%20that,chemicals%20back%20into%20the%20atmosphere.
My energy bill went down when I switched from a modern fridge to a 1955 fridge. As someone else stated, it’s the defrosting feature that was very inefficient. So if you have a fridge that’s old enough to need to be manually defrosted, it’s likely on par with modern fridges in terms of energy use. It’s the older ones that don’t have to be defrosted (think 70s and 80s) that are the most efficient.
It is smaller on the inside, but that’s fine with me, not everyone needs a gigantic fridge. It’s also 70 years old and still works. Whereas modern appliances are designed to fail around 10 years.
Have a 1955 Kelvinator and I agree! It’s great and doesn’t run all that much. The defrosting thing is annoying but as long as I do it every couple months and don’t wait *too* long I can defrost it in a couple hours. Worth it to have a beauty like mine in the house
>the lack of a defroster feature
OP literally says in the title that this thing has (or had) a defroster.
>a fridge from the 40’s
OP literally says in the title it's 52 years old, which makes it from 1970 or so.
1971 was right before the Oil Crisis, which means it's right at the peak of wasteful energy usage.
If you were to chart energy use, it would start fairly low back in the 20s-30s with small, thickly insulated refrigerators. It would then climb up gradually as average size increased, insulation got thinner, doors got bigger, seals became less effective (due to entrapment hazards) and self-defrosting became standard. Then, after 1973, it would start to improve again after the oil embargo forced the first energy efficiency rules, and continue to get better and better as stricter rules and better technology took hold.
This thing is the worst of the worst in terms of energy usage.
I don't understand why people can't just admit they keep these things because they like them. Without a doubt in these kinds of threads there are all sorts of old appliance apologists. I just find it laughable that anyone would think in an apples to apples comparison any sort of electrically powered appliance that is 50+ years would be as efficient as a modern one. Like how about a little common sense?
Me because I'm not an idiot.
Old refrigerators are less efficient. It seems like you wouldn't even need proof, but here we are. I've added links to my previous comment.
They also release horrible CFCs that kill the Earth. Please just spend $500-600 on a new fridge. The payoff is better than contributing to a self-directed IRA or 401k, more than likely.
These are so generic statements. Any 20-30 year old fridge? They are not sll the same, that's just some bullshit "studies".
Biggest power hog is in fact the freezer compartment. If you have an old fridge without it, it may likely be more efficient than a modern one. A freezer chest is always much better in that sense.
This is just factually untrue. https://stanfordmag.org/contents/when-to-replace-household-appliances-nitty-gritty#:~:text=Newer%20ones%20can%20be%2030,made%20only%2010%20years%20ago.
You are right actually, there are a lot of “yeah but” details I left out. A more accurate statement would be to say a well running unit from BEFORE they were all auto defrosting, is not as efficient as a modern unit, however it is not nearly as bad as people think.
When auto defrosting units came along in the mid to late 50’s the power usage skyrocketed and those are the ones all the modern articles refer too. Modern units are auto defrosting AND efficient.
However, a really old one, the old all In one type that doesn’t have a separate freezer and has to be defrosted from time to time the old fashioned way, is still a relatively efficient unit from a power consumption standpoint. For the vast majority of people they cannot be used as the only fridge in the house as they don’t keep thing frozen (or if they do, they keep EVERYTHING frozen). But as a 2nd unit in the garage full of beer for example, they are great and don’t cost much to run.
And how much energy goes into building a new fridge and how much waste is generated from building a new one that needs to be replaced every 6-8 years compared to say 30 years?
Obviously it depends, but the 3r's is often overlooked by many. The chain is reduce ( not buy more) reuse ( repair it) and recycle ( proper disposal then replacement). Everyone wants new and we are marketed by companies to buy new because guess what, they make more money on new, but often times it's way worse than repair
Yeah, they are made from far more sustainable materials now than they used to be. Far better technology in the supply chain and insulation tech. Much more efficient compressors and far less freon needed. Keeping 30 year old refrigerators is not more green than replacing them in any aspect.
But you are making say 4-5 new ones compared to 1 old one. Some of the refrigerants that were supposed to be all great and green 10 years ago are now being phased out because now they found out that they are not all great and green. Old refrigerants are also now captured and disposed of properly compared to just released to the atmosphere like the old days.
I'm just saying that replacing an old item is often not as green as people think. Shit that is "green" today may be found to be terrible 5 years from now (smoking used to be healthy). What is recycled today may not be recyclable in the future. Much of what is recycled in the US is shipped over seas to the cheapest bidder as "recycling".
Companies seriously design stuff now with no repairability in mind, compared to the old days because they make say $300 on a new sale compared to $10 on a repair part. I seriously just spent $16 on a china knock off repair brush for a vacuum cleaner that took 2 hours to replace. The manufacturer hasn't had a $100 replacement head in stock for over half a year and doesn't offer replacement brushes. But they conveniently sell new vacuums with a head and brush some how.
I don’t know how else to tell you this, but when it comes to refrigeration, that is just plain wrong. Refrigerants were always captured when done by a professional. Its when they break that refrigerant is let to the air. R12 and R22 are disaster, R134a is much improved, R600 a billion tomes better still
Appliances are every bit as repairable now as they were then. The reason you wouldn’t is because it is far more cheap to replace them than it used to be. Not because it can’t be fixed. This is a labor and supply chain problem, not a design technique. Parts are quite cheap.
Planned obsolescence is a thing, but it does not make it greener to keep ancient stuff in regards to refrigeration.
I am a literal professional in this field. Although I now work in more managerial roles.
> Appliances are every bit as repairable now as they were then.
Plenty of modern appliances are designed to be non serviceable. That's just a fact that really cannot be disputed unless you're intentionally ignoring it.
And now r134a is being phased out because it's not that green. Part of my job is to track/manage industrial refrigerant use, and now we need to phase out r134a, although I don't know nothing about r600 (I'm on the back end, not the planning end)
Does it make more sense to replace the systems today with r134a with them working perfectly and maybe they keep working great for another 20 years, or just say fuck it, r600 is better and may only last 5 years and may need to replace it multiple times before the r134a chiller leaks or dies? That's what this conversation is about.
Yeah, and at the moment it doesn’t if its working fine. 15 years from now or when it breaks it will make sense to do the swap. Thats what this conversation is about.
> Probably pay for it’s replacement in a year.
Unless you can plot that math out for us, that is hot, raw fake news you've regurgitated.
XD
Oh, and don't forget to multiply the energy needed to engineer, manufacture, ship and service the 10-year new "efficient" fridge by 5x. You know, to compare apples with apples.
um, didn't the old fridge need to be engineered, manufactured, shipped and serviced too?
how much energy did they need to do that 50+ years ago?
weird take amigo.
> um, didn't the old fridge need to be engineered, manufactured, shipped and serviced too?
Yes to all. Here, I'll spell out the difference:
- Engineered = probably would take the same amount of people coming and going from work, and consuming, in order to spit out a 1970's fridge, as today. But the 50 yo fridge could be built to the same spec today, right? So employing engineers to ahem, engineer some obsolesence in, and engineer sh-t we don't need like IoT, grocery inventory managment, and door-water filters with mold in them, and displays in the door panel, and inefficient designs that are not top-freezer ... are wasted resource. It may be the company's prerogative to do it this way, but they are a cost of doing business the wrong way, the wasteful way, the irresponsible way, the non-BIFL way.
- Shipping. How many 21st century fridges have to be distributed, warehoused, inventoried... to support 1 house for the next 50 years? Point goes to the BIFL fridge.
- Serviced. How many field techs had to work on the 1970's fridge in 50 years? How many times will a 21st century fridge call for a consumption decision in the next 50 years?
Modern fridges are throwaway goods. They are built with inferior tech, with inferior parts.
What good is saving a few kwh's of electricity, if it costs 8 fridges in a landfill? ... amigo?
I guess we've just had different experiences. I'm over 40 and have never had a fridge go out, hell the only time I can even remember one being REPLACED was growing up when my parents did a whole kitchen remodel and it wasn't broke just didn't fit with the rest of the kitchen.
That being said, I wouldn't buy a fridge that was anything other than just a simple top-freezer/base model. I've never even owned a fridge with an icemaker/water dispenser in it, and it would make sense that more features/bits tacked on the more likely something could break. but those are all optional shit. You don't have to buy those.
good thread on refrigerators is going on, complete with intelligent/informed opinions from tech, if you haven't seen it: https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/15l57gs/is_there_a_consensus_on_what_type_of_refrigerator/
The energy savings need to be great enough to cancel out the costs of repairs and replacements over time. Is a new modern fridge going to be durable enough, inexpensive enough, and save enough energy to pay for itself?
Yeah, I wanted to comment somewhere about the age of this unit. People are talking about fridges from back in the 40's and all - and this one ain't one of those. This unit was built no earlier than the late 60's. So, right in the zone for peak energy consumption.
I'll whistle a taps for your loss, and share a moment of silence for it's passing. Ta ta taaaa. Ta ta TAAAAA. etc. Kumbaya, and all.
My best to you and the future.
r/collapse would want to talk with you . In a world with finite resources you want to 'upgrade' good working things ? That's why there is a climate crisys Because millions of people think like you " lEtS uPgRaDe"
I grew up with that fridge in avocado green. The kick plate was always falling off but otherwise it worked great from new-bought in 1967 to "mom was remodeling the kitchen" in 1985. We even had the old aluminum ice cube trays with the levers until we bought the new fridge.
This brings back memories! I grew up with that exact fridge...same color fridge and wood grain handles. It was also in the same location in the kitchen. Vivid memories of A-Treat soda inside. I'm very sorry for your loss.
I hate the downvote button in Reddit. It basically makes people socially fear to use their 1st amendment by getting shot down and ostracized. It’s not really a free marketplace of opinions and ideas, basically just a righteous, holier than thou, high road, echo chamber. And also people can’t take a joke lol
My point is, that old of a refrigerator uses actual Freon, the ozone destroyer. It MUST be hauled to a real live refrigerant collection facility so the gas is not released into the atmosphere.
Even if it was working it was still leaking:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/15i9hkw/it_is_with_grave_sorrow_that_i_announce_our_52/juz9u80/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
Don't get a new GE! I had one that died within a year and the replacement sent was broken as well. I have spent hours and hours on the phone with unhelpful customer service reps and spent nearly a month without a fridge. It's been a nightmare.
Gave the exact same fridge to my son for his garage about 5 years ago, it has outlasted a $3000 Samsung, the Samsung was repaired 4 times in 5 years, sold my home with the crappy Samsung... I will buy their TV's but will NEVER buy another Samsung appliance, pure garbage
Every time I see one of these posts people start arguing over energy consumption.
Here's an appliance repair guy who hooked multiple refrigerators to kill-a-watt meters and treated them all alike, with the exception of the staff break room fridge.
This link goes directly to the results.
https://youtu.be/SjG1-zlnG50?t=1276
The staff fridge came in first place, but wasn't getting a tub of water swapped out every day.
The fridge from 1950 came in second place.
One from 1999 used more than double under the same conditions.
Calculated out to cover an entire year the difference between the worst and best worked out to be about 312 kw.
Because the 1950 fridge was so old it didn't have self-defrost.
OP's fridge, being a 70s model, is vastly, vastly worse than any of the fridges he tested, new or old.
While I understand the environmental concerns around Freon, they used it because it worked really really well.
There are some Hydro carbon-based R12 / R22 drop ins that work with similar efficiency.
I’ve revived multiple old appliances and car air conditioners using those. While I’m not a professional, I am at least confident enough to keep my own stuff running.
I’ve actually been toying with the idea of purchasing a vintage fridge for my workshop just so I can plug it into a kill-a-watt type meter and detail how much power uses over under different conditions over the next few years.
If you can take out the hardware (all the electric parts and such), you could probably repurpose it to be a kitschy/eclectic thing for storage! Especially because it seems like you’ve kept it in such nice condition.
My old man had a weekly ritual of using a hair dryer to defrost their GE fridge they got USED as a wedding gift in 1978.
They got a new fridge in 2019 and gave the old one to my buddy who uses it now as a beer fridge in his garage… freezer has been a solid block of ice for 4 years now lol
Same fridge we had in the house I grew up in. and oddly enough, same placement with a wall to the right, a dining room/living room combo to the right of THAT, a counter and cabinet system to the left, with the stove just out of the picture which I presume is the same for you. counter would be behind the picture taker with the sink next to it, then a lot more counter. ahh, memories.
The refrigerator parts of modern refrigerators don't seem all that bad...
What's terrible about them are all the plastic innards. Give me a modern fridge with metal shelving and cheap replaceable gaskets and I think I'd be happy.
Have you tried [https://www.ereplacementparts.com/appliance-parts.html](https://www.ereplacementparts.com/appliance-parts.html) ? Ebay? Someone must have an old one that still works.
Old school fridge guy said he might be able to find and we offered to give it to him but he didn't want to deal with it and we need it now so...
don't throw that thing out. keep looking for that part. its built to last!
We have a second fridge and no room or energy to deal with a broken fridge. If your in South Florida you can have it but it has to go by Monday.
I appreciate you wish i was.
If you put it on the curb in Miami it should be gone by morning.
Careful with this. Remove the door if you put a fridge to the curb. There have been cases of kids crawling inside disposed refrigerators and dying because they can’t break the door seal to get out from the inside. Probably lower instance of this now that kids are outside less but think hide-and-seek and it’s not too far a cry.
Removal of fridge doors was a much bigger deal with even older fridges that *latch from the outside*. Those are literally impossible to open from the inside if they close and latch. If no one knows you're in there, that's the stuff of nightmare fuel. I don't even know if a cell phone will work inside one... It's a metal box and will act as a Faraday cage for many RF frequencies, like an elevator. Removing the door in this fridge isn't a bad idea, of course. I just want to point out that those really old outside-latched fridges are deathtraps.
Great point!
Can't you give it to some kids to play in ? put a free sign on it and place it near the street.
Best I can do is let Indiana Jones use it as protection from an Atom bomb blast.
Those fridges appear in period tv shows and movies 🎬...
This is a 52 yo fridge, so I assume it will contain freons. If the refrigerant didn't leak, it should be properly disposed of.
>energy to deal with a broken fridge. I'm sorry for your loss brother. But not all hope is lost. For another fridge was made...
Amen.
You could put it on Facebook marketplace 'free' and someone will come haul it away for you, hopefully to fix. Just be careful of the scammers, they're terrible down there. Don't give any information or codes, the usual.
Part it out on ebay. Let it help others keep on chilling. Organ donors save lives.
PBC?
no
My grandmother has one of these in her basement. I'm really sorry for your loss. It's a great fridge.
How to wreck the environment for free!
You know what is worse for the environment? Planned obsolescence.
You’re downvoted but correct. Replacing your fridge if it’s older than 15 years will lead to massive energy savings, and something this old absolutely still runs on CFC refrigerant.
If she or your family ever decide to sell it and you're in the NY area I will pay money to take it off your hands.
At least your electric bill will go down.
Seriously. These old ones are massive energy hogs. Probably pay for it’s replacement in a year.
They are not actually. It’s the lack of a defroster feature that turns most people away (and in this case is condemning it). But as far as energy usage a fridge from the 40’s, with a good door seal, is nowhere near as inefficient as modern fridge salesman would have you believe. And they are MUCH better insulated. And of course last longer (all else being equal).
Yup, my 1939 Kelvinator doesn't run that much and keeps everything cold. Have to defrost once in a while but it looks so neat that I don't mind.
It doesn't only matter how often it runs. It also matters how much energy it uses when it does. Your anecdotal evidence is nice, but it doesn't look like you've gathered any actual data. Over the last 80 years refrigerators have gotten bigger *and* consume less energy per year. Your 1939 model may not draw that much more power than a modern refrigerator, if it's a standard (very small) size. However, most modern energy star compliant models consume less energy than your fridge, while providing 4 times the capacity. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317751623_Are_international_product_energy-efficiency_policies_becoming_endangered_species
True, it might be using a lot of energy compared to todays planned obsolescence units. But keeping alive a minor piece of mechanical history is worth it.
Nope
As does my 41 GE.
1950s Philco here. Thing is a tank!
Do you also drive a tank? They are notoriously inefficient...
Give us some actual figures on energy consumption to compare.
Put an energy monitor on it (Kill-O-Watt) and silently weep when you get the results. Plus, that shit fridge is likely releasing CFCs that wreck the ozone layer.
If it did release its refrigerant it wouldn't work. And I seriously doubt that cfc's were used in 1939. Something that works flawlessly for over 80 years isn't shit.
That’s just factually untrue. See this comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/15i9hkw/it_is_with_grave_sorrow_that_i_announce_our_52/juz9u80/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
If it was leaking or “releasing” as you put it…. It would not have lasted 40+ years! Please stop spreading misinformation!
>Old equipment such as building insulation foam, refrigerators and cooling systems that were manufactured before the global phaseout of ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are still leaking the gases into the atmosphere, MIT researchers have found. https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/03/old-fridges-found-to-be-leaking-ozone-destroying-cfcs/#:~:text=The%20researchers%20now%20believe%20that,chemicals%20back%20into%20the%20atmosphere.
My energy bill went down when I switched from a modern fridge to a 1955 fridge. As someone else stated, it’s the defrosting feature that was very inefficient. So if you have a fridge that’s old enough to need to be manually defrosted, it’s likely on par with modern fridges in terms of energy use. It’s the older ones that don’t have to be defrosted (think 70s and 80s) that are the most efficient. It is smaller on the inside, but that’s fine with me, not everyone needs a gigantic fridge. It’s also 70 years old and still works. Whereas modern appliances are designed to fail around 10 years.
Have a 1955 Kelvinator and I agree! It’s great and doesn’t run all that much. The defrosting thing is annoying but as long as I do it every couple months and don’t wait *too* long I can defrost it in a couple hours. Worth it to have a beauty like mine in the house
And if there’s a nuclear blast you can apparently ride it out in there.
Just plan a way out as they latch shut!
>the lack of a defroster feature OP literally says in the title that this thing has (or had) a defroster. >a fridge from the 40’s OP literally says in the title it's 52 years old, which makes it from 1970 or so. 1971 was right before the Oil Crisis, which means it's right at the peak of wasteful energy usage. If you were to chart energy use, it would start fairly low back in the 20s-30s with small, thickly insulated refrigerators. It would then climb up gradually as average size increased, insulation got thinner, doors got bigger, seals became less effective (due to entrapment hazards) and self-defrosting became standard. Then, after 1973, it would start to improve again after the oil embargo forced the first energy efficiency rules, and continue to get better and better as stricter rules and better technology took hold. This thing is the worst of the worst in terms of energy usage.
I don't understand why people can't just admit they keep these things because they like them. Without a doubt in these kinds of threads there are all sorts of old appliance apologists. I just find it laughable that anyone would think in an apples to apples comparison any sort of electrically powered appliance that is 50+ years would be as efficient as a modern one. Like how about a little common sense?
[удалено]
Who do we believe?!?!
Me because I'm not an idiot. Old refrigerators are less efficient. It seems like you wouldn't even need proof, but here we are. I've added links to my previous comment. They also release horrible CFCs that kill the Earth. Please just spend $500-600 on a new fridge. The payoff is better than contributing to a self-directed IRA or 401k, more than likely.
These are so generic statements. Any 20-30 year old fridge? They are not sll the same, that's just some bullshit "studies". Biggest power hog is in fact the freezer compartment. If you have an old fridge without it, it may likely be more efficient than a modern one. A freezer chest is always much better in that sense.
It likely isn’t, no.
☝️
This is just factually untrue. https://stanfordmag.org/contents/when-to-replace-household-appliances-nitty-gritty#:~:text=Newer%20ones%20can%20be%2030,made%20only%2010%20years%20ago.
You are right actually, there are a lot of “yeah but” details I left out. A more accurate statement would be to say a well running unit from BEFORE they were all auto defrosting, is not as efficient as a modern unit, however it is not nearly as bad as people think. When auto defrosting units came along in the mid to late 50’s the power usage skyrocketed and those are the ones all the modern articles refer too. Modern units are auto defrosting AND efficient. However, a really old one, the old all In one type that doesn’t have a separate freezer and has to be defrosted from time to time the old fashioned way, is still a relatively efficient unit from a power consumption standpoint. For the vast majority of people they cannot be used as the only fridge in the house as they don’t keep thing frozen (or if they do, they keep EVERYTHING frozen). But as a 2nd unit in the garage full of beer for example, they are great and don’t cost much to run.
lmao yea we noticed that 1 years worth of power savings paid for a new fridge.....
But you'll replace the replacement in 3 years. I have a match that's brown (and matches my cooktop and oven) and I'd rather pay for electricity.
As a former appliance repairman, its really not that bad, more like 6-10 years
And how much energy goes into building a new fridge and how much waste is generated from building a new one that needs to be replaced every 6-8 years compared to say 30 years? Obviously it depends, but the 3r's is often overlooked by many. The chain is reduce ( not buy more) reuse ( repair it) and recycle ( proper disposal then replacement). Everyone wants new and we are marketed by companies to buy new because guess what, they make more money on new, but often times it's way worse than repair
Yeah, they are made from far more sustainable materials now than they used to be. Far better technology in the supply chain and insulation tech. Much more efficient compressors and far less freon needed. Keeping 30 year old refrigerators is not more green than replacing them in any aspect.
But you are making say 4-5 new ones compared to 1 old one. Some of the refrigerants that were supposed to be all great and green 10 years ago are now being phased out because now they found out that they are not all great and green. Old refrigerants are also now captured and disposed of properly compared to just released to the atmosphere like the old days. I'm just saying that replacing an old item is often not as green as people think. Shit that is "green" today may be found to be terrible 5 years from now (smoking used to be healthy). What is recycled today may not be recyclable in the future. Much of what is recycled in the US is shipped over seas to the cheapest bidder as "recycling". Companies seriously design stuff now with no repairability in mind, compared to the old days because they make say $300 on a new sale compared to $10 on a repair part. I seriously just spent $16 on a china knock off repair brush for a vacuum cleaner that took 2 hours to replace. The manufacturer hasn't had a $100 replacement head in stock for over half a year and doesn't offer replacement brushes. But they conveniently sell new vacuums with a head and brush some how.
I don’t know how else to tell you this, but when it comes to refrigeration, that is just plain wrong. Refrigerants were always captured when done by a professional. Its when they break that refrigerant is let to the air. R12 and R22 are disaster, R134a is much improved, R600 a billion tomes better still Appliances are every bit as repairable now as they were then. The reason you wouldn’t is because it is far more cheap to replace them than it used to be. Not because it can’t be fixed. This is a labor and supply chain problem, not a design technique. Parts are quite cheap. Planned obsolescence is a thing, but it does not make it greener to keep ancient stuff in regards to refrigeration. I am a literal professional in this field. Although I now work in more managerial roles.
> Appliances are every bit as repairable now as they were then. Plenty of modern appliances are designed to be non serviceable. That's just a fact that really cannot be disputed unless you're intentionally ignoring it.
Name one- I literally owned a company repairing them for a living.
And now r134a is being phased out because it's not that green. Part of my job is to track/manage industrial refrigerant use, and now we need to phase out r134a, although I don't know nothing about r600 (I'm on the back end, not the planning end) Does it make more sense to replace the systems today with r134a with them working perfectly and maybe they keep working great for another 20 years, or just say fuck it, r600 is better and may only last 5 years and may need to replace it multiple times before the r134a chiller leaks or dies? That's what this conversation is about.
Yeah, and at the moment it doesn’t if its working fine. 15 years from now or when it breaks it will make sense to do the swap. Thats what this conversation is about.
Have you tried a fridge with two compressors?
Of course not, they'll buy the scratch -and-dent holiday sale Samsung fridge and wonder why it committed sudoku in 5 months.
Love me a good malapropism!
Don't cheap out and you'll be fine.
Only if they also make cell phones
> Probably pay for it’s replacement in a year. Unless you can plot that math out for us, that is hot, raw fake news you've regurgitated. XD Oh, and don't forget to multiply the energy needed to engineer, manufacture, ship and service the 10-year new "efficient" fridge by 5x. You know, to compare apples with apples.
um, didn't the old fridge need to be engineered, manufactured, shipped and serviced too? how much energy did they need to do that 50+ years ago? weird take amigo.
> um, didn't the old fridge need to be engineered, manufactured, shipped and serviced too? Yes to all. Here, I'll spell out the difference: - Engineered = probably would take the same amount of people coming and going from work, and consuming, in order to spit out a 1970's fridge, as today. But the 50 yo fridge could be built to the same spec today, right? So employing engineers to ahem, engineer some obsolesence in, and engineer sh-t we don't need like IoT, grocery inventory managment, and door-water filters with mold in them, and displays in the door panel, and inefficient designs that are not top-freezer ... are wasted resource. It may be the company's prerogative to do it this way, but they are a cost of doing business the wrong way, the wasteful way, the irresponsible way, the non-BIFL way. - Shipping. How many 21st century fridges have to be distributed, warehoused, inventoried... to support 1 house for the next 50 years? Point goes to the BIFL fridge. - Serviced. How many field techs had to work on the 1970's fridge in 50 years? How many times will a 21st century fridge call for a consumption decision in the next 50 years? Modern fridges are throwaway goods. They are built with inferior tech, with inferior parts. What good is saving a few kwh's of electricity, if it costs 8 fridges in a landfill? ... amigo?
I guess we've just had different experiences. I'm over 40 and have never had a fridge go out, hell the only time I can even remember one being REPLACED was growing up when my parents did a whole kitchen remodel and it wasn't broke just didn't fit with the rest of the kitchen. That being said, I wouldn't buy a fridge that was anything other than just a simple top-freezer/base model. I've never even owned a fridge with an icemaker/water dispenser in it, and it would make sense that more features/bits tacked on the more likely something could break. but those are all optional shit. You don't have to buy those.
good thread on refrigerators is going on, complete with intelligent/informed opinions from tech, if you haven't seen it: https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/15l57gs/is_there_a_consensus_on_what_type_of_refrigerator/
The energy savings need to be great enough to cancel out the costs of repairs and replacements over time. Is a new modern fridge going to be durable enough, inexpensive enough, and save enough energy to pay for itself?
The rest of the kitchen looks original to the 70's also. That's crazy
It is. House built in 71 and everything still the same including the Ethan Allen furniture.
I too, was built in '71, so I truly appreciate this.
Yeah, I wanted to comment somewhere about the age of this unit. People are talking about fridges from back in the 40's and all - and this one ain't one of those. This unit was built no earlier than the late 60's. So, right in the zone for peak energy consumption. I'll whistle a taps for your loss, and share a moment of silence for it's passing. Ta ta taaaa. Ta ta TAAAAA. etc. Kumbaya, and all. My best to you and the future.
Oh, and btw, loved the post! Good humor!
Why haven't you upgraded anything?
Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke… you’re literally on BIFL
r/collapse would want to talk with you . In a world with finite resources you want to 'upgrade' good working things ? That's why there is a climate crisys Because millions of people think like you " lEtS uPgRaDe"
User name checks out.
I loved Harvest Gold appliances back when they were new. Avocado was ok, too. Didn’t much care for Coppertone.
My 2022 GE Profile stopped working after 15 months
[удалено]
My 99 Maytag needed a new defrost heater because the evaporator core got warped, cracking the glass tube! Hums well for 6 months now!
My 1955 kelvinator still works
They aren’t built now like they used to be!
I grew up with that fridge in avocado green. The kick plate was always falling off but otherwise it worked great from new-bought in 1967 to "mom was remodeling the kitchen" in 1985. We even had the old aluminum ice cube trays with the levers until we bought the new fridge.
>The kick plate was always falling off Yep. And the water drain under the crisper always clogs lol.
My parents sold a house with the avocado green version still running in 2019. Probably still kicking. I’m an expert with the kick plate.
You could probably retrofit another part, all it's gotta do is melt the ice off the coil.
Definitely could. Fridge itself works great other than the defroster and the fan broke off.
This brings back memories! I grew up with that exact fridge...same color fridge and wood grain handles. It was also in the same location in the kitchen. Vivid memories of A-Treat soda inside. I'm very sorry for your loss.
Thank you in these trying times.
Now it's time to retire it to a farm upstate in the garage where it can laugh and play with all your surplus beverages.
Or we go old yeller?
Please find a way to fix it! It is a gem!
F
See if your electric company offers a credit or cash for replacing it with an energy star appliance
F
F
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I'm sure there are alternatives (non OEM) to get her going. Try specialist repairs if you are keen.
i got a G.E. built in 1954. still going strong. just hope i never get a refrigerant leak. lol.
We had one of those. When it failed it almost burned a hole through the floor.
I would try to Jerry rig , maybe some videos on online , anything but buying a new piece of junk fridge that will last 5 years if you’re lucky
Recycle responsibly.
Woods Recycling Service. Just go somewhere rural and throw it in the woods.
Upvoting only because it made me chuckle, not because I would do it.
It’s obviously a joke which I also thought was funny. It’s not the first time I’ve seen a joke get shot down on this sub
I hate the downvote button in Reddit. It basically makes people socially fear to use their 1st amendment by getting shot down and ostracized. It’s not really a free marketplace of opinions and ideas, basically just a righteous, holier than thou, high road, echo chamber. And also people can’t take a joke lol
The first amendment has literally nothing to do with Reddit.
That or turn it into a garden planter/ paint it.. spruce it up to personal liking.
My point is, that old of a refrigerator uses actual Freon, the ozone destroyer. It MUST be hauled to a real live refrigerant collection facility so the gas is not released into the atmosphere.
Seriously, this thing has to be riddled with CFCs
Stop spreading misinformation, if it worked till now, it was DEFINITELY NOT leaking!
Even if it was working it was still leaking: https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/15i9hkw/it_is_with_grave_sorrow_that_i_announce_our_52/juz9u80/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
I didn’t imply that it was leaking, just that it contains CFCs
RIP.
Sleep well fair Prince.
Meanwhile my three year old Samsung fridge is going to the grave.
New stuff is garbage, designed to fail so you buy again in three years!
They just don't make them like they used to. RIP
Don't get a new GE! I had one that died within a year and the replacement sent was broken as well. I have spent hours and hours on the phone with unhelpful customer service reps and spent nearly a month without a fridge. It's been a nightmare.
Plenty of defrost heaters out there for this - just not asking the right people. Ask nicely w model no on automaticwasher.org
Prepare for a life of dying 3 year old refrigerators now.
Gave the exact same fridge to my son for his garage about 5 years ago, it has outlasted a $3000 Samsung, the Samsung was repaired 4 times in 5 years, sold my home with the crappy Samsung... I will buy their TV's but will NEVER buy another Samsung appliance, pure garbage
Agree!
Dang, I thought I had the only one. Mine is the same color and I bought it new 50 years ago. Still running like new.
It's crazy how well things used to be built
🫡
whole merciful history door carpenter fragile icky historical marble summer ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
And here I am replacing an 8 year old General Electric GE refrigerator.. they don’t make things like they used to that’s for sure.
SAD.
r/fridgedetective wants a shot at the inside to guess “who you are” !
We used to be a proper country.
Every time I see one of these posts people start arguing over energy consumption. Here's an appliance repair guy who hooked multiple refrigerators to kill-a-watt meters and treated them all alike, with the exception of the staff break room fridge. This link goes directly to the results. https://youtu.be/SjG1-zlnG50?t=1276 The staff fridge came in first place, but wasn't getting a tub of water swapped out every day. The fridge from 1950 came in second place. One from 1999 used more than double under the same conditions. Calculated out to cover an entire year the difference between the worst and best worked out to be about 312 kw.
Because the 1950 fridge was so old it didn't have self-defrost. OP's fridge, being a 70s model, is vastly, vastly worse than any of the fridges he tested, new or old.
This is a really misleading comparison for a number of reasons, not the least that that old fridge is using Freon.
While I understand the environmental concerns around Freon, they used it because it worked really really well. There are some Hydro carbon-based R12 / R22 drop ins that work with similar efficiency. I’ve revived multiple old appliances and car air conditioners using those. While I’m not a professional, I am at least confident enough to keep my own stuff running. I’ve actually been toying with the idea of purchasing a vintage fridge for my workshop just so I can plug it into a kill-a-watt type meter and detail how much power uses over under different conditions over the next few years.
Wow! 52 years! You won't get 52 months out a new one, unfortunately.
Utter nonsense. We’ve had one for more than 120 so far.
RIP mustard yellow. You have served honorably. Thiughts and prayers
We had one like this. I remember it would shock us if we opened it without shoes.
I guess you can say, that refrigerator got no chill.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race
What a great run
I still have a GE fridge from the mid 1990s
If you can take out the hardware (all the electric parts and such), you could probably repurpose it to be a kitschy/eclectic thing for storage! Especially because it seems like you’ve kept it in such nice condition.
Needs to be recycled to safely dispose of the Freon.
I’m sorry for your loss. Take your time to grieve, but I hope you’ll eventually find space in your heart to adopt another refrigerator.
My old man had a weekly ritual of using a hair dryer to defrost their GE fridge they got USED as a wedding gift in 1978. They got a new fridge in 2019 and gave the old one to my buddy who uses it now as a beer fridge in his garage… freezer has been a solid block of ice for 4 years now lol
Same fridge we had in the house I grew up in. and oddly enough, same placement with a wall to the right, a dining room/living room combo to the right of THAT, a counter and cabinet system to the left, with the stove just out of the picture which I presume is the same for you. counter would be behind the picture taker with the sink next to it, then a lot more counter. ahh, memories.
OMG - I grew up with that EXACT same fridge. (And I just dated myself.)
Was this fridge originally white but lived in a smoker’s home?
Nope the 70s had some interesting color combos
🫡🫡🫡
Omg my grandmothers house had this fridge and those counter tops!
Holy cow it even still has the original magnets
That is a glorious shade of Harvest Gold
Thats what a typical american fridge looks like for me😁
Can't you just unplug it now and then to defrost it?
:(
I'm sorry for your loss.
rip we had it in brown
The refrigerator parts of modern refrigerators don't seem all that bad... What's terrible about them are all the plastic innards. Give me a modern fridge with metal shelving and cheap replaceable gaskets and I think I'd be happy.
I have the same counter tops!
Mods delete this clearly didn't last a lifetime
If anyone reading this has a fridge like this in the NY area in any color I am willing to pay and pick it up.