vintage Frigidaire refrigerator from the 1950s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=132&v=hnfWkB60WRE
I got sicker than sick from the gasses in an old fridge was getting the copper out of it and didn't think that after 50+ years laying in the woods it would still be charged but hard lesson learnt never mess with old fridges :)
they don't make them like that for several reasons.
Gov't efficiency standards, old fridges use lots of power.
new fridges don't last long because of it.
old ones last because they were over built.
Fridges built prior to the early 50's used Methyl Formate, Methyl Chloride or Sulfur Dioxide as a refrigerant. The last one is very toxic as a gas, but is most likely in your raisins and your soda and all sorts of other things we eat. My Dad would always hammer a hole in the door of old fridges or try knocking the hinges off when we would come across them in the dump or out in the county forest when I was a kid. He always talked about a neighbor kid who suffocated in a fridge back in the 60's, apparently once shut there was no way out.
Anyone know if propane was ever used as a refrigerant in the old fridges/freezers? I use it as a refrigerant for my vehicles with great results. Plus it's cheap!
The reason they don't make them to last is the same reason that fancy thinking phones don't have replaceable batteries, there all disposable. Everything is disposable anymore no more crawling inside the engine compartment of a car or truck, its all filled with worthless crap that your told is needed so that it runs and makes EPA regulations.
I was told by one car a/c guy that some of his competitors used propane instead of the standard refrigerant and it worked good untill the car would overheat catch fire and boom....
Everything today is designed to last until you make the last payment on it, and then fail. Designed obsolescence is a perfected practice.
My father bought his mother a new fridge in 1947(48?), I think it was a Frigidaire, maybe Westinghouse. When she moved in 1970 he took the fridge and used it at his business. It finally quit working about 10 years ago.
It would frost up something terrible..
Quote from: DelawhereJoe on March 15, 2017, 10:23:07 AM
I was told by one car a/c guy that some of his competitors used propane instead of the standard refrigerant and it worked good untill the car would overheat catch fire and boom....
Yeah, I've heard the warnings about running flammable things like propane under the hood. I have one thing to say to those people: fuel lines/fuel tanks. :D
Propane makes your a/c work roughly twice as good. As far as any danger - the refrigerant you run under the hood is flammable as well. everything is relative, right? ;) :)
Now I'm expecting one of the really smart scientific fellers to come on and school me! :D :laugh:
If you get a leak in your ac evaporator ,which is in vehicles interior and smoke a cigar ,could be dangerous with very flamable propane.
I wouldn't smoke with a propane smell around, would you? :) Or a gasoline smell for that matter.
Don't forget: the refrigerant you have under the hood of your car for the a/c system is flammable too! Why aren't you worried about it? :D
Nobody worries about R12 or R134A because they are classified as NON flammable, yes they can burn or explode under very rare circumstances, it takes about 1500 degrees to get 134a to ignite and only under the perfect air mixture, Propane on the other hand can be ignited with a static spark, that's why NO U.S auto manufacturer would ever put it in a vehicle on purpose. Yes, there are trucks that run on propane (different story). In Europe they use R290 quite a bit, its a version of pure propane, the propane you buy at the hardware store has Iso Butane mixed in, which is also highly flammable, be aware the merc they put in lp as a safety odor can ruin your compressor and I wouldn't doubt over time could cause a leak in your system. Propane works well as a refrigerant, it's just not considered safe in a motor vehicle, you should at least put a red LP sticker under your hood to warn anybody who may work on your stuff in the future. It would be a nice courtesy to say the least.
Quote from: Tamarack on March 15, 2017, 02:32:52 PM
If you get a leak in your ac evaporator ,which is in vehicles interior and smoke a cigar ,could be dangerous with very flamable propane.
i remember a news story from several years back where a guy was tried for murder because he used propane in his wifes car a/c she lit a smoke and blew up on the interstate :o they were saying he done it to kill her but i still think it was accident ::)
Just to be sure I agree I will leave a warning for the junkyard when the vehicle ultimately ends up there. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to get hurt for my choices. Better safe than sorry!
Love that old fridge that K put up. It's got better stuff than any modern fridge I've ever seen!
Seems like everything made pre 70's had an art to it, even if it was something as simple as a lunch pail or toaster. They do make retro looking appliances today, but we know they are just cheap knockoffs. ::)
That's right. Everything is to maximize profits. 40 years ago many things were still made for quality and customer satisfaction. However, I believe this is roughly when things started turning over to what we know today.