Vintage Refrigerator Repair

I have a Leonard refrigerator I believe from the early 50’s that I can hear run when plugged in but isn’t cooling. Local appliance repair looked at it and said the compressor is bad. Said they can’t find a replacement and it uses R12 freon which isn’t made any more. I called an antique appliance repair place. They said I should be able to use any R12 compatible compressor that will fit in the space. Does that sound right? They didn’t tell me a specific model. There are no labels on the original so I don’t know HP or btu ratings. How do I figure out which compressor I need to fix this?

measure the width, depth, and height from inside the fridge then multiply those #s together and divide by 1728, that will give you the total cubic feet. that info can be cross referenced for the correct size compressor....I would ohm out the comp. myself before i condemned it

Some items wear out and do need to be replaced.

Why are you trying to fix this unit vs getting a new one?

If it is humming, the compressor may be running and it just out of freon. R12 is hard to come by, so you will probably have to go with an R12 substitute. Problem with those is most are made of butane or propane base, and extremely flammable.

The last R12 I bought about 12 years back I paid over $120 a # for it. No telling what it would run now.

those vintage refrigerators command a pretty penny in working condition...I would set my volt meter to ohms and remove the 3 wires on the comp noting where they are of course, then with the power off measure c to r example .5 ohms then c to s example 1.8 add those 2 #s answer 2.3 then go s to r that reading should be 2.3 anything else and the comp is shot....also check for short to ground...

kc65 said:

measure the width, depth, and height from inside the fridge then multiply those #s together and divide by 1728, that will give you the total cubic feet. that info can be cross referenced for the correct size compressor....I would ohm out the comp. myself before i condemned it

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Thanks for the tip. I'm out of town but have a meter and will try that when I get back. I know it's 7 inches wide and 8 inches high. Not sure on the depth.

NOYDB said:

Some items wear out and do need to be replaced.

Why are you trying to fix this unit vs getting a new one?

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Doing a remodel on a rental cottage and this was purchased for the kitchen to give it a vintage look.

atlashunter said:

Thanks for the tip. I'm out of town but have a meter and will try that when I get back. I know it's 7 inches wide and 8 inches high. Not sure on the depth.

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measure the freezer box and cold box not compressor....

kc65 said:

measure the freezer box and cold box not compressor....

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Ah, I'm clueless on these things! Thanks!

I would measure the amps as well with an Amprobe meter. My Dad's old GE he got from his aunt needed a new relay/overload combination.

The amp probe would show it going on and then off. But if you continue to hear it running, the amp probe would show that it is low on refrigerant.
Most shops don't want to spend much time on vintage equipment. Not just refrigerators but outboards, lawnmowers, pretty much everything. I wonder if they did much testing beyond plugging it in. Did they put any refrigerant access valves on it or does it already have some?

If they didn't put gauges on it, I'm not sure how they know it's not pumping. Unless they did test it for a short to ground. Then again it wouldn't be running.

Artfuldodger said:

I would measure the amps as well with an Amprobe meter. My Dad's old GE he got from his aunt needed a new relay/overload combination.

The amp probe would show it going on and then off. But if you continue to hear it running, the amp probe would show that it is low on refrigerant.
Most shops don't want to spend much time on vintage equipment. Not just refrigerators but outboards, lawnmowers, pretty much everything. I wonder if they did much testing beyond plugging it in. Did they put any refrigerant access valves on it or does it already have some?

If they didn't put gauges on it, I'm not sure how they know it's not pumping. Unless they did test it for a short to ground. Then again it wouldn't be running.

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Wasn't there when they came so I'm not sure how they checked it. What will the amprobe show if it is low on refrigerant?

atlashunter said:

Wasn't there when they came so I'm not sure how they checked it. What will the amprobe show if it is low on refrigerant?

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Hard to say unless there is some amperage data on a tag. I'd guess normal would be around 2.6 to 3 amps so if it was pulling less than 1.5 amps or less it would be low. If it's low on gas the compressor doesn't have to work as hard because it's not pumping as much. It's like a compressor running unloaded.

Does the compressor have fins on it? The really old ones have cooling fins. The newer ones don't and rely on the refrigerant for cooling. So one low on refrigerant will be hot. That and the fact that it runs all the time.

Look for someone who has R-414B ... it supposed to mix with R12 and be compatible with the oils in R12 ...

I know where there is 5 or 6 small cans of R12 , if you get to that point and determine its just low on Freon ?

Artfuldodger said:

Hard to say unless there is some amperage data on a tag. I'd guess normal would be around 2.6 to 3 amps so if it was pulling less than 1.5 amps or less it would be low. If it's low on gas the compressor doesn't have to work as hard because it's not pumping as much. It's like a compressor running unloaded.

Does the compressor have fins on it? The really old ones have cooling fins. The newer ones don't and rely on the refrigerant for cooling. So one low on refrigerant will be hot. That and the fact that it runs all the time.

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I will post a pic later today. No fins as far as I can tell. Found this write up that makes it sound like these had a special design that didn’t use fins for cooling.

http://www.refresearch.com/Social-Media/ArtMID/388/ArticleID/23/The-Leonard-Refrigerator

Get a new fridge and get a finish carpenter to make it blend in.

atlashunter said:

I will post a pic later today. No fins as far as I can tell. Found this write up that makes it sound like these had a special design that didn’t use fins for cooling.

http://www.refresearch.com/Social-Media/ArtMID/388/ArticleID/23/The-Leonard-Refrigerator

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Interesting link. I think all the hermetic compressors use refrigerant for cooling. Maybe GE put fins on theirs in the 30's & 40's for auxiliary cooling.

Here is a link to the relay old and new that I put on my Dad's refrigerator. The new relay would get very hot. I told the guy at Fox Appliance and he said they do get hot. I didn't think it would last long but it's been about 10 years since I replaced it.

I think my Dad's is a 1939 GE model. It's after they moved the compressor from the top to the bottom but still has a similar compressor.

kc65 said:

those vintage refrigerators command a pretty penny in working condition...I would set my volt meter to ohms and remove the 3 wires on the comp noting where they are of course, then with the power off measure c to r example .5 ohms then c to s example 1.8 add those 2 #s answer 2.3 then go s to r that reading should be 2.3 anything else and the comp is shot....also check for short to ground...

Click to expand...

Checked across the three and I got these values.

15.7 ohms
3.9 ohms
19.5 ohms

Also checked and no short to ground.

My brother used to use r134a in place of r12 in refrigerators that he had open the system and/or replace the compressor. I have a side by side with water and ice in the door that I have had 10 or 12 years running r134a.Nice unit that just needed a new compressor and re-gassing.
I am not telling you to use r134a, but that is what took the place of r12 in automobiles. As far as I know, 134a is not explosive nor based on butane or propane. The only thing is having to buy an adapter to hook 134a hose to r12 fitting. It can be ordered from an auto parts store. product name
Factory Air R12/R134a A/C Can Tap Hinged Inserts

0 star rated product (0 reviews) | #69445

1 YR REPLACEMENT IF DEFECTIVE

$32.39 OR product name
AutoCraft R-12 To R-134a Retrofit Parts Kit

4.0 star rated product (12 reviews) | #AC995/VA-LH11

30 DAY REPLACEMENT IF DEFECTIVE

$12.99
The cheaper one is a pack of hi and low side adapter caps that use 134a hoses. Can of 134a and hose at walmart or Advance auto parts. The higher one is a can pierce adapter and lets you use R12 hoses.
Dollar wise, adapter cap kit and one can of r134a with the gauge and hose is all you would need. The cap that fits the r134a hose is the only one you would use. Check the cap to hose fit first because they have red, permanent loctite to prevent removal.
If you don't have a way to pull a vacuum on the unit, find a small reputable used appliance repair. The r12 had to leak out somewhere and may have bad tubing "coils" in the sidewalls=not repairable. Have seen my brother find a different unit with exposed coils mounted externally to the outside back, remove and check for leaks,and remount to customers unit. Can get $$$$$$ depending on how much time and $per hour labor.
Hope I helped. I ramble on at times.

kc65 said:

measure the width, depth, and height from inside the fridge then multiply those #s together and divide by 1728, that will give you the total cubic feet. that info can be cross referenced for the correct size compressor....I would ohm out the comp. myself before i condemned it

Click to expand...

I measured the interior dimensions of the box and come up with about 6.5 feet. Can I tell from that what compressor I would need? I also pulled the bottom drawer so I could get to the terminals to ohm the coils and found some numbers on the compressor housing. Not sure if there is some kind of cross reference out there that those might be useful for. I'm not convinced the compressor is bad. When I plug it in it comes on and runs. I also felt both coil lines there they connect to the compressor and there is no temp difference from ambient on either. So I don't know. I will want to hire someone to vacuum it down and fill the refrigerant regardless of whether the compressor has to be replaced or not. If R12 makes that difficult then maybe I should replace the compressor anyway? They don't look too terribly expensive but I'm not sure which one I would need to get.

Here are some pictures.



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