May 24, 2013

The General and Me


The GE

I’m coming to discover a difficulty with writing a blog about one’s house is that, from time to time, nothing interesting is going on. Seriously, not a thing has broken and nothing is in dire need of change. Hopefully I don't curse myself by saying this, but my house is great. 

And there’s more to this great house than the things I fix and acquire. Lets talk about some of the wonders I’ve already surrounded myself with. For instance, anybody know what it’s like to live with a late 40’s GE refrigerator? I do and let me tell you, its not for everyone. 





Cons

Size. I get the distinct feeling people in the 40‘s ate much more fresh food than I do. This GE, a gleaming white beacon of times past, is barely large enough for a child to trap himself in. Distasteful jokes aside, it is really small. Only about 5 feet in height and 3 feet in width. It’s not bad for just me and my girlfriend but if I had a family of any size I would need something much bigger. 

Freezer. As it is I’ve picked up a cheapo deep freeze to compensate for the world’s most adorable freezer cube thats nestled in the corner of the GE. It’s perfect if all you need to freeze is two ice cube trays and one bag of pizza rolls. Don't even consider fitting a frozen pizza in there. The GE strictly forbids it. 



Pros

Strangely Efficient. Honestly though, size seems to be the only draw back. Everything else is great. It looks incredible, it keeps my food super cold, it’s surprisingly quiet and really not that expensive to run. 

Sweet Sci-Fi Noises. When you open and close the door it makes some of the coolest noises ever heard. It’s like something out of an old sci-fi movie, right when the frosty horrors are sealed safely shut with a WHOOMP and a CLACK of the door.

Party Pleaser.  It's always a good time when someone sees it in your house, too. My favorite experience so far was from when I first moved in. The HVAC guy stopped dead in his tracks and stared at it. After mumbling an unidentifiable curse word, he turned around, looked at me, and said “don’t tell me that thing actually still works. I just had to throw out a 6-year old fridge and you have one older than my father.”




7 comments:

  1. About time you posted again - I thought maybe you got into a motorcycle accident being a daredevil after upgrading from that scooter.

    That is a spectacular appliance.

    You're exactly right - in the 1940s and 1950s frozen foods were not anything like they are today. You generally froze a handful of things - some ice cubes, maybe some extra broth from cooking - and everything else was fresh. If it wasn't prepared foods you generally had something simple like a sandwich. You went to the grocer every few days and there were smaller ones on every other corner (supermarkets were only just coming into vogue.) You could only get certain fruits and vegetables at certain times of the year due to what was in season.

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    1. I know, I'm excellent at disappearing. I'm behind on all my blog reading too, not just writing. For the time being projects at work are slowing down and I have finished my collective vehicle maintenance issues. I plan to get in at least a post a week going forward. I have some new small home related projects on the horizon. Hope all is going well with your place.

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  2. First I must tell you how much I like your page....its fantastic. I also wanted to tell you that your GE Fridge consumes less electricity is because it is manual defrost and it does not have a fan to circulate the cold air around the food like modern fridges do. I have a pink 1957 GE fridge myself and it replaced a circa 1997 Hotpoint fridge and I noticed a difference in my consumption of current with in the first couple of months of having it in my kitchen. My fridge is pink inside and out and two of the shelves are half circles that revolve on a pole and bring any of the food on those shelves to me with a slight flick of the shelf. My freezer goes all the way across the top so it is a little bigger than yours but not much. I too got a small chest freezer for keeping my supply of frozen foods and it has worked out great for me. Oh and here is a great tip if you want to defrost the freezer Compartment on your fridge quickly.......use a steamer....I use a Shark steamer I have that has a wand and it takes me about 20 minutes to defrost the freezer compartment and another 10 to dry it out so I can turn back on the fridge. My fridge has also been quite a conversation piece too. Most of my friends think that it is so cool and they really think the revolving shelves are out of site. One of the HVAC guys who just replaced my furnace and a/c said he had never seen anything so cool....PAT COFFEY

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    1. I love those rotating shelves. Such a cool idea. Thank you very much for the complements and the tips on defrosting. I have a feeling it will come in handy. Glad to have crossed paths with another vintage refrigerator enthusiast.

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  3. I have a 1950 Philco fridge that I simply adore. I live in a small loft so I wanted a quiet Fridge. This thing is virtually silent and my food is ultra cold. I put the dial between 2 and 3 on 10. Otherwise the whole thing becomes a freezer!!

    Seriously newer fridges have nothing on those old marvels. I mean, I don think mine has ever been repaired and it is over 60 yrs old!

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    1. Oh the 50's Philcos' are nice looking. It really is shocking how well built these old fridges are. I couldn't be happier with my choice to use one.

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  4. that is THE.MOST.AWESOME.FRIDGE.EVAH.

    for serious, I love it!

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