Cute Retro Appliances

[artdecochic]

Sooo cute retro glam for your home...

 

[David Conwill]

Those are cute. I take it they're from the UK. Anyone on this side of the pond looking for something similar, should check out Elmira Stoveworks "Northstar" line of appliances and the "Big Chill" refrigerators.

Or, you could always grab an original on the cheap and rehab it.

-Dave

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Housekeeping note:

Moved from Powder Room......kitchen appliances in the -bathroom-....

 

[dhermann1]

Problem with the new retro styled refigerators: price. Problem with refurbishing and old fridges, there's virtually no freezer compartment, and not frost free. Problem with a refurnished vintage stove, again, price. That said, many old stoves and fridges are every bit as efficient as modern ones. I've heard that theold 1920's vintage ammonia fridges are extremely effcient.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Problem with a refurnished vintage stove, again, price. That said, many old stoves and fridges are every bit as efficient as modern ones. I've heard that theold 1920's vintage ammonia fridges are extremely effcient.

bah...no one said you need to take an old stove and refurbish it..

99.9% of them that you can find on craigslist or ebay (where I got mine) work perfectly well the way they are.

I happen to -like- that it isn't a prefect visual. Means I can't blame myself even more when I scratch it. It's not a showpiece....its an appliance. And when you move into -gently used- and not perfect...you don't need to pay anywhere near high prices.

I paid less for my 1930's stove, then all but -one- stove that you can currently go fetch from your local Home Despot. Under 500 is -easily- findable and I see stoves on Craigslist daily that people are either taking 50 dollars for...or 100.

It was checked out by the Gas Company guy when he connected it, so its safe. In fact, he spent an extra 20 min with me, and calibrated the oven...turns out that it is still exactly in the temp range what you set the oven to.....

 

[LizzieMaine]

Problem with the new retro styled refigerators: price. Problem with refurbishing and old fridges, there's virtually no freezer compartment, and not frost free. Problem with a refurnished vintage stove, again, price. That said, many old stoves and fridges are every bit as efficient as modern ones. I've heard that theold 1920's vintage ammonia fridges are extremely effcient.

The not-frost-free feature is fine with me -- there's nothing that runs up a light bill faster than an automatic defrost cycle. I defrost my Kelvinator a couple times a year, and it's really not that onerous a chore. It might take me a couple hours, tops, and gives me an excuse to clean out all the unidentifiables that have accumulated!

 

[adamjaskie]

I don't know that I could have a fridge with the word "SMEG" across it without chuckling every time I walk into my kitchen.

 

[Sefton]

I don't know that I could have a fridge with the word "SMEG" across it without chuckling every time I walk into my kitchen.

It's from the "Red Dwarf" home furninshing collection,of course...

 

[MikeBravo]

Problem with the new retro styled refigerators: price. Problem with refurbishing and old fridges, there's virtually no freezer compartment, and not frost free. Problem with a refurnished vintage stove, again, price. That said, many old stoves and fridges are every bit as efficient as modern ones. I've heard that theold 1920's vintage ammonia fridges are extremely effcient.

Maybe it's an urban myth, but I seem to recall hearing about some type of early refrigerator that contained a poison gas (could be ammonia) that leaked an whole families were killed


Could be a myth

 

[LizzieMaine]

Maybe it's an urban myth, but I seem to recall hearing about some type of early refrigerator that contained a poison gas (could be ammonia) that leaked an whole families were killed


Could be a myth

No myth -- the early GE Monitor Tops used sulphur dioxide as a refrigerant -- which was indeed quite poisonous. That's one reason why those machines were build so solidly and the workings were sealed so tight -- a leak could be deadly. The good thing was that the stuff had such a terrible smell to it that in in the unlikely chance you did get a leak you'd be certain to notice it before lasting harm could occur.

 

[rmrdaddy]

Yep, ammonia gas is dangerous stuff!
2 stories from my little town....
This is 25 years ago maybe. Family a few houses down from my parents threw away their old fridge, put it out on the curb for the trashmen. Trashmen come, pick up fridge, place in truck, and then proceed to attempt to crush it with the compactor.....a few minutes later a motorist passes by....3 men on ground unconscioius!! They were OK, but had been knocked out from inhalation of the fumes!!
Then, 15 years ago or so...
My folks had their old fridge moved to their basement for extra storage when they purchased a new one. Time came to pass and cooling system must have sprung a leak...my folks were out, and my brother stopped by the house to see them, he smells something TERRIBLE, and then his eyes start to water and he begins coughing...he runs out of the house, then realized my father's cat, Mina is still inside! In he goes again, and success! Rescues the cat! Then he called the fire dept, who came with fans to clear out the gas, and removed the fridge.
Careful with the old ones guys and gals!

 

[olive bleu]

well this one is from a cottage my kids and i had the privilege of staying in a few summers ago,built in 1938. my son was quite enthralled with this working fridge and insisted that he had to have his picture taken with it I think another budding lover of vintage...

[/IMG]


actually..i have other photos from this cottage that are pretty cool, will upload and post elsewhere later...

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Here's what I would get! Oh and I need a dishwasher and eventually a stove too!

http://bigchillfridge.com/site/

 

[Warden]

Came home to find this on our drive. http://twitpic.com/arm2f8

 

[SHOWSOMECLASS]

Olive that looks like one of the first generation electric ice boxes. You can see it retains the original ice box design w/ the compressor on top. Included is a little information on ice boxes and the ice industry. My grandfather's family were poor so they went to a lake in Wisconsin and cut ice blocks and hauled it to their ice house which was insulated w/ bales of hay. He said the wealthy families had their ice delivered on schedule for use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebox

 

[ButteMT61]

Came home to find this on our drive. http://twitpic.com/arm2f8

A cool appliance with an unfortunate name...Looks nice though!

 

[kiwilrdg]

I've heard that theold 1920's vintage ammonia fridges are extremely effcient.

They are not very efficient by todays standards. They are nice because they are quiet and some are powered by gas or propane. A leak does result in a release of ammonia and hydrogen which is not a good thing.

The same type of unit is still used in some trailers and RVs.

 

[Warden]

Originally Posted by Warden

Came home to find this on our drive. http://twitpic.com/arm2f8
A cool appliance with an unfortunate name...Looks nice though!

Bit of a bonus for us, bought by a company for a photoshoot, they no longer needed it and said we could have it. did not believe it would ever turn up. Came home & it was sitting on my drive.