5.01-18: Frigidaire 1929 Compressor

Description:

A FRIGIDAIRE, MODEL G, TWIN CYLINDER, ‘ HP, ULTRA SLOW SPEED COMPRESSOR, 1929: With 16’ flywheel, operating at 350 RPM, this compressor, used in large cabinet refrigerators, would stand as a kind of ‘metaphor’, a shortcut in language, standing for an historic genre of high displacement, slow speed compressors for sulphur dioxide refrigerant, part of the design idiom of the time, dictated by conservative engineering preference, limited know-how, materials and manufacturing methods.

Group:

5.01 Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Compressors - Household

Make:

Frigidaire

Manufacturer:

Frigidaire Corporation Dayton Ohio

Model:

G

Serial No.:

Body no’s, 96931;11W; 16-10; 27; 5-12; R-4

Size:

10x16x16’h

Weight:

40 lbs.

Circa:

1929

Rating:

Exhibit, education, and research quality, illustrating the ultra slow speed, high displacement compressor, part of the mainstream of compressor design philosophy in the early years of the industry, limited by engineering know-how and the materials and manufacturing processes of the period of the

Patent Date/Number:

Provenance:

From York County (York Region) Ontario, once a rich agricultural hinterlands, attracting early settlement in the last years of the 18th century. Located on the north slopes of the Oak Ridges Moraine, within 20 miles of Toronto, the County would also attract early ex-urban development, to be come a wealthy market place for the emerging household and consumer technologies of the early and mid 20th century.

This artifact was discovered in the 1950’s in the used stock of T. H. Oliver, Refrigeration and Electric Sales and Service, Aurora, Ontario, an early worker in the field of agricultural, industrial and consumer technology.

Type and Design:

Construction:

Material:

Special Features:

16 inch, light weight, pressed steel, riveted fly wheel, with fan hub, representing new approach in flywheel design by Frigidaire , in contrast the heavy cast iron fly wheel exemplified in item # 100

Accessories:

Capacities:

Performance Characteristics:

Operation:

Control and Regulation:

Targeted Market Segment:

Consumer Acceptance:

Merchandising:

Market Price:

Technological Significance:

The slow speed, high displacement, engineering design idiom manifest here stands in sharp contrast to high (medium) speed, low displacement designs emerging about the same time, for example by Kelvinator of Canada, London Ontario. Designed also for sulphur dioxide refrigerant, but with 8 inch flywheels, their engineering would allow them to operate at close to twice the speed, making for much more compact lighter weight refrigeration equipment. See for example items #090 to #093

Industrial Significance:

Socio-economic Significance:

Socio-cultural Significance:

Donor:

G. Leslie Oliver, The T. H. Oliver HVACR Collection

HHCC Storage Location:

Tracking:

Bibliographic References:

Frigidaire Installation and Service Manual #405, for Products Manufactured Prior to 1937, P. 14, the T. H. Oliver collection

Notes:

Related Reports: