The Last Servel Non-Electric 'Fridge Repairman

http://www.mainegasrefrigerator.com/our-accreditations.html

Found this little ditty in my Net travels ! Amazing and interesting ! It figures that it would once again take a "Mainah" to conquer trends and keep non-electric refridgerators alive !

Read On !

Excellent post! Servel appliances are now sold under a new name called Dometic (Swedish company) and believe it or not they even make a refrigerator that runs on kerosene.

Nice post HB. I had a Servel when living in Vt. The only thing I did was rock the hell out of her once a year. Of course in the winter I had a dead elec. fridge in the barn for deer, moose, fish, etc. & it was full.

Liability is a problem: From 1980 to 1990, the committee says, carbon monoxide gas emitted by faulty Servel refrigerators killed 20 people.

Well, I still want my cold beer....

davidmcbeth3 wrote:Liability is a problem: From 1980 to 1990, the committee says, carbon monoxide gas emitted by faulty Servel refrigerators killed 20 people.

Well, I still want my cold beer....

And You're going to get it ! What You didn't relay in that quote was the fact that You had knuckle-draggers mis-adjust and non-maintain their Servel units. The article went on to further state that Our Friend In Maine has been installing retrofit kits to "Dummy-Proof" the originals.

Pop the Top on that Cold One-Thanx,Servel,made in Indiana with Pride ! Well,atleast they used to be... Dometic bought the name only,and uses it to this day !

Some of the deaths would be because of no CO detector, or if its certain Amish, their refusal to use them. Very nice article. I'd love to have one.

I would like to replace me electric with one...but they are so small. Did some research and they only burn 1.3 pounds of propane per day. It takes 4.24 pounds to equal a gallon and would be 67gallons of propane for a year; roughly $200 dollars a year to operate.

I have had a couple Dometic RV refrigerators. Either two way or three way power, gas flame, 12 volt dc heater or 120 volt ac heater. You can set them to auto switch from gas to electric if the flame goes out. It will go to AC if available, then DC. Or you can lock it into any power source. They are small, and expensive. The ones I had worked better on LP gas than either 12v dc or 120v ac electric power. The RV fridge is mounted in the wall with the gas flame outside, which eliminates the asphyxiation hazard. If you have a cabin or something off grid, you could hook it to a deep cycle battery and solar charger to eliminate carrying propane.

Someone should figure out how use the heat from the coal or wood stove to run the fridge.

A coal powered fridge! I'd love to send one to ole hillabag

I picked up a nice non electric refrigerator today for my man cave.

Guess the next step is to dig a good size hole in the back yard and stock up on sawdust to preserve this winters ice supply .

Paulie

Outstanding !

Nice find.

We had a smaller, top loader. We used the top as an ice bucket for parties.

Like your stoves, don't forget to empty the drip pan every day. Been there and had to mop up the water because I forgot.

Paul

Hambden Bob wrote:Outstanding !

Thanks Bob, I found it on Craigslist. Although the Energy Star tag was missing it was reasonable, complete and well worth the road trip to New Jersey.

Paulie

Sunny Boy wrote:Nice find.

We had a smaller, top loader. We used the top as an ice bucket for parties.

Like your stoves, don't forget to empty the drip pan every day. Been there and had to mop up the water because I forgot.

Paul

Thanks Paul,

I looked at a really nice top loader but I wanted it on the right hand side of the farm sink and it was a few inches too high. This one is shorter and wider, and fits nice under the light switches.

I'm going to hammer out the floor on the other side of the wall, and pour a small pit with a sump pump, for the farm sink, ice box, and dehumidifier drains. I'll have enough problems remembering to put the ice and the beer in, never mind emptying the drain pan.

Paulie

Sweet!! My non-electric fridge is not nearly as nice. It's top load, all plastic, and has Igloo written on it.