Propane refrigerator

At the current cost of propane here in NE Okla, that means:

* Cost of running the newer (1.1 gal/day of LP) units = $0.45/day, $13.30/mo, $159.60/yr
* Cost of running the Servel's (2.5 gal/day of LP) units = $1.13/day, $33.90/mo, $406.80/yr

WOW 1.1 gals propane for $.45
WERE do you get propane for that price ,, and in Dec yet !!!!!
summer it was $1.19 ,,, now its over $1.60 ,,, thats the last I paid

Those numbers were an error on my part. I posted the correct numbers lower in the post after some helpful corrections by Whistler.

Bottom Line:

* The 12 cf unit costs $0.63 per day to operate on LP gas, and $0.45 per day on natural gas.
* The 18 cf unit costs $0.78 per day to operate on LP gas, and $0.57 per day to operate on natural gas.
* The older Servel, like mine, costs $1.15 per day to operate on LP gas, and $0.83 per day on natural gas.
* GE's 12 cf electric unit costs $0.52 per day to operate, and
* GE's 18 cf electric unit costs $0.54 per day to run.

Wish I still had my Servel.

Back in the early 1980's I bought my grandparents' home which included all those things that you would find in a grandparents' home. They had a Servel fridge from the 1940's that was run on natural gas and it was in this house when they bought it in 1969, so it was safe to say that this fridge was in place for over 30 years. Neither I nor my grandparents had ever needed any repair on this fridge. Servel offered $100 rebate to trash their fridges (early 1990's?). My circumstances were not as they are now, and I took them up on the offer. I am kicking myself now.

__________________
Charleen in Western NY www.harperhillfarm.com

A bite of butter greases your track. ~ Gramma Sarah

The "recall" program for the older Servel refrigerators came about as the result of an investigation of the vintage refrigerators by the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Because a few owners (and we're talking very few) didn't properly maintain and operate their older Servel's, the CPSC decided that they were dangerous, and set up something called the "Servel Action Committee" to oversee the removal and disposal of these units.

Though it has no authority to force people to do turn in their old Servel's, it does have the authority to force the company that ended up with Servel's corporate liabilities as the result of a purchase in 1969 to pay for the recall (unbelievable, huh?). This company, Gould, Inc., of Eastlake, Ohio, is a maker of medical and electrical components. Though they have never made refrigerators, they are being forced by the CPSC to pay $100 plus disposal costs to anyone who has a Servel and applies for the money. To date, this government intrusion has cost Gould, Inc., over $20,000!

In Canada, where the government is even more intrustive into the lives of it's people than the one here in the USA (for now), they've made it illegal for service technicians to service or even connect them up! In fact, I'm told they are required by law there to place a big sticker on the Servel's that says something like "WARNING: THIS UNIT IS DANGEROUS - DO NOT OPERATE IT! IT MUST BE DISPOSED OF IMMEDIATELY! ", then gives info on how to dispose of it.

There is a brand new retrofit burner for the Servels that is available from Maine Gas Refrigerator that eliminates the problems the CPSC has with the original burner setup, so destruction is really not necessary, in my opinion.

In my opinion, it's all a load of you-know-what. Those in the know say that the driving force behind all of this is a company called Dometic, who makes gas-powered refrigerators, and, when an old Servel is destroyed, they have a good chance of getting the owner's business as he goes out looking for a new one...especially since they sell a gas-powered refrigerator with the "Servel" name on it....

Hello all,

I've created a page on my Vintage Servel Refrigerators Website that lists all of the Servel's currently available on Craigslist anywhere in the USA! I don't make any money doing this - it's purely done as a service to others out there who might want to find one to use so they can get off the grid.

The ads are listed alphabetically by state, and I've included pictures, where available, with a link to each ad. I will be updating it every 2-4 weeks, so check back often.

I hope it helps someone rescue these great machines and/or get out from under the thumb of the electric company!

Here's the link:

http://vintageservelrefrigerators.8k.com/ForSale.html

Enjoy!

- Todd