Natural Gas Refrigerator/Freezers

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I am interested in replacing our refrigerator with one run on natural gas. I would like to know of any experiences you may have had with them. I am interested in a high efficiency ventless type in particular. I am not in a hurry to purchase, which is probably a good thing since I hear there are waiting lists. Our old electric one is starting to make noises on occassion, so I wanted to be prepared. Especially financially. There isn't a market here in used gas appliances, unfortunately, so we would have to purchase one new.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@hotmail.com), March 02, 2000

Answers

You have a couple of choices. Old Servel refrigerators were made in LP and natural gas models, and fuel source could be switched with a few minor part changes. They are only available on the used market. Many dealers of alternative energy equipment will offer new Servel and other brands of Lp or natural gas refrigerators and freezers. backwoodssolar.com is one place to get info. They sell the current Servel propane (LP) model, but it will give you an idea of what is available.

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), March 02, 2000.

I don't own a gas refrigerator, but I've done a lot of research on them for the same reason you are (the old one was ready to die). Bases on what I found out, they are not a cheaper way to go. The cost of a new one is very high, the cost of running one is more than an electric model and finding someone who fixes one if something goes wrong will cost you an arm and a leg. Unless you are off the grid or have a lot of power outages in your area, you might want to invest in a super efficent electric one. Take a look at the ones with the (heat producing) compressor on top.

-- Peggy (adkinsonthefarm@hotmail.com), March 02, 2000.

I have had both, old servels and new. If you are running on natural gas it should be cheap enough but any more LPG has gotten spendy. My last unit from Lehman's ran about 2.5- 3.0 gallons a week in the summer, at $1.25 per gallon of LPG. At the time electricity was .14 cents per KW. where I live now LPG is $1.70+ per gal. but electricity is less than 5 cent per KW. Keep in mind that the size is small campared to an electric model, 8- 10 cu. ft.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), March 02, 2000.

You can buy new gas refr from Lehmans - yes, they are small - 7-8 cu. ft. Around $1149.00 They are propane only these days. We went round and round with Lehmans about it. As recently as last year they would convert them to natural gas for you. Now, probably because of liability issues, they will not sell you the kit or tell you where to get it or how to do it. No matter how much we pleaded.

They have an entire building in the back, however, full of used natural gas refrigerators for sale. They have been repaired and reconditioned, and they will sell them to you. The used ones start around $700.00. They told us that mostly it was the compressors that had gone bad and they had been traded in on new ones.

They told us that the varying richness of the natural gas is why they do not always burn efficiently and make some carbon monoxide.

We were determined to have one, because we have our own gas well. We couldn't come to terms with paying so much for a used one and a new one was worthless to us if it wasn't converted to natural gas. We simply lucked out and stumbled on to a couple of used natural gas refr. close to home and sanded them and painted them up. and they look real nice.

We were not willing to gamble with the carbon monoxide issue, but we solved that with an outside summer kitchen. I spoke to an Amish woman who had two natural gas refr. in her house. They accepted the Carbon monoxide issue. She said she is sick most of the winter and her hair falls out, because the house is closed up and the refr. emit the CM. She said she gets better in the spring when they open up the house. Seemed a bit irresponsible to me, to accept it that way, but we each must decide what is best for us. We wouldn't go for that here. Summer kitchen makes more sense.

-- homestead2 (homestead@monroecty.net), March 02, 2000.


I am totally out of my element here, and know just about nothing about this topic. However, the subject interests me as well.

Is there an RV or motor home type of arrangement that could be used? I have thought about getting a small refrigerator that would run on propane and it seems to me that this was an alternative. I heard you could buy them at used RV places, and hook them up to propane....? I was thinking for emergency times more or less...you know when the power goes out for days...

Could you folks with the expertise perhaps share anything you know about this, as well?

Thank you.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), March 02, 2000.



We had a travel trailer we used for a summer before we got our first place ready to live in. It had a small but very useful refrig. and little top freezer that ran on either electric or propane. It was easy to switch from one to the other. So I know they are out there- somewhere. The frig was about the size that is sold for dorm rooms, etc. and it worked very well.

-- Peg (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), March 02, 2000.

I don't have but a minute before I have to run, but I'll tell you what I can in the alloted time.

I had an old servel I bought for $50, 25 years ago. I loved it, but it was a bit spendy to operate. It used five gallons of propane every 13 days, winter, summer, spring and fall. Religiously.

When I bought it, it had a natural gas orifice; I had to change that to a different one. The propane place did it for me, and it only cost a couple of bucks (back then)

There is NO COMPRESSOR in a gas refrig, as far as I know. Certainly mine had none. That's the big advantage. There are NO MOVING PARTS, except for the "thermocouple", which is the safety gizmo which keeps the pilot light going when you have heated it up. This is accomplished by holding a button, lighting a little flame thingybob, and holding the button down for a minute or two, until the thermocouple gets hot enough too keep the pilot lit.

The thermocouple on mine didn't work right. I held the button down for five or ten minutes, and when I released it, the pilot light would go out. A new one was more money than I could afford at the time (I was on a nearly zero dollar budget). I figured out that I could heat it up enough by putting my propane torch to it (the one I was using to solder pipes) Worked like a charm for the whole time I used it.

Since there are no moving parts, once the thing's lit, the only thing that can go wrong is either a leak, or to have the fridge out of plumb.

The Servel was the quietest thing you could imagine. It seemed to be totally silent, but after a few months, I noticed that if I was up late at night, with no one else up, and no radio going, I could just barely hear it when I stood next to it. Just a faint sound of the ammonia/water solution flowing through the coils, I think.

I never thought about the CO thing. If I were considering one today, I'd check it out. It's hard to believe someone would really knowingly make themselves sick using something they knew was giving off such a level of CO. I never had any trouble, for what it's worth. If the thing is working properly, it shouldn't be any different than a gas stove, I wouldn't think.

If you want a gas fridge, I'd try to get at least a short guarantee on a used one. If it works, it will likely work for the rest of your life. There's simply not that much to go wrong.

I have never even looked at this site, but I have a friend who buys all kinds of stuff at ebay.com. He tells me you can find almost anything there.

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), March 02, 2000.


We used a Servel on LP for 10 years or so, and replaced it with a 12 volt DC Sunfrost when they became available. Our servel was Natural gas and required a new turbulator and orifice to convert to LP. We were lucky and found a retired repairman locally (where we lived then) who at one time worked in New York City where sometimes entire apartment complexes had Servel refrigerators on natural gas. He did nothing but work on thousands of Servels at that job. The caron monoxide problem with them is usually due to lack of cleaning the flue in the unit, which should be done annually at least, or could also be due to improper burner adjustment. We thought that ours did a good job, and we used a 100 pound LP cylinder every 6 weeks for the refrigerator and our kitchen range, and we heated most of our water for baths and dishes on the kitchen range when the wood stove wasn't in use. I always thought that $25 to $150 for a usable Servel refrigerator was a fair price.

-- vw65 (jiminwis@yahoo.com), March 03, 2000.

Thanks for all the thoughtful answers. I have free natural gas here so the cost of running it wasn't as high on the list as other considerations. The carbon monoxide issue is why I would prefer a new one, since they would presumably meet today's standards. I read a Consumer Reports re: the high efficiency Sunfrost and it did not rate well at all, this was a few years back. In fact, the report made it sound like a really false promise of high efficiency. I don't know what we will do, but I know I won't go with propane. I don't have any other use for that type of fuel, so it wouldn't make sense.

Thanks again for all the helpful replies.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@hotmail.com), March 03, 2000.


I remember that Consumer Reports article on the Sunfrost. I have found that I seldom agree with Consumer Reports if I have any personal knowledge of what they are reporting on, and that is the case with the Sunfrost. Ours runs on 4- 30 watt PV panels, and doesn't use all the panel output most of the year, especially now that the boys are older and don't stand with the refrig door open like they did when they were younger.

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), March 06, 2000.


I've had a Sibir ice box running for 11 years now. Converted to natural gas, although I don't know exactly what they converted. I keep a backup 5 gallon bottle of propane out behind the house for the two times (on average) a year the gas is shut off. My Sibir runs fine off of ng or propane. After using propane, I have to clean the burner tube, a 2 minute job. My Sibir didn't have a manual, so I just hooked it up and it just kept working and working. About two years ago, it stopped freezing properly, so I got on the Sibir internet site and downloaded the service manual. Told me several things to do, but none worked. After trial and error, I found that if you turned off the gas, and shut down the system completely until everything cooled down, that it would solve all the freezing proplems. It would really get cold, my thermometer wouldn't go below 0 degrees. Since then, I turn it off about every three months when defrosting, and it stays healthy. If I turn on all the gas lights, start the woodstove, and stay in the house all day, I notice the carbon monoxide. I crack an upstairs window and a downstairs window in the kitchen, and I don't notice the problem.

Yes, they are expensive, between 1000 to 1200 dollars, but theirs nothing to break down. If you've got free natural gas like I do, and no electricity from the grid, it's the only way to go. I love my Sibir, wish I had two (they are on the small side 8 c.f.).

-- phil briggs (phillipbriggs@thenett.com), March 06, 2000.


Greetings Anne (HealthyTouch101@hotmail.com) I read your note re Servel Refrigerators. These are becoming rare, there was an alert a few years ago and thousands were destroyed. Owners frequently tamper with the flame adjustment without an instruction manual. Few manuals exist anymore. This tampering results in improper flame, and by products. With proper adjustment and a carbon monoxide detector, I feel quite comfortable with the Servel in my kitchen pantry. I appreciate the technology, so buy and re-adjust the burner and recharge them and recycle them to someone who needs and appreciates them. I feel good saveing one from the salvage yard. Currently I have two extra reconditioned models that someday I will place in a good home. I am not a dealer or anything like that. Glad to read notes from people like you wanting a unit. Stan

-- Stan Carpenter (sac1209@aol.com), April 22, 2001.

Stan, I have a new address.....thanks for your reply! My current fridge is still working, which is great considering the other current drains on our budget. I will certainly consider these alternatives when mine is no longer servicable.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), April 22, 2001.

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