Remembering Servel Refrigerators

This insignia appeared on the door of these fridges when I was a kid. My Dad marveled over them, often talking of them, though we never had one. TV advertising was something new, and Servel ads appeared often; we looked at them when my mother decided it was time to raid her savings, dough left over each week not spent for necessities. We bought a new conventional refrigerator.

The Servel used a proprietary system containing NO MOVING PARTS! No compressor, no "refrigerant" (which later went on to cause global atmospheric disruption, freon), no electricity required. They were therefore usable anywhere HEAT could be produced, by any means. Since natural gas had become supremely popular following WW-II, it of course was generally used in the home. In rural areas, bottled propane was another option; many burned kerosene. Even firewood would work (requiring venting of the smoke).

Servel was a spinoff division of the huge Swedish company Electrolux. They had purchased patent rights to the gas refrigeration system. Those U.S. patents had been issued to Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard before WW-II began.





Do any of you remember these? They disappeared from the public eye in the late 50s, supposedly as a result of heavy negative influencing by the "compressor guys".

Frank

 

Yep, we have one until about 1966. It used propane.

 

We had them in the 50s and early 60s, but replaced them for reasons I do not know. I recall being puzzled by the fact that the little flame could cool the refrigerator. My dad, the mechanical engineer, understood them and I think he tried to explain them to me, but he died, and we moved and bought different appliances.

 

No, we didn’t have such a thing when I was a kid but I do remember the ice man delivering ice.
And yes, I remember the name but no, we went directly to the conventional refrigeration sometime when I was between 4 - 5 years old.

 

One thing most interesting about the Servels was the tiny flame needed to provide maximum cooling effect. A tank of propane lasted for several months when we employed one while living in Northern Arizona in a cabin with no power, water, or phone.

Here is an image of an old Servel burner showing the size of flame typical:

 

I’m not 100% sure but I think it might have been Iowa. We moved a lot.

 

If you remember the Servel refrigerator, then you must also remember the Maytag Engine-Driven Washing Machine.

Hundreds of them were converted into motor scooters after they were replaced.

Hal

 

Hal’s machine driven washing machine.


Dunno if this is what Hal was writing about but it seems that Maytag built motorized bicycles as well called the Maytag Flyer.
i tried to post a video but it was listed as unavailable when I copied and pasted the link here.

 

I don't remember it but was told we had one in our house in Chicago. There was a terrible smell, one day, and my dad called a repairman. He told my dad to GET IT OUT because it could be a gas leak. So my dad, on crutches, got it out onto the airing porch, only to find a banana cream pie had fallen behind it in the kitchen to cause the smell.

 

The picture would not come through - but old Coldspot is what we had.

 

(That isn't a well-represented picture of a Maytag.)