1956 General Electric High Thinline Air Conditioner GE

[@jeffsmith846]

I remember these thin lines in Oklahoma. Because they were thin, they were also very tall and filled the bottom half of the window. I got a photo of one of these about two years ago at a community center in a very small town in Alabama. This is when GE still cared about quality.

[@jameswright8948]

Indeed - no side vents meant they could easily be installed either in windows but also through walls where side clearance was an issue. Great units!

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

@@jameswright8948 there was even a wall sleeve available for such installations. Its a wonder why most people didnt just get the right stuff.

[@stevegordon5243]

So glad you are refurbishing and saving these great old units from the scrap yard. I remember seeing them on the occasional times we would get to stay at a mom and pop motel on our annual vacation to see my mother's family in Oklahoma back in the 70's

[@johncantwell8216]

According to the service manual, the two sliding controls are mechanically interlocked to prevent Exhaust or Vent from being selected on the left control while the right control is set in the cooling range (on a numbered position), and to prevent a cooling setting to be selected while in Vent or Exhaust mode (must be set to Fan for Vent or Exhaust).

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

That is freakin awesome. The engineering behind these are impeccable

[@willthetrill4849]

Thank god the person who flips houses found your channel and contacted you about this unit!! This is why this interest is important. a couple guys thought twice before they were gonna scrap it. Another 50's unit saved!!

[@vacexpert2020]

I'm trying to get my hands on a kinda rare Wards casement unit from my old house, the 14K modern Frigidaire would be a bonus as it's actually a decent unit and Would be good to have if my central goes out, big house takes several units with massive cahones to cool the dining room alone takes a 24,000btu 208/230 modern GE and the living room additionally takes a 12,800btu R22 kelvinator with an AK recip to cool the kitchen needs a similar size unit which is where the Frigidaire would come in, and each bedroom needs a 6500btu unit minimum, gotta love plaster walls and an attic full of blown in

[@ThejasonJaw5442]

1956 a time air conditioning was a luxury item, like the vintage units

[@Darrell1981]

Haven't seen one since I was 15 and even back then it was vintage. Excellent unit.

[@johncantwell8216]

The service manual for the 1957 version (52P) lists the BTU capacity at 7700. This one is probably about the same. Th weight for this model is listed as 147 lbs.; the 1-1/2 HP 13,350 BTU unit with the second condenser weighs 184 lbs.

[@johncantwell8216]

A 1960 issue of Consumer Reports which covered 230-volt air conditioners listed the GE Hi Thinline model R271 (11,000 BTU) as the best unit (if the location was suitable for the unusual height of this machine). They also rated the Fedders Weather Wheel and the Westinghouse unit quite highly.

[@sergioomar9090]

Beautiful!

[@kenb1918]

Yea it’s really sunny and nice over that way as well...

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

😂😂😂

[@petermaz701]

What a nice vintage unit I always remember seeing those when I was young, they were so tall and took up a lot of vertical space but not deep. Isn’t it something how quiet they were back then yes I know the fan was hitting something but definitely quiet.

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

Fan problem was a very easy fix, shes very quiet now!

[@angrodNumenesse]

The chemical refrigerant is listed out of order but ch is from methane, cl is chlorine and f2 is two flourines. Rearrange and you get chlorodiflouromethane, aka r22. Also, the compressor is three quarter horsepower (typically around 8k btu), not 3 horse :P Nice find though! I see why the meet might be 50's themed with all these super old units showing up!

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

Did i actually say 3 hp? 😂😂😂 long day man. This meet is definitely 50’s themed. I called it! Haha!! Someone needs to get ahold of that guy from NJ with that Vornado

[@bobobobo3142]

our brand new acs don't last a decade and this one is from 1956.

[@jasonreis9705]

I'm picking up a GE Fashionette model AGKE50 at the end of this week. I have pics but don't know yet how to add them to comments.

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

Idk if you can but id love to see the video when you get it! Excellent units

[@jameswright8948]

Makes me miss mine!! CHClF2 is indeed R-22. Probably built before refrigerants were classified by their "R-XX" numbers but that's just a guess.

[@jeffhagberg6796]

One thing about it , they don't make them like that anymore. I had a old 50s AC , a man gave me in Virginia. I used it till the late 80s and someone needed it and I gave it to them . I think it was a 10k BTU.

[@oimissed1292]

How does it come out of the case mine is in the wall

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

Its fixed chassis, the unit is mounted in one piece. Take the trim off the inside and cut the caulking and work it out. It was a pain to get this one out.

[@oimissed1292]

@@TheAirConditionerGuy thanks

[@CG-1000-T]

That fan sounds like it has had enough from many years of moving air.

[@psilocybemusashi]

r-22. back then it wasn't r-22

[@BrainHolder]

Copying this from an older video in case you don't check the comments there: Just discovered your channel by sheer luck! I have a 20,000 BTU Emerson Quiet Kool wall AC from the late 80s. Likewise, I'm very sentimental about it. It seems the fan motor is shot, and it needs a couple new fan blades and a drip pan. Everything else seems in working order. I'm really desperate to get this baby fixed, but none of the typical HVAC/appliance places will deal with it beyond diagnosis. Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! I'm in Eastern PA near Allentown. I see you're in PA as well from another one of your videos? Please let me know if and how I might contact you directly. Thanks in advance!

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

Hi Brian! I am in Pottsville, about 45 minutes from Allentown. Best thing to do is make a video on it and show me all thats wrong, then we can go from there. Im assuming the drip pan is the base pan? The later ones rot pretty bad from the rust but sometimes can be saved. Whats wrong with the blades? Id like to know exactly what the motor is doing as it can be as simple as the capacitor. Hope i can help!

[@BrainHolder]

@@TheAirConditionerGuy Thanks for the reply! Yeah, the base pan and fan blades are rusted out. The fan motor has a problem with the bearing. I'll work on getting a video made for you. How should I send it?

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

@@BrainHolder upload it to your youtube page

[@BrainHolder]

@@TheAirConditionerGuy Hello again. Hope you had a great holiday! I've made several failed attempts at getting a worthwhile video for you. I honestly have no idea how the guy who did the diagnosis was able to see what all was wrong without disassembling the unit more than he did... something I don't really feel comfortable doing myself. Given our relative proximity, is there any chance you'd be willing to at least look at the unit or know someone around here who would be willing to fix it? I'm more than willing to compensate you (or anyone) for any time spent helping me out here. I really can't overstate my commitment to keeping this unit alive if at all possible. Don't really care what it takes. I'm sure you can understand haha. Anyway, thanks in advance for whatever help/advice you can provide!

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

@@BrainHolder you’re in Allentown area, correct?

[@hooverlondon]

They work good back in the day, but god ugly looking a.c lol, 50's style

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

I use to think that too, but the GE units grew on me. 1960’s imo were the best all around.

[@hooverlondon]

@@TheAirConditionerGuy EQK are nice looking i must say, like the one in your livingroom

[@TheAirConditionerGuy]

@@hooverlondon absolutely. The best imo, that and the weather wheels

[@DRNEGOLICIS]

Better looking than anything now