This is a 1940's freezer or deep freeze that my family bought new sometime in the 1940's from the Montgomery Ward store in Great Falls Montana. It was originally equipped with a 32 Volt DC electric motor. Dad had a light plant of some kind and a bank of batteries back then that powered this machine as well as some lights and other items on the ranch. 

     The Montana Power Company ran their line by the home ranch in 1948 so this unit was upgraded to 110 Volt AC power at that time. I was born in 1952 and can not remember ever seeing the 32 Volt DC electric motor that was originally on this unit. Perhaps it was traded on the 110 Volt AC motor that is on this unit now. Perhaps the thermostat was changed out when this unit was upgraded to AC power. 

     This unit was in the basement of the ranch house until we moved the house in 1976. The alkali salts in the soil had destroyed the concrete basement walls so we built a new basement north of the house, rotated it 1/2 turn and moved it onto the new basement. Before the old basement was filled in, this unit was moved to the hay mow of the barn where it is still located today. 

     Interestingly, my family used this machine for several years before they bought their first refrigerator in 1948. The milk and other things that needed to be kept cool were stored in the basement. The advent of this freezer meant that my family no longer had to rent a locker at the local meat market and locker plant located 5 miles away in the city of Geraldine Montana. 

     I have been interested in mechanical things since an early age. I my 63 years I have been in thousands of homes, basements, shops, sheds, barns, out buildings, museums, etc. and explored many hundreds of junk piles looking for treasurers. I can not recall ever having seen another freezer or refrigerator that had a completely open or exposed refrigeration unit like this freezer has.

     The very heavy insulated metal box for this unit measures 57-1/2" wide by 29" deep and 32" high outside. The inside dimensions of the box are 49" inches wide by 20" deep and 27" high.  The cubic capacity of the inside of the box would be approximately 15.3 cubic feet. Please note that the Copeland tag on the refrigeration unit says that it requires 2 pounds of Methyl Chloride as a refrigerant. Please help decode the serial number on the plate to help date this unit if you possibly can.  

     Dad removed the screws that hold the back of the hinges to the back of the box when we quite using this unit sometime in the later 1960's. He hid the lid behind this machine so that no children could become trapped in it. Please note the 1" pipe cap on the pipe that protrudes from the bottom of the right side of the box. That pipe cap covers a pipe that drains the inside of the box.   

     It appears that the interior of the box and all sides of the lid were built from galvanized sheet steel material. It appears that the rest of the outside of the box was built from cold rolled steel sheet material that was painted gray. Through the years, the gray paint has become thin and very light surface rust is present on about half of the exterior of this machine.

     It looks as if the thermostat located on the top of the right front corner of the box controls the compressor motor directly without a relay to handle the inductive load of the motor. Perhaps this may be why the thermostat appears to have been replaced many years ago. The white cylinder that is now a bit rusty that is located in front of the black receiver/dryer was no doubt added at a later date. Perhaps it is another dryer?

     This machine has not been used for nearly 50 years. I have no intention of trying to see if it will still work or not and will leave that task to the new owner. The compressor and motor still turn over by hand. I assume the refrigerant has long since leaked out of this system since the compressor and motor are not enclosed inside the system as it is on newer refrigeration systems.

     This freezer can stay here in the hay mow of the barn for several years if need be if you or a friend are planning a trip to beautiful Montana sometime in the future. I have a lot of friends why travel throughout the country that may be able to safely and economically deliver this to you depending on where you live and how soon you want it. 

     I have no idea what a fair price for the gem might be so I have listed it here for $1,995 and will consider offers. As I receive offers, I will post them here for you to see. Please contact me to tell me anything you can about this early freezer. Thanks a lot, Bob Woodburn in Bozeman Montana USA