1963 GM Frigidaire Custom Imperial......cannot find owners manual online

[dirtcheap74]

Bought a house with a wall unit, double oven. It works great except the clock only runs for about 8 mins. then stops. I have looked online for an owners manual to figure out the cookmaster feature and the how the broiler knob works, but I cannot find anything.

Its a 1963 model I believe as the house was built in 63. The model number is:

RBF - 99

Few questions.

1.The bottom elements seem to be loose and lift easy. Is that normal?

2.The light in the top oven is burned out. It looks like a wire holding a glass cover over the blub. Do I just move the wire and remove the glass housing? Standard bulb?

3.It preheats super fast. That's great. It also seems to get very hot at the top. Is that normal? So hot there is some delamination? behind the glass control panel.

4. The clock will only stay running for about 10 mins. Then the second hand stops. I can hear something ticking in there, but no movement unless I set the clock again with the middle knob. Any way to fix this?

5. Speaking of the knobs below clock. The timer does not count down, maybe related to the clock not working?

6. Oven lights do not stay on when cooking. They seem to come back on and turn off. Is it regulating temp and only turn on when element is heating?

7. What does the broiler knob do exactly? Is it just a temp knob but only when in broiler mode or does it have something to do with the meat thermometer, which is still new in the bag, never been used?

It seems like it has many features that modern ovens do not have. It needs a decent cleaning inside but I am a little afraid of moving anything as I know its old and probably has some fragile wiring/parts/connections.

I have looked all over the web for some sort of manual but I can only find the "flair" model but nothing on the wall units. Any tips on the oven or a link to a manual would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations on your new house and appliances

The Bake light cycles with the bake element; on to show it is heating and off to show that the selected temperature has been reached.

The Broil light glows steadily at the full broil heat setting which is the Rare setting on the Broiler Grill dial. The Broiler Grill control was an infinite switch for the broil element in the upper oven. It was for use with the original Radiant Wall Broiler Pan which is probably long gone. It enabled the user to vary the itensity of the heat to broil everything at one distance from the broiler; nice, but not necessary. Frigidaire ovens had a very powerful broiler.

The clock probably needs to be cleaned and lubricated. The clock not working would affect the minute timer as well as the Cookmaster that you can set to turn the oven on and off when you are not there. Those are the Time to Stop and Hours to Cook dials.

 

[turquoisedude]

Bottom oven elements

Welcome and congratulations on acquiring the house and vintage Frigidaire oven.  

 

The bottom element is intended to be flexible in order to clean underneath but please do be careful not to bend it up too sharply.  Earlier ovens had a removable element; it is possible that yours is not original to the oven. 

 

[combo52]

1963 FD Wall Oven

In addition to Toms good advice, the manuals you are finding for the Flair model ranges will tell you have this oven operates, cleaning procedures etc will differ however.

 

The clock may just need cleaning and lubrication or may need to be taken out for rebuilding this can be costly and hard to find someone who will do this, since the clock does not affect normal baking and broiling most people don't brother.

 

John 

 

[dirtcheap74]

Thank you all for your quick replies. It would seem this oven is full of surprises. It would seem I have to pull the oven out just to clean and lubricate the clock so while having the minute timer to use would be great, I agree it would not be worth the risk.

Would still appreciate any other tips or tricks when dealing with the stove or general advice.

Its amazing so many people know about these old appliances. I had no idea, but it great to know people are still trying to keep them working.

 

[turquoisedude]

Other information

For the oven light bulb, you are correct, just gently move the wire aside and remove the glass lens.  I recommend a 'appliance' bulb which you should be able to find at most hardware stores.  

 

You mention that the oven gets very hot at the top - would that be directly above the oven door?  That's common on older wall ovens as long as it doesn't get too hot to touch.  Frigidaire ovens do tend to circulate hot air into the control panel area - I've got a 62 Flair that gets condensation from baking sometimes.  

 

[sarahperdue]

Custom Imperial

Congratulations! Beautiful ovens. I have a similar model in Turquoise with French doors.

Have you checked Automatic Ephemera--that may seem like an obvious suggestion, but just checking. I know Robert has some of the Frigidaire tech talk manuals there.

Sarah