Antique Gas stove.. Here we go again? Need all the info I can get!

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dustin92

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
1,215
Location
Jackson, MI
After a failed/given up/lost attempt at resurrecting a vintage/antique stove a few years ago, here we are again, maybe giving it another chance: Back story is, we are renting our finished basement apartment to friends, current modern stove has multiple issues including a non working oven. Need to replace relatively soon. I'm all for going vintage over modern, this is the 2nd modern stove in 6 years.
Friend sent me this listing, said she loves it and would like this one if possible. She said she would be willing to help me fix it up a little if needed (I'm seeing drawers that need repainted) and a couple touch ups and a cleaning. Already warned of standing pilot lights and we do have a carbon monoxide detector.
I contacted the seller and he said he believes it to be in working condition, and I'm posting the pictures from the ad with his permission. It is not missing a burner, it just shifted to the side (I'm assuming they just rest in place like the other stove I once worked on) but the knob is missing (ebay?) Anything I should know or look for before I go look at it tomorrow? I feel like I have more faith in this old tech over the new stuff (both ovens just randomly refused to light and started releasing gas into the house), but if this is a totally horrid idea, please speak up! I'd go electric if it was an option but there is no 240v to that part of the house, and it would require drilling through concrete to install 240v, sadly.

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I'm not trying to sound insensitive, but the house was built in 1950 and much of it is original, so code probably isn't much of a concern- also it is not *technically* a seperate house, heating system is combined, we don't have seperate utilities etc.. Just a couple about my age living in a space that happens to be an apartment. We have a carbon monoxide alarm and several working smoke detectors, and 2 ways out of each bedroom.

This stove would have a match lit oven, like light each time? I was expecting standing pilots for top and oven. I'm sure we could live with it as long as it's not a huge safety issue (not like the modern stove releasing unmetered amounts of unlit natural gas into the house when it failed to light, safety features and all..) Not sure how that thing didn't launch sky high.. I could smell gas upstairs, walked down to a cold oven releasing gas and the ignitor glowing away but no signs of ignition.. Have been too paranoid to even try it again!
 
I think you would be better off with a vintage stove that has been in regular use or has only been recently retired.  The subject stove appears to have been out of service for a while.  That to me spells leak potential.  You could be chasing down leaks and unclogging pilot light emitters and related tubing, not to mention burner valves that would likely need repacking. 

 

Speaking for myself, that stove is more vintage than I'd want to deal with, and I would be wary of the thermostat being accurate if even functional. 

 

Just my $.02
 
Should I Get This Old Gas Stove

What Ralph said in reply #3, 

 

This range is too old and in too poor condition.

 

It is probably a match light oven, with a MLO the gas is turned on and the full amount is flowing so you need to have a lit match in hand when you turn it on, I know of two cases where the customer was distracted and blew up the kitchen trying to use this type of oven.

 

In most areas of the country it is against code to reinstall this type of oven, if you do it you will probably void your home-owners insurance if there is a problem.

 

Decent used gas ranges are a dime a dozen and if you want you can get many that do not have a computer for the oven control, I would get one that does not have constant burning pilots unless you want to add $6.00 or more to your gas bill and even more in the summer if the area with the range is air conditioned.

 

John L.
 
Again.. We're good friends and they are more or less just living in half our house.. No rental agreement, just a set amount per month that includes all necessary amenities. We have our space and they have theirs, but we are only seperated by a door that we never lock. We couldn't get it inspected as a rental property if we wanted to, but it is safe and clean and we're all happy with the current situation. Full kitchen, laundry, bathroom, living room and 2 bedrooms. I would post pictures of the intended space but I feel like I'd be incriminated for code violations.. Again.. 3 working smoke detectors in a space that only requires one, working carbon monoxide alarm, plenty of escape routes.
I am going to look at the stove around 6, just to see what I'm working with or if I'm getting in over my head, in that case I'll politely decline and move on. If it's in halfway decent condition I may move forward with it (If I can find someone to haul it, we no longer own a truck) I want to make sure there's no severe rust, rusted out or missing parts etc, knobs turn freely, nothing broken.
 
If you are going to be receiving rental income from people not your family, I would refer you to the Golden Girls episode dealing with this. If it is income that you do not report, you could be in a situation, unless you accept payment in cash to possibly get around it.
 
Rental terms aside, I went and looked at the stove tonight (if anyone is interested in the stove?) And it is very solid- yes some surface rust in the drawers, very little in the oven, all knobs and controls do turn. Seller said he got it from a barn so it had been inside, except for the last 2 weeks since he put it up for sale. Has one pilot light for the top, and appears to have one in the oven. Oven burner is large and heavy.. Also solid. Doors/drawers open and close. Looks very simple to work on if needed. Seller said he personally hasn't used it. Aside from an inaccurate thermostat, what am I looking at for possible issues? What about the burner valves? I can obviously do a serious leak check when we connect it for the first time (could I leak check with compressed air before using the gas supply?) I'm pretty sure I can get it for $75 delivered, so have a little cushion for cleaning and repairs. We already know it's not going to be ready for Thanksgiving dinner, and we have a place to work on it and clean/repair/repaint. I told the seller I would post here and get back to him.
 
You can’t fix stupid 🤷🏼‍♂&#65039

Friends or not.

You are charging rent to people. And this comes with responsibilities regardless of it being a formal contract or not.

Moral responsibility.

Even if you were letting them live there for free you have some responsibility for their safety and also the safety of their possessions.

Fire alarms and carbon monoxide alarms fail. Period.

Accidents happen. Period.

Escape routes may be plenty, are you offering to stay in the building to get ALL of their possessions out during a fire or gas explosion simply because you want to install a gas stove for your own personal kicks?

No I thought not.

A simple modern stove is all that is required with modern safety features.
 
I think I'm done here.. Not sure how the topic switched from a vintage appliance to our rental terms, but it's honestly none of anyone's business. We have been renting under the same terms for 5+ years.
Second, although I support it, I'm only looking at the stove because I was asked to, I got a text from my friend/tenant with a link to the ad and "can we get this one?" I've gotten no meaningful answers to my questions because apparently a new stove is the way to go and we don't support vintage here. Not to say a modern stove with it's safety features didn't almost blow up the house the other month. Modern safety features can and do fail, and with common sense I was hoping to live without them. We don't support trying to repair and restore vintage appliances here, (this isn't the first time I've been told not to purchase a Vintage appliance here) So I'll go spend $300 on a stove that won't last 5 years (we're already on #3) and probably take a nice, long, if not permanent break from the drama here. FB vultures it's located about 15 minutes north of Jackson MI if you want to buy out from under me! With any luck it will get hoarded in a warehouse somewhere never to see the light of day again, maybe It will end up as a couple new Kia's or sitting on someone's lawn as an ornament until it rusts away. Congrats.
 
I thought my reply was quite meaningful and provided some common sense advice that would prevent you from falling into a bottomless rabbit hole.

 

I understand your perspective, as I can be quite stubborn and determined about a given project when others see it as a lost cause, but I wouldn't touch the stove you're considering.  IMO it's a monumental undertaking that will only snowball and wear you down.  That stove is best viewed as a prop or display piece.  I don't think it's safe anymore.  But, it's your choice to attempt to prove me and others here wrong.

 

I do emphatically agree that modern stoves are garbage.  I have no use for touchpads and digital controls.  Give me a knob to crank-and-go any day.  I am quite disciplined and don't need a goddamned cell phone to prompt me when to do things.  Plain and simple is more efficient.  I loved our 2008 Electrolux ICON range.  It didn't even have a timer on it, except for an integral one for the self-clean cycle.  Crazy as it may sound, these days you have to pay big, high-end bucks for a simple stove.  Apparently market research shows that the average housewife loves the shiny bling of digital displays and endless pushing on a membrane just to get the oven to turn on. 

 

I just searched Jackson, MS. appliances on CL (because FB is evil and I want no part of it).  NOTHING comes up with search term "vintage," "antique," or "older."  In my neck of the woods you'll get a page or maybe two of listings.  I'm stunned over your complete lack of options.  WTF?  People are giving away perfectly good vintage stoves in my area all the time.  I guess I live in a bubble that encompasses more than just real estate.  I feel your pain and understand why you might be going after what appears to be slim pickings, but rushing that stove into service still seems like a bad idea. 
 
Thanks Tom.  My bad.  But the CL listings for Jackson MI aren't any better -- unless you like vintage refrigerators like I do.  They're tough to find near me.
 
RP2813-

I'm sorry for the rude reply, I wasn't saying your post specifically, yours was likely the most informative one in the thread- more of what I'm asking is what would likely make it "beyond repair"? I am definitely stubborn and I'm up for the challenge of getting it back to working condition, if that can be done. I'm capable of doing maintenance, but what maintenance? If it's truly a lawn ornament, fine, but what I saw doesn't look like a lawn ornament. I don't like being told something "can't be done" because like my Dad I'm just stubborn enough to do it anyway.
 
There are antique stove restoration services that will inspect a stove and tell you it needs. IIRC there were a number of options depending on what you want/need:

- diagnosis
- bring it up to code
- rebuild: fix what's broken and leave the rest as is
- full restoration

Or any combination of the above. You could even have the plumbing completely replaced with and leave the appearance untouched.

I've moved multiple times since I looked into this so I can't tell you any more than that.

Jim
 
Dustin

there are a lot of You Tube videos on the restoration of vintage gas stoves, why not do a You Tube search on the topic?  I’ll bet you find lots of useful info and be able to determine whether or not the stove your considering is a viable candidate for restoration with daily use of the stove as the ultimate goal.

 

That being said, when I first moved out on my own and for at least the first 5 years of renting, all ten of the apartments and cottages that I lived in during ‘70 thru ‘75 had very old gas stoves and/or gas space heaters some without pilot light for the burners and most required the oven to be lite with a match.  

 

And they all also had gas space heaters without thermostats, they  were either on or off.  One didn’t even have a pilot light, I had to turn on the gas and have a lit match ready to light the burner.  I couldn’t leave the heater on when I went to sleep, the apartment would get way to hot and it was dangerous.  

 

I learned quickly how to use these antique stoves and space heaters as safely as was possible.  But I was also raised in a time when gas appliances were still commonly seen without pilot lights, so I had  a healthy respect for gas and how dangerous it can be if not properly respected for the hazard posed by improper usage.

 

 I think some of the posts that caution using this vintage stove in a rental are taking into consideration that most, if not all people under 50 years old today have now idea how to safely use these vintage gas appliances.  They are only trying to prevent you from putting yourself in a potential situation for litigation and danger.

 

You may very well be able to restore this vintage gas stove so it can be used with hard work and patience.   Just be careful and good luck.

 

Eddie

[this post was last edited: 11/20/2020-18:08]
 
The stovetop looks like a nightmare to use. Are those burners all of the same size? Can you even simmer something in a small pot on them?

Not only are the burners not sealed, but there is so much space around the burner a lot of things can drop down on the oven cavity (?). As far as I can see you have to get the stovetop apart when you spoil something or when you drop something through the gaps.

I'd choose something more user friendly if you want to go vintage.
 
" ... most, if not all people under 50 years old today have now idea how to safely use these vintage gas appliances."

Good Grief! That never, in a million years, would have occurred to me!

I know I'm at the young end of knowing how to regulate heat when cooking on a wood stove and knowing how to use a manual choke. But lighting a burner? Damn, I'm old!

Thank you for the warning/need to clue in.

What other knowledge/skills are being lost simply because they're no longer of use?
 
That looks like a wedgewood stove

It looks a little too beat to put in to service anytime soon. Just by photos, only the chrome knob is the correct one. It looks like its been outside for more than a couple weeks.

If the seller states unknown's about it working or not, it definitely is in non working condition.

If you are in a hurry, buy a cheap modern stove to get by for a while and look for a better stove. They are out there.
 
I've also used gas appliances with and without pilot lights, and after the fiasco with the last modern stove, would prefer to stay away from electronic ignition. Have a lit match or lighter on hand, then carefully turn on the gas. I'm assuming it wouldn't be a common occurrence for the burner to go out once it's been lit.

The place the stove would be used is far from a "rental" it's the lower half of our house, and I'm generally down there at least a couple times per day. I feel like my friends/tenants (however that fits here) have as much common sense as I do, and with quick instructions I'm not concerned about the safety "in use".

I'm not in any particular hurry, but I need to have a working stove in a reasonable amount of time.. How likely am I to have to replace obscure, no longer available parts? Or more of just maintenance and service? I want to make this work, but not if it's got a 99% chance of being a lawn ornament in the end. I will check out YouTube tonight and see if I can find any info.
 
I think the stove top system has restoration potential since the burners are cast iron, and any tubing and fittings could be replaced if necessary.  The valves for the burner adjustments could probably be cleaned and re-packed.  The tiny pilot light emitters could be cleaned out with thin wire.

 

The thing that looks to me like a challenge is the oven thermostat.  Usually replacements have big bulky white knobs that wouldn't match, and there might be mounting issues as well.

 

If you're determined, you can certainly see this project through, but I think you need to budget plenty of time for disassembly, diagnoses and renewing of all components that require it.  You've seen the stove in person and all we have to go on is pictures, which suggest the stove hasn't been operational for a very long time.

 

I was thinking it looked like a Wedgewood, but what is that A/B logo on the left front?

 

Louis, the burners appear to be Harper "Speed and Simmer" types, which have outlets in the center that provide a low flame.  If you look closely, you can see them on the right front burner.  I had a mid 1930s "trash and gas" Wedgewood that had those same burners and it was a joy to cook on.  As for items falling through the burner openings, they should be retrievable by lifting the flat cast iron surface that the burner grates sit on, and nothing would fall into the oven, which is to the right of the stove top.  There's a flat surface below that anything that fell through would land on.  Below that are two storage drawers.
 
Ok, as far as the oven thermostat- it turns freely, and the knob below (I'm assuming the on/off for the oven?) Could be pushed in and turned. How likely is it to function to some degree? Neither I or my friends are gourmet cooks, so if it could be accurate to within a hundred degrees it would be workable..

Repacking the valves- is that something I could do if needed (and how to tell if it's needed?) I was able to lay eyes on much of the gas tubing and connections inside and it looked seemingly fine, no excessive rust that I could see, maybe minor corrosion at some fittings but I doubt it would affect functionality. Burners and their related tubing had surface rust but I imagine a good scrubbing with some steel wool or a wire brush would clear it up.

I've cleaned pilot light orifices/emitters before (on a modern stove, but I assume the procedure would be the same?) I have a set of torch tip cleaners which would do nicely.

There is the A-B logo on the front, and another tag inside a drawer that said something like A-B Robertshaw or A-B Robertshaw stove company?

My main concern would be the potential for leaks- I would rather leak check outside, but obviously we don't have a gas supply outside- could I do something with compressed air at a reduced pressure and check with soap bubbles? Then I could also check function of the gas valves with pressure before relying on them to hold back flammable gas.. Once I know I only have gas flowing to the pilot lights and not out every crack, crevice and orifice, I'd be more than comfortable installing it in the house.
 
I know I'll catch hell for saying this...

But I'd look for obvious issues and if all looks good I'd hook it up to gas and open the valve 1/4 to 1/2 way. Do a quick sniff test for any obvious gas leaks, if no smell I'd go over all the fittings with soapy water or a lit butane match. Yes, a lit match - any small leaks will generate a small flame, hard to miss. I've run a lot of gas lines over the years and once or twice the match test caught a small leak that was out of visual range. After the low pressure test I'd repeat it with the valve full open.

There are all kinds of things in our homes that could kill us, but with a modicum of care they don't.
 
I own a rental property, and when I purchased the house in 2008, it only had a hook up for a gas range. We remodeled the house, and installed a 220 electric outlet for an electric range. I furnish all the appliances for the home. I would NEVER install a gas range in a rental. I do love gas cooking, and have an antique 1937 Roberts and Mander gas range in my own home, as my only range. However, to install a gas range in a rental situation, is asking for trouble. Let alone an antique gas range, with pilot lights, and a match light oven? If you want to restore this for your own personal use, and include a shut off valve in the gas line, is fine. But for someone else to use, on a daily basis? No way! Much too dangerous.
 
Dustin has made it sound as though the situation is more like a single household with two kitchens and not so much a separate rental unit where the stove would be located.  He's on site and would be in the vicinity of the stove fairly regularly during the course of a given day.

 

While I agree that any gas stove has the potential to present dangers that an electric one wouldn't, this isn't the average rental situation and is more like a co-mingling of households.  If there were any concerns, they could be quickly addressed.

 

I'm not suggesting that this stove isn't a gamble or that there aren't some serious risks involved.  It is and there are.  Dustin feels the stove's primary users are responsible enough to see or smell when something isn't right.  Still, if the stove doesn't have basic safety features to prevent gas from flowing say, if a pilot light goes out, or one of those red reset buttons that I don't even know what they do, but they're there for a reason, then yeah, if anything happens while people are asleep, things could end badly for everybody.

 

These are factors that must be considered.  I personally wouldn't trust the subject stove unless it had those safety features and had been carefully refurbished by an expert.  If it was going to be located outdoors or on a well ventilated back porch and used on hot days or for canning, I might feel more comfortable about it.

 

The decision is Dustin's to make, and common sense is mandatory.
 
Project has been abandoned.. When I said it may take time to get into working condition, attitude changed and we need a stove yesterday. Looking for another cheapy on Craigslist and we'll go from there. Pretty disappointed but it is what it is.
 

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