Bare bones GE Range

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I was thinking "special run" as well. It's late 60s and it looks like they tried a detached control panel support, similar to the washer/dryers.

Most all GE freestanding stoves I've seen have a one-piece stove top and control panel support so that there is an easy clean back splash with no seams.
 
It's actually not that bad looking to me either. I kind of like the simplicity of it and that backdrop of stainless steel. If it was a real budget model wouldn't it have had no oven window even around that time period,
 
I like the simplicity of this stove too. The only thing that I wouldn’t have especially liked about this stove is the pushbutton controls being on the top edge of the back panel. I think they would have been difficult for some shorter users to see and having to reach over a high pot may have been a problem at times as well.

Eddie
 
My Kind of Range

@circlew, now you know my kind of range. Luxurious on the outside, with simple systems on the inside. I'd still prefer a 60Hz synchronous motor analog clock, and push-buttons on the control panel instead of the top, but other than that I love it.
 
Basic GE electric range

Unusual model never saw one with that control panel before most had the one piece, cooktop and control panel, which which much easier to clean and I think prettier.

GE ranges were very well-made and function. Well, the only thing I didn’t like about these ranges that were not self cleaning was GE did not have much insulation in their oven door, etc.

It almost looks like the trailer is missing that came with it, lol

GE mark 27 ranges were used in many homes. There’s a large community of 1800 homes near me here in Beltsville, where that was the range in every single home, including large four-bedroom homes.

The mark 27‘s were also extensively used in retirement communities, etc. I even saw kitchens where they put two of them in very large homes so you could have two ovens.

John.
 
Looking back

Looking back to 1968, 1969 and 1970 catalogues, it appears that this style range started out as something of a 'crossover' model that blended GE and Hotpoint cabinets and features.  As I've stated before, I don't have access to a 1971 catalogue, so the first time I see this exact range is 1972.  Prior to that, it was as if GE took the Mark 27 console, extended it 3" and put it on a Hotpoint range.  Those ranges have the light switch on the oven door on the left side (always a Hotpoint feature), the oven door completely covers the cabinet (GE models had the cabinet extending to the front and the door inset between the side extensions), and there was a deeper space between the cooktop and the top of the oven door (similar to how Roper built their ranges).  Since Hotpoint didn't always use the upswept cooktop, it was easy enough to install the separate console on the range.  But by 1972 the cabinet was the customary GE version, lacking the upswept cooktop.  Incidentally, in 1973/1974 GE began to phase out their old cabinets and went to the type where the oven door was fully 30" wide and the cabinet stopped behind the door.

 

With regard to the Mark 27, rear consoles were only added (and required) after these ranges could be fitted with the P7 oven.  Until then, all controls were on the front of the range.  But the operating controls for the self-cleaning feature required room so GE added the console to accommodate, and the result was a GE range without an upswept cooktop.

 

The biggest selling feature for the Mark 27 was it's supposed compactness (eventually loosing it's 'Mark 27' badge and being marketed as a 'Spacemaker' range).  However, the truth was it really didn't save space as much as it wasted it.  Once the homebuilding industry began to use pre-manufactured cabinets, which were built on a 3" module) these ranges still required 30" of space in order to align wall and base cabinets.  They would require a 1-1/2" wide filler on each side of the range to make up the difference.  Also, not only did they still require the same 30" width of a conventional freestanding range, but they lacked the traditional storage drawer.  More wasted space.  When the Mark 27 was originally introduced (circa 1960) kitchen cabinets were typically built onsite or in a shop for a particular installation, and thereby didn't waste that 3", but once manufactured cabinets became the norm, a lot of the perceived value of this installation was lost.

 

lawrence
 
Lawrence is certainly correct about the space required for the Mark 27; however some cabinets did have a small drawer below. His comment about kitchen cabinets being built onsite, or to fit a particular installation, at the time this range was introduced, were much more true in the South than elsewhere. In this part of the country, steel cabinets (GE, Republic Steel, Youngstown, Geneva, etc.) had been very popular beginning after WWII (though available before), and factory made wood cabinets were becoming popular by that time.

I know several people who have or had the Mark 27, and they all like them. My neighbor V. Is on her second one since 1972. The original (P*7) had the rear console with clock and oven controls, and surface unit controls on the hood. The present one has all controls integral. A friend of the family got one in the early 60's that had the oven controls on the front, and surface unit controls wall mounted. I think all the others either had all controls on the front, or a rear console as mentioned for self clean models. An optional backsplash was available for units that had controls mounted elsewhere.
 
Installing a mark 27GE drop in range

These are never installed in a cabinet but rather you leave a 27 inch wide space between two cabinets. The range is not attached in anyway to the side cabinets it is supported entirely by the countertop.

It’s true you do not get a storage drawer unless you have one custom-made to match your cabinetry.

no contractor that knows what he’s doing would ever put one in a 30 inch space with filler strips on each side. I did see it done once but the guy didn’t know what he’s doing.

But no builder would do that. It’s just a waste of space and materials and defeats the whole purpose of buying a 27 inch range

John
 
John,

I disagree.  As clarification, I'm basing my comments on builder quality and multifamily properties, not custom built homes.  If a contractor purchased manufactured wood cabinets from a manufacturer, and he/she intended to install a 27" drop-in range, he/she would allow 30" width for the range; unless he/she shopped for and purchased a 27" wide range hood over said 27" drop-in range.  I think 27" hoods were available, but in most cases they would be special order.  Home builders were/are going to find 30" and 36" hoods all day long at supply houses.  A 30" hood installed over a 27" range would need a 1-1/2" adjustment on both sides of the range.  Only in the case of totally custom built kitchen cabinetry would he/she be able to have a 30" wall space centered over a 27" base space.  Manufactured cabinets are built in multiples of 3",  1-1/2 differences cannot be accommodated with the cabinetry.

 

I have included a link to a Wellborn Cabinets catalog that shows what that manufacturer offers for this situation.  It's typical of 99% of cabinet manufacturers.  The link is to page 122 and the item is RF30 (Range Front 30"), illustrated in the upper left corner of the page.  If the builder were installing a 30" drop-in, he/she would use the RB30 (Range Base 30"), also illustrated.  Both of these functions similar to a Sink Front, ILU of an actual cabinet.

In both cases, the weight of the range would be supported by the countertop.

 

 

 
Installing a mark 27 inch range

We saw many mark 27 inch ranges installed with 30 inch hoods over them. It doesn’t make any difference the wall cabinets don’t have anything to do with the base cabinets.

All you have to do as I mentioned before is leave a 27 inch space has nothing to do with the cabinets. Yes you may buy the 30 inch filler that goes below a drop in range and you saw it down to 27 inches and you’re done

I don’t think you’ve seen nearly as many of these installed as I have I’ve worked on 100s of these in the Washington area.

John
 
Installation instructions

Here is a helpful link that should help you understand the base cabinets have nothing to do with the installation of a drop in range, particularly a GE 27in range of any vintage.

 

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