Frigidaire dble range. i.d.?

[sel8207]

rotary versus push button

Phil and John: I had seen on the front of the frigidaire for sale, that there were rotary, and not push button type burner controls, but did not know if they had several settings or were indeed, infinite. i.e. meaning I could have more precise control over the burner temp. The settings are probably very similar to the 1960 g.e. but the g.e. that I have does the following; There are 2 coils (say on the 6 inch), wound next to each other. Hi setting ; both coils light up full blast. Next to hi setting,the outside (longer) coil shuts off, and the coil next to it lights up full blast. (by full blast, I mean they get red) Medium setting, seems to be quite a bit lower, with neither turning red. The coils are quite thin, which might cause them to get red hot faster than the Frig's flat coil, but also that concentrated heat (red hot in a narrower area) causes the food to burn. Whereas the flatter, wider frig coil, with the same feed level setting might avoid that.(more evenly distributing the heat on the bottom of the pressure cooker. It still has a double oven though, which wins me over .thanks also for the actual operational(daily use) characteristics of this stove. thanks. Les.

 

[danemodsandy]

Suggestion:

What about going to Automatic Ephemera and buying/downloading the owner's manual for the range you're interested in? It's available at the link below. I've done this on appliances I've become interested in, and it's a great way to figure out whether you really want to live with a given make and model, or not.

The manual for your range can be purchased here:

http://www.automatice.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi?showdoc~790~Frigidaire~RA

 

[sel8207]

thanks Sandy

I just did that. For five bucks it' enlightening. thanks again. Les.

 

[danemodsandy]

You're Welcome!

Automatic Ephemera rules!

 

[mikael3]

I have purchased all the available automatice booklets for Frigidaire ranges of the 1950s.  Unfortunately, the manual for the RT-70 itself is not on the list.  I have never seen a copy of this particular manual on any of the usual sale and auction sites, either.  I’m not sure why that’s the case.  Luckily, automatice does offer the booklet for the RT-38.

 

For the record, the rotary dials on the old Frigidaires look like infinite controls, but they are not.  They click into place as you turn to each heat level.

 

[sel8207]

RT-70

John; Even though I purchased the 52 through 54 frig range owners manual @ ephemera, I read it, and realized it didn't include the RT70 model, but it did include most of the upper model features though. Thanks for the information. Les

 

[tomturbomatic]

The burned portion of food on the bottom of your Presto is not due to any fault of your GE range's "controllability," but rather to the construction of your Presto because you said it does not happen if you bring the pressure up on 2 or Medium Hi. Thicker foods might have to be brought up to pressure on lower heat to avoid scorching, but stainless steel pressure cookers with a thicker base with aluminum encapsulated in the base can spread the heat better and reduce the burned on spots. I had two Presto stainless steel cookers, the one from the 60s with the carbon steel core and the very curvy or rippled base and the design introduced in the late 70s which was just as bad at scorching food, and not just thick foods, when the pressure was brought up on High. The cookers made by Kuhn Rikon and WMF, because of their better bases, do not have the problem that the Presto has. Also, their bases remain flat at cooking pressure which is not the case with the lighter-weight cookers so a lower cooking heat can be used to maintain the cooking pressure since more of the cooker's base is in contact with the surface unit.

As to the hold over heat of the Radiantubes, I learned to switch the heat to the lower setting at the first sign that something was coming to a boil or before the pressure was reached and then I set the timer for maybe 3 to 5 minutes less than the cooking time called for so that I switched off the unit when the timer signaled and used the retained heat of the unit to finish the cooking operation. All of my older electric range manuals and cooking guidelines emphasize the economy of cooking with the stored heat and that has been the way I have approached electric cooking on any brand of range except for the induction units. As Mikael says, the things you usually cook, you learn how long they will need to come up to cooking heat and you quickly learn with electric cooking not to leave ANYTHING unattended over High heat. [this post was last edited: 2/1/2015-18:35]

 

[sel8207]

thin walled stainless

Tom: I was thinking the exact thing, that is, I've only had this problem with the g.e. burner on this stainless thin walled pressure cooker, never on heavier clad cooking pans, etc. I have seen the aluminum ones that are heavier clad, but am not a fan of the aluminum being in contact with the food. IMO that's not a health plan. But I've never heard of a stainless pan with aluminum encapsulated in the bottom of it. It would seem that that would distribute the heat more evenly and lessen the chance of burning. I am going to look up Kuhn Rikon and WMF to see what shows up for sale. I bought this pressure cooker cheap, intent on learning how to cook more, instead of all that restaurant food. The problem with the small beans that burn, if you get one little scorch mark on the bottom of the pan, it taints the whole pot with that burnt taste. Thanks also for the information on the radiantubes. I may end up getting that stove or something very similiar to it. Much appreciation. Les.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I have read that if you scorch something you are cooking, if you put a wooden clothespin in the food and let it simmer for a while that the scorched flavor will be absorbed by the wood. I don't know if this works or not.

You are to be commended for wanting to learn to use a pressure cooker to prepare nutritious meals. I wish you success with a well constructed pan. In the meantime, if you will use lower heat to bring the pan up to pressure, while it sort of negates the speed of pressure cooking, it will help the performance of the Presto. It is adequate with vegetables in water and most anything that you cook on the rack where there is not a problem with bringing the pressure up over high heat so don't think that you have to get rid of it when you find a better pan.