G.E. Americana

[danemodsandy]

Justin:

I think your Americana range is from '63, which was, I think, when the "double-decker" 30-inch concept was introduced. John combo52 will correct me if I'm wrong.

The Americana double-decker fridge is something I don't know much about, other than it was a mid-1960s concept that appeared to use up late-'50s bits and pieces from the wall-mount fridges and the undercabinet roll-out freezers GE sold for a while there.

Shelter magazines from 1966 tend to have articles and ads for the Americana fridge you're talking about; that seems to have been the year of The Big Push for the concept.

The Americana name was moved over to the side-by-side model in, I think, 1969, when GE pioneered the concept of ice and water service in the freezer door. There was no more desirable mass-market fridge at the time.

 

[firedome]

The Americana range,

at least, was available in '62, P-7 wasn't available on it until '63 or '64, I think the latter. The turquoise Americana range and SD-402 d/w I got out of the Adirondacks last fall were both '62s. The range has the ingenious Skyview window but, alas, no P-7.

 

[roto204]

Hooray!!

I'm so glad you got this, Justin! I love the idea of an Americana showcase on the back patio! And it even matches the color of your fridge!

Now we need to find you one of those squat GE belt-driven blenders that actually fit in the counter niche under the Americana refrigerator to complete the motif. ;-)

 

[swestoyz]

Looks great Justin! You're going to love this stove. When folks come through my place they always comment on the GE. Lots of ooo's and ahh's when they see the Sky View window.

Ben

 

[danemodsandy]

Ben:

The reason everyone oohs and aahs over your Americana is because it's been forty years and more since most people have seen one in that condition!

Folks, that stove is sweet.

 

[danemodsandy]

For Justin - Americana's Beginning

Justin:

Had to pump Hell out of the Super Searchalator, but I finally found the photo I was looking for, originally posted on AW in 2009 by Will (classiccaprice).

It's a 1958 ad for a GE Refrigeration Center, which utilized the wall-mount fridge for the fridge portion, and two bottom freezer drawers sourced from the bottom-mount Combination. A few cabinet bits and pieces completed the unit.

These were very rare, because they were very expensive, and the idea died out temporarily, but as you know, GE used the concept again....

 

[combo52]

62,63 or 64 GE Americana Range

Very cool find Justin, what a great Christmas present.

This is the exact range that my former partners Mother had, she got hers in 1964 which was the first year that the Self-Cleaning P-7 oven was available in the Americana Hi-Low ranges. Michael's Mom was always sorry that she was talked into the non-self-cleaning range, the salesman gave her a choice of having a rotisserie or a SCO as the SC Americana did not have a rotisserie in the first SC model.

This range will make a great addition to your patio entertaining, can't wait to see it all setup.

The SensAtemp burner will not harm itself if it does not have a pan on it as the heat from the inner element quickly heats the sensor and shuts the element way down, you may however be able to get the outer rings fairly hot if you had just the Grill button pushed. The sensor did such a good job protecting the Calrod Element that I do not think I have ever seen a failed element on a ST equipped range.

Wow Sandy that GE Refrigeration Center is quite a beast, I can see why few were sold, not only would it have been expensive, but with three compressors running the heat, noise and power consumption would have been significant. Then you have to consider the thing must have weighed about 1000 pounds and having THREE manual defrost freezers to defrost. This was also made in a time period where you could look forward to having all THREE compressors fail within 5-15 years, GE did not fix their compressor problem until about 1963.

The 41" wide GE Americana refrigerator came out around 1965 and continued through about 1968. This refrigerator was completely different from the earlier wall refs and was vastly better in almost every aspect. I currently have four of these GE Americana refs, two white, one Coppertone and a Turquoise one that needs a new home, unlike wall refs everyone of these refs work great with no compressor or other serious problems. By the time these 60s GE Americana's were out they used all foamed-in-place insulation so they did not suffer from wet insulation and rust like the 50s GEs did.

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

My caveat about not leaving a Sensi-Temp burner empty comes from the failure of one in a friend's home, years ago. She was a working mom, and the kids were bad about leaving the stove on.

When the Sensi-Temp failed, it was replaced with a regular burner, and the repairman who did the job told her that the failure was due to repeated running of the Sensi-Temp burner unloaded.

He could have been imparting his own "pet theory" to her, or perhaps it takes some time and repetition, but that's where that came from.

 

[petek]

I can see how they elicit ooo's and aaw's . Nothing today really does.

 

[ovrphil]

Counryford - it's a beaut and it looks great in copper.

Sandy- your posted photo really helps to appreciate this stove. Can stoves be alluring? LOL!
(the kitchen isn't too shabby either!)

 

[needsfixing]

GE Americana with Double Ovens

We have a 1963 30" GE Americana range with an 8" Sensi-Temp burner, double ovens, and ventilation over the upper oven (picture attached). The Sensi-Temp burner has burned out and the fan is sluggish. I really love this stove but can't find anyone to make the needed repairs. Please let me know if you have a spare sensi-temp coil that I could have installed, and if it is possible to access the fan motor for cleaning. The stove is in the Seattle area. Thanks.