I found another NORGE range!!!

[norgeway]

As Donald and I were going to Lexington yesterday, I remembered seeing the side of an old stove in a garage ,the day I saw it Ron Jones " DYNAFLOW" and I had gone to Lexington,No one was home so I didnt stop,but yesterday we stopped ,A VERY good looking young man was in the yard,so we asked about the stove...to make a long story short, 5 minutes later we were on our way with it,no charge, he was going to haul it to the dump!!!,as we left he admitted that it baked better than his new one., it is a 30 inch middle of the line Norge...Product of Borg Warner, ill post pix later...stay tuned!

 

[tomturbomatic]

You will have to bake him a cake and invite him over. Any good looking young man who apreciates the baking performance of a range is someone you would want to get to know. He might appreciate your other Norge. I remember a few Norge electric ranges in the appliance department at Rich's. They did not have the same styling as the GEs, but I remember one with a white glass control panel with fine brown vertical lines and five brown dials in the space above the work area between the elements. The clock was to one side. I bet that glass looked nice with the fluorescent light behind it. I can't wait to hear how this turns out and see the pictures.

 

[mixfinder]

Norge

There are elements of design in the Norge ranges of the 50's that look similar to Kenmore. Did Norge make ranges for Kenmore in the early and mid 50's?

 

[tomturbomatic]

I was told that Roper made ranges for Sears. Whether or not Roper had a hand in Norge range manufacturing, I don't know. I guess if you set a Norge electric oven to bake, you could hold your hand near the broil element and see if it starts to get warm. It it has top heat during bake, it's probably not closely related to a Roper range of the 50s or 60s.

 

[norgeway]

Norge bake element.

The Norges I have have a extra coil around the edge of the broiler element that heats with the bake element....much like a Westinghouse,I had a Kenmore from 1957 that had no heat from the top element while baking, it was slow to preheat,the Norge preheats very fast and browns exactly the same on top and bottom.

 

[mixfinder]

Damn Preheat!

I was 12 years old when we got our first electric range in 1963 which was a Kenmore. I was so excited to finally have an electric range and not use a wood stove. It was such a disappointment and I hated it from the day it arrived, slow to heat, burners hard to clean and the oven door sprung in short order. It had a preheat setting that activated both the broil and bake elements. If you forget to change the setting the broiler would burn and ruin what ever went in. It heated only from the bottom to bake so nothing browned on the top or looked good. In spring of 1967 I began cutting asparagus before school and working in a hamburger joint after school. I worked in the fields, did painting and babysat, anything to make money. I saved up for the range of my dreams, the one rich people would own. I bought a 40 inch Frigidaire Custom Imperial with two ovens. In 2006 it was so tired the oven door finally came off in my mom's hand. Already descending into Alzheimer's I knew she'd never master digital readouts and touch pads. Cruising through Craigslist I saw the exact range for sale. It was on Bainbridge Island and they wanted $150.00. I accepted and advised them I would need to arrange for a truck. The next day they delivered it to my apartment. The gentleman's mother had died and she had macular degeneration. There were bits of adhesive tape on the backsplash that she used to identify the burners and settings. I told him it was going to my mom who had Alzheimer's. We both looked at each and then started to cry and hugged each other. My son came over with his truck and we took it to mom's. She was so excited with her "new" stove and kept remarking on the differences. They were the same model exactly. The next morning mom made tube biscuits and when the timer went off she opened the oven and remarked how good they looked and then reached in to get them. She got the strangest look on her face and froze in place. Then at once we both realized she had taken the pan out of the oven without a pot holder. The first range cooked day in and out for all the company they have, the rodeo business and feeding all the family. It never had a repair although we occasionally had to reattach one of the two wires that led to each burner. It just totally wore out. It is in the shed in case we need a clock or thermostat some day.

 

[hydralique]

Nice Frigidaire, Kelly . . .

and a nice story to match. I hope your Mom didn't burn her hands taking those biscuits out!

 

[xraytech]

Tat is the exact same range we got grandma, her 1961 GE sensi-temp had worn out and she needed a 40" range, a friend gave us their grandmothers Frigidaire Custom Imperial, she used it for several years and got rid of it after the one oven quit working and two burners wouldnt shut off, it was replaced with her first ever brand new custom order 40" range last February

 

[norgeway]

Isn't it a shame...

The kids today really will have no good memories of appliances....because basically everything is so much alike...junk for the most part,im 44 and I remember well how different my aunts 65 compact 30 Frigidaire was from grandmothers Kelvinator,and on and on ,go to Lowes and look at the stoves now, they are all pretty much the same,dull and boring,no flourescent lights,no color lighted controls,no rotisserie, no deep well,no built in griddle,no speed heat,no timed appliance outlet..and very little insulation, it sad to see what has happened to American industry.

 

[xraytech]

I know what you mean, even though older models at the time,as a child I always loved the differences between Grandma Rose's TOL avacado green built-ins from 1966, grandma Mary's 1961 GE 40" sensi-temp range and early 50's Crosley Shelvador, and my mother's new 1993 Frigidaire range and Kenmore fridge, and my uncle's coppertone GE Americana range and coppertone Gibson Fridge.
Now everything from like the past 15 yrs looks so much alike with no personality or character

 

[hydralique]

Part of this issue is that few people want a really big range these days; if they want lots of burners and ovens they'll usually go for built ins. I did have a client a couple of years ago who insisted on a 60" range, but that's the exception. Also, most of the high end market is gas so there is less incentive for a manufacturer to produce expensive electric ranges - and in today's money I'll bet those old 40" Frigidaire Custom Imperials were pricey. Induction cooktops may change this a little, but I've not seen much interest in them from most people.

 

[norgeway]

gas...

I have cooked on gas,and like it for some applications,but electric is better to my mind for simmering,Im one of the few that loves a gas oven, I now use a 55 double oven TOL Norge ,and a 61 pink 40 inch Frigidaire deluxe,I have a 52 O-Keefe and Merritt hi-vue, a 55 Hardwick and a 59 Caloric Deluxe,im going to sell these three ,I got tired of adjusting burners and having them go out when on simmer,for frying boiling though, gas excells, just my 2 cents worth.

 

[hydralique]

To be honest I'm not much of a cook so for me it really doesn't matter, but as an architect who has done a lot of high-end residential for years and years I can tell you there just isn't much interest in electric rangetops or burners. Electric ovens, yes, and that's why Viking and Thermador make dual-fuel ranges. I think this is why there is little modern demand for ranges like the old 40" TOL electrics. As far as aesthetics go, I'd rather have Kelly's mother's Frigidaire than my client's 60" Viking, but then again I'm pretty beyond being impressed by acres of stainless steel.

 

[norgeway]

I know where you are coming from.

But I try to avoid ANYTHING new!!,its probably a good thing everyone is not like me,or the appliance companys would go under! LOL,some of the new kitchens are really beautiful,but my ideal kitchen would be turquoise Youngstown metal cabinets,Pink Norge appliances,a Kitchenaid dishwasher of late 50s vintage,and Heywood Wakefield dining room furniture.

 

[hydralique]

And a matched TOL burpolator and flocker in the laundry room, right?

 

[norgeway]

WELL.......

The burpolator yes....as for the flocker,had one it truly lives up to the nickname, dries clothes well, but have mercy at the lint!!!

 

[tomturbomatic]

John had a customer whose mother wanted a 60 inch electric range. There was no gas service, and the bridge over the creek would have to be rebuilt to take the weight of the delivery truck, etc. etc. When she told him of her trouble, he suggested two 30 inch electric ranges and her mother could not be happier. No rebuilding the floor, no heat shielding needed like with the commercial ranges. For large gatherings she has (4) 8" & (4) 6" elements and two huge self-cleaning ovens. For daily use, one stove is sufficient. She was not trying to impress visitors with an appliance that cost several thousand dollars. Stoves made for home use are also much easier to clean and keep clean.

It will be interesting to see in the coming years, as more commercial kitchens switch to induction cooking to save energy, what the kitchen designers recommend to people who feel that they have to have stoves that look like they could cook meals for 100 3 times a day. It's funny when they realize that many of their pans sit within the circumference of the flame from the large burners.

Kelly, where are the supports for the surface units in the picture of the Frigidaire 40" range? In an apartment in the mid 70s, I put up with a Whirlpool range without top heat during bake. Biscuits had to be baked on Pre-Heat in order to have the tops browned. For other things I baked, I would briefly switch the selector switch to Pre-Heat toward the end of the baking time to finish the browning.

 

[mixfinder]

Behind Closed Doors

The oven is running it's cleaning cycle while the picture was taken. The supports are in the oven along with the burner pans and rack from the smaller oven.

 

[luxflairguy]

Well, actually, the burner supports are on the counter to the left of the range in front of the Mixmaster in the above photo.

 

[mixfinder]

Old Beady Eyes

Greg, I had to laugh seeing how inattentive I was to my own photograph, but gratified you took the time to look ay pictures. I am axiously awaiting the pictures of NorgeII.

 

[112561]

Frigidaire Flair Range two streets over!

A friend of mine in Fairmont, NC, used to live down here. He goes through local real estate listings down here from time to time, and sent this to me. Imagine my surprise when I see this Frigidaire Flair range in the kitchen. They really do exist here! The house is the Briar Park model, from 1960. The wooden cabinets are original.

 

[norgeway]

oh yeah

I see Flairs fairly often here in N.C. , I like them but Norges are so much rarer , thats why I try to get anything Norge. Hans

 

[112561]

It's just such a surprise to me though

I have seen a lady friend's landlords '50s Frigidaire range, and this Flair, that's it with vintage lately around here. We had an apartment size Norge range when we moved here. A real BOL model. You're lucky you see anything old there, we see nothing older than 1975. The Flair is in the room on the right.

 

[112561]

Just for giggles I went over and

I just came back from the place, there's a 1964 Galaxie in the yard, and the kitchen window has been boarded over. The man that owns this house lives across the street. My neighbor knows him, and I might at least get some info, if nothing else. I think it's a 30 inch, and it does have the Frigidaire cabinet underneath.