It works!

[turquoisedude]

YAY! The range burners for the 56 GE Kitchen Centre all work fine.
I had some fun hooking them up (the wiring behind this unit is something else) and despite using some methods that belong in the 'kids - don't do this at home' category to actually get it connected, I did manage not to blow out the fuse box.
This is huge progress for me - every time I have attempted stove wiring work in the past, there has usually been at least a shower of sparks, if not an outright meltdown.
Needless to say, I am happy and now looking forward to getting the repaired timer and a new oven thermostat!

 

[polkanut]

Congratulations!!!

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Congratulations!

The pure joy one feels when plugging in a freshly re-wired stove and not knocking out the whole block is awesome BUT a case of 'voltage to smoke conversion' DOES add a little excitement...

RCD

 

[7080swashertalk]

I know I am just being snarky and asking for trouble by asking for...
trouble.
but, you wouldn't maybe have some pictures/video of the shower of sparks flying or things literally melting down would you?
What ever you did here you apparently lost your shirt doing it.
Does copper wire cost a person the shirt off their back these days?
Or did you quickly slip out of it in an effort to avoid its sudden state of combustion via the sparks?

Either way, good job on the rewire. All the best of luck with the Thermostat and the timer. I hope the burners aren't stuck in the ON position. Connecting a Kitchen center to electricity with a spare string of double ended christmas lights has a tendency to ah, cause a few problems. ?? Not that you did that or anything. I,
just speak from experience. (humming)....

 

[gansky1]

Electric victory!

Excellent work... Anticipation is still building for the dishwasher and washer/dryer ;-)

 

[58limited]

Great news, I can't wait to see pics of the unit installed in your kitchen.

 

[turquoisedude]

pictures/video of the shower of sparks flying or things lite

Alas, I don't have anything recorded; there's never someone around with a camera when you need it!
Christmas lights as feed wire for a Kitchen Centre? Well, I came close hooking up this one for the testing - I used some of the original hookup wire spliced to a dryer cord which I plugged into the current dryer outlet in the basement!

My 'personal best' for a shower of sparks AND fusebox meltdown was in my very first apartment when I tried to fix the balky rear burner on a 1960-something Roy (A Canadian brand, but I think they were made by Gibson) electric range. I knocked out the cartridge fuses in my apartment and for the entire floor!

Gansky and 58limited - stay tuned - I am really hoping to get a full test of the dishwasher this coming weekend. I'll try to get a video of it running, too!!

Thanks for all the encouragement!

 

[58limited]

I really am glad that you are fixing this and using it. I'm still sick over the fact that this was 45 miles from me, but I couldn't afford it.

 

[turquoisedude]

Yeah, it was a bit pricey, but I knew my chances of finding anything like this in Canada were going to be pretty low.
I was at Home Depot last night getting some replacement drain pipe and some hoses to temporarily hook the dishwasher up - with any luck I will have it running this weekend (with photos and hopefully even a video!).
I am still not sure what to do with the metal cupboards that were part of this unit; I guess they were intended to go above the counter unit. Not sure if I will use them like that in the new kitchen, though..,

 

[panthera]

Yay!

Good for you!
I don't know 'bout you, but I've got my share of creatively melted screwdriver blades and wired-to-the-outlet, oops!, moments ,too.
We call the 200 Amp cartridge fuses "Panzersicherungen" in German -shield or battle armour fuses. Blew out all three phases for the whole floor in my first apartment...turned out the previous in-duh-viduals had put copper coins in to bridge the 10 amp fuses.
Just hooked up my dishwasher and, kapoof!
Yikes!

 

[laundromat]

GE lovers song----- "GE We bring good things to life" should be---"We bring GE good things to life" in your case! LOL
Looks great however, i'm out of the picture with coil burners (except the Sensi-Temps) and have been completely converted to the smooth,ceramic top models!!Mine is a new GE JBP83 with a dual speed convection/self-cleaning oven and a bridge element.The right front burner can be either a 7" or 10" unit.I LOVE IT!!!!

 

[turquoisedude]

Oh, I know what you mean - I have a Whirlpool Gold range in the condo in the city with the bridge element and it is really handy!
Do you find that the ceramic top holds enough heat to actually keep cooking well after the power is off?? I can actually cook potatoes or other veggies without additional heat after bringing them up to a boil.

It is a shame the self-cleaning oven wasn't available in '56... I had been aiming for a GE Americana two-level range in turquoise - the 1965 model featured the 'all-new' P7 self-cleaning oven... SIGH!