It's a good weekend for a new (to us) Frigidaire Range!

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The broil and bake don't come on together for the prehea

Thanks Phil! I was reading the 1958 manual that we have, and assumed that it carried over into the 1959 model. Good to know that it isn't equipped - one less thing wrong with it!

I was searching the archives a bit and found a thread where you were discussing the Heat Minder in your range; I'll have to go back and read it again - but I hope that it's something that we are able to get working again, if it's even broken (still need to do more testing on this one). I loved the Sensi-Temp on the GE.

The only thing that we don't like about the range so far - which is really, pretty small and nit-picky - is that this range doesn't have an indicator light to tell you the oven is on. The only light that goes on is the bake light, when the element is heating. The GE had a light to tell you the oven was on, then a second light that would cycle as the element heated. I'm also going to miss the GE's automatic griddle - linking the front and back elements together, controlled by the Sensi-Temp dial. We made grilled cheese for dinner on Saturday night, a send off, if you will for the GE. I'm sure the GE will be back at some point, though.

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It is Pretty in Pink

Congratulations on the new addition to the family! It is a real beautiful range and looks so much at home in your kitchen! I hope it brings many years of great cooking and baking! In my experience, the Frigidaires of that era are a pleasure to use - enjoy!!
 
And Fred, you'll probably notice that there are 3 indicator lights at the back for each oven but no indicator on the control panel like there was on the 1957 models. 
 
Mystery bulb!

Yes, we noticed that when we were replacing the bulbs - there is one extra bulb for each "bake" light, and there's no way to see that second bulb through the control panel. The extra bulb is also wired in a series, so if the bulb that isn't visible goes out, none of them work - as was the case with our "bake" light for the Right oven. We figured Frigidaire probably wired a series of bulbs to make them longer-lasting, two bulbls splitting the load is better than one bulb taking it all. Peculiar, but smart.

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Congraulations!

All you need to know about cooking on Radiantube units is: 1, never divert your attention from a pan over high heat unless it is a large pot of water, then the heat does not get away from you because you have to switch heats as soon as the food starts to come to a boil; 2,don't put a skillet over high heat for more than one minute and 3, set your minute timer for about 2 or 3 minutes less than something needs to cook and turn off the current and finish the cooking on stored heat. There will be heat to keep the food warm after it is finished cooking. Medium High and Medium Low are next to each other for frying. It is amazing how much food finishes cooking on Simmer after starting on High.

Do you still have the Speed Heat Unit? If you want it to last, start it at the lowest setting until you hear it click, then move the heat higher.

The most vulnerable things about the ovens are the clips that the bake and broil elements plug into. Over time, they lose their tempering and don't hold the terminals tightly. Then you get arcing. You can get some idea of their condition by checking the terminals on the elements for pitting. If they are not pitted, the clips are probably OK.
 
Tom is right about the plug-in elements, have a look at the condition of the terminals to make sure they aren't pitted and always make sure that they are fully inserted in the connectors after you reinstall them or push the liner back in place after cleaning to avoid bad contacts. The broil element of the Pull 'n clean oven is fine on mine and it doesn't connect the same way as the bake elements but check the terminals to make sure they're clean. This removable broil element was a one year only design so I guess that replacement parts for it are hard to find...
 
Pull 'n Clean fun!!

I wanted to snap a picture of the ovens, while I was at it, I pulled the oven! It's super cool. Both ovens are pretty clean.. Will still give it a once over. The door seal on the large oven needs a scrubbing, too. I'll have to go back and check the connectors for the bake and broil elements tomorrow. We suspect the elements were replaced at some point.

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Congratulations on coming over to "Radiantube" electric cookery!

 

As you may know, I have been somewhat obsessed with Frigidaire ranges from this time period for a long time. I finally took possession of a 1957 Custon Deluxe myself last winter.

 

Some observations:

- It looks to be in amazing physical condition and it looks great in your kitchen.

- The original Heat-Minder on this range was Frigidaire's second design. It was all-electric, extremely complicated and had a high failure rate. Later systems that were hydraulic were actually more reliable.

- 1959 was the first year that Frigidaire went to all Infinite-Heat controls on their TOL models so your rear burners are also infinite heat.

- You haven't mentioned if the Speed-Heat works or not. It's pretty amazing when it works, but again has a relatively high failure rate.
 
Hi Mark - Thanks for your comments! Yeah, Robert and I can't stop staring at it, it is in just tip-top condition. We are thrilled beyond words.

Not sure if the speed-heat works, we need to have a "boil-off" between that surface unit, and the right rear surface unit. The Heat Minder was replaced at some point, as there is a sticker on the back with a new wiring diagram. We also found the replacement instructions tucked in in the back panel when we removed it. That's one of the next things on our list to test.

I cooked dinner on the Right Front unit last night, sauteed some onions and mushrooms, then cooked the chicken breasts in the same pan. Worked very well, it's strange not having pushbotton cooking any more, having to remember which way to turn the dial... #firstworldproblems
 
The only thing you have to do to test the Speed Heat Unit is to turn it to the lowest setting and listen. If you hear a substantial click in 20 seconds, it is the switch shifting from 240 to 120 volts. If you are deaf, you can test it by turning it to High and watching to see if it gets red hot in 65 seconds.
 
Scott, unfortunately, you can't easily remove the oven cavity of the early Pull-N-Clean ovens. You need to clean it in place while it rests on a small pad on the oven door. Some later models can be removed to be cleaned outside (or later if you have a spare liner!). 
 

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