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

[hooverwheelaway]

Robert and I hadn't been to any estate sales in quite a few weeks, perhaps even months. We've just been so busy, it had just been back-burnered (pun intended!).

We've had our pink 1956 GE Liberator range in place since October 2013, and we absolutely love it. The Sensi-Temp works, and the Automatic Griddle is fabulous - perfect grilled cheese!

 

[hooverwheelaway]

We perused the pictures of the sales online, and something pinked (piqued?) our interest. We went to the sale, stood in line, marveled at the beauty, and made our purchase yesterday.

Out with the old... (She'll live in the garage for now)

 

[hooverwheelaway]

Woke up early today and headed back to the estate sale house; here she is in her original habitat; then on the truck where we were ready to take delivery.

Presenting our new 1959 RCI-75-59 - Frigidaire Custom Imperial range. In PINK!

 

[hooverwheelaway]

First thing's first!

HAD to get the flourescent light replaced and working! While we had the panel tipped forward, we cleaned everything..

Some shots of the dials without their dress on.. Smile for the camera, Robert!

 

[hooverwheelaway]

Gettin' there!

 

[hooverwheelaway]

Moved into position, after most of the day spent scrubbing, wiping, scraping, wiping again.

This range is in really amazing condition. It absolutly shines like new! It was well-used, and pretty dusty/dirty... but it showed that it was maintained through the years.

Everything seems to work, with exception of the heat-minder and the preheat of the main oven by using both the broil and bake element. We think the oven switch was replaced at some point, and maybe that funcionality went away with that part change.

The heat minder is still pretty filthy, so we're going to clean it a bit more, then put it through a more rigerous test. There was also a sticker on the back of the range stating that the Heat Minder was replaced with a later (1960s) version.

We also found all of her accessories, scattered arount the basement of this house; the (huge) broiler pan, the deep-well insert, and the 'Kant-Slide' griddle with the mini broiler insert. This range was not equipped with a rotiserie, but we'll be on the lookout for one of those, be sure!

Forgot to snap pics of the oven, will do that tomorrow. Both are very clean!

Cooked our first meal tonight, and had to bake a PINK cake as well.

We're both still adjusting to the change in the kitchen, and I've never cooked on a Frididaire with Radiantubes - so there will be a learning curve, for sure. Enjoy the pictures! We're both on cloud nine!

PS - If anyone has an owner's manual for a 1959 range, we'd love to borrow it so we can scan it. Drop me a private message if you're willing to share!

 

[roto204]

Oooh!

That is DELICIOUS.  Congratulations to you both, I hope you enjoy it for many years to come!!

 

[foraloysius]

Welcome to a new era! The era of the sheer look. Congratulations on that beautiful new range. 1959 is a very good year too. ;-)

 

[mattl]

I've got it's twin in white.  My folks bought it in '59, it had 6 years of use then was relegated to the basement unused for 8 or 10 years and put back into use as a secondary stove for holidays and canning.  rotisserie makes some of the best chicken in the winter when it’s too cold to grill out.   Unfortunately the heat minder is long gone.  My mother used to joke that the Frigidaire repairman was at our home so much the neighbours might think something more than repair was going on.  Lots of issues early on.

 

I have all the accessories, including the meat probe, couple of the big roaster/broiler, I use the griddle all the time for pancakes.

 

I know you'll both enjoy it!  Congrats on a great find.

 

[a440]

Beautiful!

What an awesome find! 

Thanks for the pictures!

B

 

[rp2813]

Congratulations, guys!

Such a beautiful upgrade!  With all due respect to the lovely GE, the sheer Custom Imperial looks like it belongs in your kitchen!

 

Have fun with your learning experience, and with accessorizing too!

 

[norgeway]

Hi You Two!

Somewhere I may have a manual you can have, I know I have the 59 fold out brochure you can have, I will send them with the GE bags that I should have sent a month ago!!LOL

 

[appnut]

Beautiful and congratulations. 

 

[dynaflow]

almost like my 58

very little difference in my 58 u r gonna love it

 

[gansky1]

Frigidaire and GM got the shine on their TOL models perfect. I've always thought this range was one of the most glamorous of all their appliances.

Now you need the matching car -

 

[pulltostart]

Wow!

Looking good there.  I am so impressed by how the glass control  panel is hinged for access.  That has to make cleaning totally easier.

 

Enjoy your new pink!

 

lawrence

 

[chestermikeuk]

Frigidaire

Looking grand there boys, heres to many great meals!!

 

[swestoyz]

What a beauty guys!  Glad you could save her.

 

[philr]

Hi Fred, this is my favorite range! I have one of these in (in plain white) which needed a lot of work when I got it.

The broil and bake don't come on together for the preheat on these like it did on older models so there's nothing wrong about that.

I have already scanned a manual for these, I'll email it to you or Robert. It's not as nice as the scan you do and there's even 1/2 page that was missing but I tried to recreate it with a part of the 1958 brochure.

 

[hooverwheelaway]

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.

 

[firedome]

Best looking Frigidare ever!

and if they had self-cleaning it'd be in the running for best range ever... period!

 

[kevin313]

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!!

 

[philr]

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. 

 

[hooverwheelaway]

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.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

Cool! This is almost enough to make me go electric!

Jim

 

[revvinkevin]

CONGRATS on this find!

WOW Fred & Robert, that stove is STUNNING!

I LOVE the dark gray and chrome of the control panel, that is really something!

Kevin

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow!  What an amazing find!  Congratulations to both of you!

 

[maytag63]

Congratulations. Beautiful range!

 

[tomturbomatic]

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.

 

[abcomatic]

YEA! Looks like a plan there! How did you ever find both of those in pink? Good for you guys. Gary