Keeping my 1966 GE range, thanks to this site!

[robinsondm]

Hi all,

I’m the proud owner of a 1966 GE J486 40-inch range. We’ve recently been upgrading our kitchen appliances to stainless, and I was thinking of replacing the old GE with a new Frigidaire Professional stainless electric range. The cost of the Frigidaire (~$2000, discounted) made me hesitate. Then, I found this site, and realized my range is a classic! So, rather than replace it, I got out the baking soda and cleaned it up! It could still use some spot cleaning, and I’m thinking of repairing a few pits in the porcelain -- does Porc-A-Filler/Fix work well? -- but I think it’s looking pretty good!

This 2-oven range has many features -- Sensi-Temp burner, griddle, meat thermometer, rotisserie. I’ve done a few repairs over the years, and everything works, though I’ve never tried using the rotisserie. I've attached a photo. Thank you to this site for convincing me to keep this classic range!

Dean R.
[this post was last edited: 1/1/2014-04:37]

 

[goatfarmer]

Nice range! Much better than anything you'll get from Frigidaire these days.

 

[whirlcool]

A classic automotive style control panel. Does this range have the P7 oven?

 

[robinsondm]

Yes, it has the P-7 self-cleaning oven -- for the main oven, not the side one, of course.

 

[wringingwet]

What a wonderful descision

and A beautiful range also ... it shall last you many years.

Philippe

 

[danemodsandy]

Dean:

Welcome to AW.org. What an entrance you've made!

Your range is my own "dream GE" range, if only I had space for a 40-inch model. I grew up with 40-inch ranges, and I miss having the elbow room such a model can give you.

I currently have a 30-inch GE range from 1972; it's a J 370. Like your range, it has Sensi-Temp and a P*7 oven. Unlike yours, it has rotary controls instead of pushbutton controls. A photo is below.

I am very happy to hear that you decided in favor of solid, lasting quality over today's thin metal and "lowest Chinese bidder" electronics. Your range has the potential to last many more years.

In case anyone you know tries to give you a hard time about energy efficiency, tell them that your oven is insulated about three times more heavily than new ranges' are. You can also tell them about the coil-size feature on your Sensi-Temp burner, meaning that if you have a small pot to boil, you use only a small part of the burner. New ranges seldom have anything like that.

As you use and enjoy your range, please know that any and all potential problems can be fixed, no matter what local service people or parts places try to tell you. They're in business to meet average needs, and you're not an average customer. Members here at AW can help you get your timer repaired or replaced, furnish Sensi-Temp parts and pushbutton controls. There is no reason you can't enjoy that range for many years to come, fully functional.

In case you do not have the material, the exact owner's manual and Sensi-Temp guide for your range are available from Automatic Ephemera, a "sister" site to this one furnishing immaculately-scanned copies of vintage appliance reference material in Adobe PDF format. There is a modest charge to download. Go to www.automatice.org and look for "General Electric" in the list of publishers. Then look for these two titles in the "Owner's Manuals/Operating Instructions" listings:

Use and Care instructions for General Electric Ranges with P7 Self-Cleaning Ovens - Price $1.99

Know Your Sensi-Temp - Price $1.99

Both these items came with your range when it was new. You will be amazed how many little details you'll learn from the manuals, even though I'm sure you've figured out basic operation of the range without help.

Again, welcome! Oh - and thanks for the largest, clearest photo of this model I've seen. A copy will be in my reference folder from now on. Much appreciated.[this post was last edited: 1/1/2014-10:16]

 

[NYCWriter]

Great decision!

So sad, though, that in so many things -- washers, dryers, stoves, ranges, vacuums -- what's new is so mediocre compared to what's old.

 

[danemodsandy]

One Tidbit:

My research into this range has found that the suggested retail price in 1966 was $699.95.

Adjusted for inflation, that comes to $4885.69 in today's puny currency.

So - if you thought the Frigidaire Professional range was expensive, your GE was really high-priced. And the quality is far, far superior.

 

[NYCWriter]

Same goes for ...

... most other appliances.

A middle-of-the-road Hoover Convertible in the late '60s, adjusted for inflation, was more than $600.

A two-slice chrome Sunbeam toaster in 1968, adjusted for inflation, was more than $200.

Over the past two decades, we've become quite spoiled with "big ticket" items being cheap enough to trash and buy new every time the whim strikes us.

Just a generation ago, buying a new stove really was a once-in-a-lifetime thing you did, and you made it last.

 

[xraytech]

Great looking range, you'll really enjoy it.
That is the exact same range my grandmother had until a few years ago.

I have one like this as well for my kitchen, except its a single oven and has an oven window.

 

[robinsondm]

Thanks

All,

Thanks for your notes, and for your support of my decision to keep the range! Danemodsandy, I especially appreciate your informative note and warm welcome. FYI, I have repaired my range a few times over the years. From memory, I've repaired the clock (twice), the Sensi-Temp burner, and the main oven thermostat. I'm glad to have found this site, which may prove quite useful if/when I need to make future repairs.

Also, I have the original "Use and Care" owner's manual, but NOT the "Know Your Sensi-Temp" booklet. I'll probably buy that one. Thanks again!

Dean[this post was last edited: 1/1/2014-11:55]

 

[ovrphil]

You made a wise decision!

 

[toploader55]

Oh, My dear darlin' Baby Jesus...

What a Beautiful Range.

You will never find anything that well made anymore. I have been reading that so many people are getting over the Stainless Thing (Uggghhh so mundane) Great Decision to keep that beauty.

And AW is here with a enormous wealth of knowledge to keep that beauty tip top.

I've been waiting for a 30" Dream GE with Pushbuttons to come into my life but until then... my 1966 Fridgedaire is a slice of heaven.

Bakes like a dream, and my Grandmother taught me how to understand Radiant Tube Coils.

My Best to you and enjoy that GE.

 

[danemodsandy]

Dean:

The Kmow Your Sensi-Temp booklet has a lot of the same basic information found in the Use & Care Guide, but it also has a lot of tips and some good information on optimal cookware. You'll enjoy it.

If you ever have a clock/timer problem again, the source is General Time Repair, in Carroll, Iowa. This company purchased GE's timer division inventory when GE exited the timer business in favor of outsourced electronic units in 1998. They can both repair and furnish rebuilt units; all rebuilding is done with new, factory parts. A link is below; average cost is around $100. That sounds like a lot, but electronic boards are more, and boards that are much, much newer than your range's timer are often no longer available:

generaltimerepairs.com - Clock Timer Repair

Specializing in stove clock repair, oven timer repair, manufactured by GE, General Electric, Jennair, Frigidaire, Kenmore, Maytag, Hotpoint

www.generaltimerepairs.com

 

[petek]

That's a nice looking stove. Sure new stuff can be nice but they don't cook any better and there's no way people are gonna walk into your kitchen and NOT notice that beauty.

 

[firedome]

Nice range to be sure...!

and you asked about Porc-A-Fix... yes it works pretty well, if applied exactly according to the instructions. It is enamel, not the original porcelain finish, which is essentially a melted glass finish applied to the metal at very high temperatures. PAF works OK if used not too close to the burner coils or very hot spots on doors, as it will crack off or discolor if it gets too hot. Of course you can always re-touch if or when that occurs. If you are a real perfectionist the damaged panel can also be removed and sent out for re-porcelainizing, the last time I looked an oven door ran about $150 and a 40" oven top about $300, not terrible when considering what is involved. The Chambers range website has more info on this... some folks have even changed the color of their entire range by sending out all of their panels!

 

[arbilab]

Now THAT'S a stove! Glad for you. Outperforms ALL 'home appliance' class today. You have to go to restaurant class ($4000) to equal it.

One would think--I did--an oven is just a box with a door and a heater. As Jorgen said in Fairly Oddparents, "not exactly". All my ovens worked well. But they were all built more than 20 years ago.

This rental unit is 15yo and the GE stove dramatically demonstrates what happened to appliances in those intervening 5 years. I made a tray of yeast rolls for thxgvg. They came out everything from rare to welldone on the tops and overdone on the bottoms.

I've been cooking since 1964 and never experienced such a sorryass excuse for a range. The $2000 Frigidaire might not have been that bad, but then again it might. Your GE is a sure thing.

 

[philr]

Dean, your GE P7 range is a beauty. In my opinion, nothing made today is nicer than that!

Eddie, your Frigidaire range is a 1965 model. (RCDG-39J)

 

[whirlcool]

I've said it tons of times before, but our 1969 P7 double oven was one of the best ovens we really had. It held temperatures perfectly (once the thermostat was adjusted) and the self clean feature was the best we ever used. Food would always come out nice and evenly done.