Large Chambers Range -- Too Large for Doorways

[gredmondson]

Hi All,
Not long ago there was a post about a very large commercial Chambers range that was in a house for sale in Pennsylvania. One of my sons had just bought an older, large home in Chicago, and I sent him the photo of that Chambers range because I thought it matched his home.
He has found a similar range, maybe even a larger commercial model, in Bay City, MI, and he has made a deposit on it. Now he says that the range is 34" wide and there are two 30" doorways the range must go through to get to his kitchen. He has asked me if I know anyone around Bay City, MI, who can disassemble it enough to fit through those 30" doors.
I wonder if this range is truly 34 inches wide. I wonder if that could be the height. Do any of you know that? Can the range be disassembled at all easily to make it able to go through the doorways?
Does anyone know anything about this?
Thanks,
George

 

[rp2813]

Beautiful Range!

George, I can't imagine that stove is 34" deep (from rear to front).  Maybe there are vent fittings on the back that make it stick out that far from the wall, and are easily removed for transport.   I'd ask the seller for clarification.

 

Chambers ovens "cook with the gas off" as in, when the oven reaches temperature, you shut it off.  Whoever does the cooking in your son's family may have to get used to that routine if they're unfamiliar with Chambers ranges.

 

Ralph

 

[gredmondson]

Thanks, Ralph, for your comment!
M son did some further research, and the stove is actually 35 1/2 inches wide, but that includes knobs and the oven doors, which can be removed. I don't know if there is anything, like the back panel, in the back that can be removed.
The two 30" doorways it has to go through are in the house where it is now. It got in that house somehow!
I have been looking at restoring Chambers Stoves, and he may be in for quite a challenge and expense. There are people, though, who love those stoves.

 

[rp2813]

Interesting George!

 

I guess Chambers was assuming that all kitchens have a 36" door to the outside or something.

 

There has been a beautiful Magic Chef 6-burner stove on CL for many months.  It's in a shop in Sebastopol, but it's pricey.  I think it's the exact stove I fell in love with when a friend of mine was refurbishing it, as he lived in an old farm house in Sebastopol for a number of years.  It's not nearly the size of the Chambers, but it's larger than average.

 

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/app/5857383008.html

 

[gredmondson]

That Magic Chef six burner is a beautiful stove. I love its style with the oven on the side, and another, I guess, below. I would enjoy seeing that in person. And, I would really like to see the Chambers in person.

 

[toploader55]

I remember around 1967 some people built a house across the street from us. I was 12 then. After meeting their son, he invited me into the house and saw a Chambers Range for the first time. I thought to myself "How could they bring a crappy old stove like that with them ?"Then I noticed the burner design and saw the "Well". I had never seen a stove like that. They were Italian and after Famie made a pot of Red Sauce (Gravy) and tasted some of the food that was prepared on that range I was impressed.

Chambers Ranges are rare. People that own them are like a cult. I have never cooked on one, but you certainly don't bump into them very often.

The turning off the oven thing really intrigues me. How long can they maintain like 350 ?

Do you turn it off when baking pastry, bread or cakes ?

 

[rp2813]

Eddie --

I know -- I can't believe a Thanksgiving turkey can be done without adding heat at some point.  I'm sure whatever cooking guide was included with the original literature would cover that, but without it, I suppose you'd have to seek out a cult web site for information.

 

[gyrafoam]

It would be a shandeh

to have your heart set on a beautiful old stove like that only to find out the house was built around it. Like a giant O'keefe & Merritt.

The Chambers and my Bubbe's old Maytag Dutch Oven had a tremendous amount of steel-plating insulation to keep in the heat. While I don't have first-hand experience with the Chambers, I sure do remember how hot Bubbe's kitchen in Brooklyn stayed when that Dutch Oven was going for any length of time----- ESPECIALLY in the Summer.
They made the "goil" who cooked for them keep the swinging-door to the dining room shut and all the kitchen windows and back-door open just to keep the rest of the house full of cool air.

My parents house had a big Gas Garland stove and I never remember that making the kitchen unbearable. Much less insulation I suppose. That's another old stove they must have built the house around. I wonder if it's still there.

In the old days appliances were expected to last so long nobody ever thought about having to replace them. Imagine!

I couldn't take the heat like that now. As it is I run my oven in the winter with the back-door open to a snow-storm.

 

[firedome]

Chambers, the Rolls Royce of Stoves:

We're on our 3rd, previously had a 1941 Model C and 1964 Model D, and right now have a 1955 Copper Chambers electric (they came either elec or gas) wall oven at our VT place, we also have the matching gas 24" cooktop, currently uninstalled. Chambers also had 33" and 42" gas or elec cooktops, those latter had a griddle/broiler in the center, and the Model D came either gas or elec as well. Chambers ovens were smallish compared to today. and were ultra-efficient way before their time, due to over 20 lbs of rock wool insulation, a heavy cast iron plate in the bottom of the oven which serves as a heat sink, and precision ground cast iron seals on both the door and around the oven opening, no door gaskets (!), the door being very tightly secured by a heavy spring-loaded mechanical latch. A typical Model B, C, or D (aka 9MH) weighs in excess of 400 lbs for a 39" range. I can't imagine the weight of one of their commercial ranges. NO range made today excepting maaaybe an Aga is of the quality of a vintage Chambers, IMO a Viking or Wolf &c are junk in comparison. Cooking on a Chambers is very different than on a conventional range due to it's extreme efficiency, and yes, you can fully cook a turkey by heating up to temp and turning off the gas.

 

[joshm]

I think that's an Imperial Model

And as I recall they are well over 800 lbs so he will need many strong hands to move! I have a Chambers I restored several years ago and use daily. The really are increadable to cook on and he will love that monster once he learns the in's and outs of it. There is a Chambers forum he should join as the message board offers tons of useful information from this of us on it. It sure was helpful to get my red one up and running anyway!

Welcome to the Chambers Stove Lover's Website!

For those who love and admire CHAMBERS Ranges!

www.chamberstoves.net

 

[toploader55]

Josh,

Your Range is Beautiful.

 

[jamiel]

Wonder if they ever made a stove with an oven pilot light? My grandmother had one of these in white which she got in about 1940 and remodeled a kitchen around in Des Plaines, IL in about 1970 (WoodMode cabinets, dark walnut/KA Superba d/w, GE refrigerator/Waste King disposer). She loved the kitchen except for the Armstrong Solarian floor which wouldn't release the asphalt scuffs from the driveway. It was not laid out nicely (corridor kitchen into the family room addition, so there was traffic) but she didn't skimp on the renovation with the high-end finishes and appliances which meant it aged nicely.

 

[joshm]

Oven pilot

Was developed in later models and currently there is a kit you can buy to add one to earlier models. I'm not sure why anyone would want one though as it just adds heat in the kitchen and burns fuel. I have turned the stovetop ones of mine off all together and just light everything by hand.

 

[rp2813]

Like Eddie said, that red one is beautiful!

 

Long ago when we were looking for a vintage stove (we had a stove guy in town with a large shop full of beauties), we were smitten with a couple of Chambers he had, but they were too big.  I've always liked them, as they are truly substantial stoves.

 

About a year ago, the house next door to a friend of mine was being flipped, and the original Chambers range was up for grabs.  Her next door neighbor on the other side wanted the stove, and got her healthy son to haul it down to her place.  Lo and behold, just like with George's son, the stove wouldn't fit through the door.  Now the stove sits out in the elements in her back yard.  It's a shame, as it was in working order.  It appears to be a similar model to the red one, from the 1930s (see picture taken before it was extracted from its long time home).

 

 

 

[supersuds]

I'd put up with striking matches for a stove that gorgeous.

 

[gredmondson]

Man, that red Chambers is gorgeous, Joshm!
My son has not given up on getting that range, but he also has not figured out how to get it through the too small doorways.

 

[davey7]

I live in a vintage building and my doors are narrower than standard and some fridges will simply not fit through, even with doors (both on the fridge and the house doors) removed. Your son may need to take doors off, remove door stops etc. I have an OkM and they got that in, so it's certainly possible, but may be difficult.

 

[58limited]

I have the same model Chambers stove, called an Imperial. My Imperial Chambers is in pieces so I cannot get accurate measurements but there is a a flue on the back that might add to the depth. As I recall, the cook surface is more like 28" deep not counting the flue or the handles. Getting it through a 30" door will be a challenge but it might be possible.

 

[sudsmaster]

If the Chambers is anything like old Wedgewood stoves I've handled, they are build like old cars, bolted together. If necessary, the back splash, top, doors, sides, even the front panel can be unbolted from the rest and brought in piece by piece. It's not difficult.