Lets have a UK Electric cooker thread

[aquarius1984]

Saw this today and at the start has a Moffat ELectric cooker boasting Rostisserie, double oven and grill.

One of my aunts had one of these cookers but its dont half look antique for 1982, id assumed it was a model from the 70s?

Amnyone have any info on electric cookers from the late 60s - middle 80s?

I have a couple of pics of the Creda Carefree line up and Cavalier but some of the dates are confusing especially when they dont look as modern as competitors models at the time.

Much appreciated.

R

 

[toggleswitch]

yes please.

 

[petek]

Wondering... Moffat was the name of one of Canadas largest appliance manufacturers from the days of old wood stoves and on. They eventually merged sometime in the 80's with GE, Litton, and a few other companies (within Canada only) to form Camco (Canadian Appliance Manufacturing Co.) which is still in business. However they aren't at all like the ones in that ad.

 

[toggleswitch]

Electric American cooker by Caloric.

Standard 30 inches (75cm).
Pyrolytic self-clean.

Now the unusual part: cash-iron solid-metal hobs /cooktop elements.

IIRC this was a very short-lasting fad here.

 

[74simon]

Moffat in the UK was part of Thorn EMI by the 1970s, I remember my Gran getting a split-level Thorn EMI (possibly Tricity branded?) cooker put in as part of a fitted kitchen around 1980. She had the most modern kitchen on the block (some neighbours still had pantries and double butler-style sinks), and people actually came round to admire it! The oven had a rotisserie (which was never used), and a digital analogue clock, with the digits that rotated.

Here's a June 1963 advert for the Creda Carefree, with the choice of solid or radiant hob, plus an optional rotisserie:

 

[MrX]

Cook Electric

Here's a joint ESB (Irish Electricity Supply Board) and NIE (Northern Ireland Electricity) ad that was run in 1982 to co-promote electric cooking!

Both of these power companies, much like the power boards in the UK, sold appliances, but they ran ads promoting electricity generally. Thesedays it's the exact opposite, they're desperately trying to get you to use less energy, how things change!

This video has a wonderful collection of 1982 UK/Ireland cookers and some hair styles that look like people have been plugged directly into a 230V socket outlet. Ah the 80s! Such style, such memories!

ESB only closed its ShopElectric outlets a few years ago!

 

[danemodsandy]

British vs. Yank Cookers

It's hard to credit the difference between American and British cookers (called stoves or ranges on this side of the briny). American models are usually bigger, of course, but that's not really it. The big difference is the British emphasis on grills (broilers here). On an American gas range, the broiler was almost an afterthought- located down at the very bottom of the unit, and absolute murder to clean. On electric models, the upper oven element provided broiling heat- quite a bit better from the cleaning standpoint, but not capable of really searing heat, since you have to leave the door open to the first stop for air circulation.

British cookers seem to be much better-designed for grilling, and they often have a warming shelf, nearly unheard-of here in the States.

There was an American fad for solid hobs, as Toggles has noted, but they didn't catch on, since they require some maintenance to look clean. Open Calrod-type elements take care of their own hygiene, burning off any little drops of grease that happen to land on them. I don't know if British manufacturers have gone to sealed gas burners on gas cookers, but they're a huge advance over here, making a gas range nearly as easy to care for as an electric one, since there's no longer any opening around the burner for grease to drip into. Gas ranges also commonly come with self-cleaning ovens now, as well as broiler burners located at the top of the oven, like electrics.

I suppose it's all in what one is used to. I see advantages in both American and British units.

 

[danemodsandy]

P.S.:

I love that Creda advert- the model was evidently chosen to look as much like Princess Margaret (in her palmy days, when she was married to Lord Snowdon) as possible, LOL.

 

[toggleswitch]

~I don't know if British manufacturers have gone to sealed gas burners on gas cookers,

Methinks sealed gas burners existed on the other side of the pond long before they came here.

I credit the introdution of electronic ignition (rather than standing pilot-lights) in this country leading to sealed burners. Origilly gas burners were open so that spills would not put out the flames which woeuld cause a hazard by allowing unburnt gas to flow.

Of course the open design also allowed for ample secondary air for combustion. Now with sealed burners, the grates tend to be "taller" to allow the burner to get some air from "above" the cooking surface.

Show us your cookers Brit boys! Especially ovens with Brit side elements, and the fountain-of-flame gas ovens!

 

[toggleswitch]

I guess I'm one of the few into stoves/cookers!

Surely we have some amazing "collectible" classic cookers in some many nice homes!

Chambers brand, etc.

Where is everyone?
*looks left, then looks right* (or it the UK right, then left!!!!!!)

 

[MrX]

Really since the disappearance of Creda and the other brands from the market it's impossible to distinguish British cookers from European cookers. They're all rather similar and made by the same companies these days.

I think aspects of UK designs have gone into mainstream European brands and aspects of designs that were popular in France, Germany etc have made it to the UK and Ireland. They remain pretty drastically different to US stoves though.

Also, I would suspect that the stand-alone all-in-one 'cooker' has kind of taken a back seat. The vast majority of cookers seem to be of the built-in variety with seperate oven and hob (cooktop) units.

There are definitely better grilling/broiling arrangements in the cookers around here though. Our De Dietrich double oven actually has 2 grills!

It can heat the following ways:
Radiant heat from the top
Heat from the sides
heat from the bottom
or heat using the elements around the fan.
Or various combinations of all of the above

The smaller bottom oven is a less fancy non-fan oven, with a grill.

De Dietrich are a French brand btw.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Moffatt

This was quite a cooker in its time, our neighbour had one, it used to fascinate us kids as Val would cook a chicken on the spit..Love the height dials as well, no stooping here...

 

[westie2]

One of the best we had was a builtin GE P-7 double oven with a rootersire and temp prob in the top oven and both were self cleaning and in stainless. The cook top was stainless with the pushbuttom controls on the matching vent hood. These we original to the house built in 1970. We bought the home in 1990 and they were still working great when we moved due to job in 1996.
We now have a 5 burner Kenmore smooth top which replaced a 4 burner 1971 Frigidaire cooktop. The Frigidaire single oven 27" is still working great.

 

[toggleswitch]

Ou est la porte?

Where is the door.

Greetings Chestermikeuk.
Where is the door to the upper grill?

Is there all-glass one shown closed?
Is it under the food?

-signed
"Ugly American" feeling blonde.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Grill

Morning Steve

"Ugly American" feeling blonde. Never...!!!

The door to the Grill or Spit as we call them, is slid down under the bottom rack etc...will try to find a pic of it closed, you could use it closed as well, boy did those chickens make your mouth water when turning...Val`s had the solid block burners that needed blackening all the time...

I`m busy searching for the pics of the kitchen that was here when we moved into it, you`ll ROFLOL when you see what we had before the re-fit...LOL..naked blue flames everywhere, in my "Cooking Theatre"...LOl

 

[toggleswitch]

Naked flamer?

Ah yes, thank you sir!

When one knows it's there, one can see the door under the drip-tray/pan.

Ugly American - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org