My New Range is HERE!

[norgeway]

Outlets...

I have a Frigidaire that was bought in March of 75 that stll has an outlet, it turns out it was a leftover 74 model.....RE DUCK!!! I remember my Mother cooked a duck one time...it took forever to clean the oven...id just as soon cook a greasy old possum..LOL!

 

[rickr]

Congrats Sandy! I know you have been looking for your "dream range" for a long time. Enjoy it!

 

[circlew]

Very nice, Sandy!

Glad to hear it's now home with you. As you probably know, it's based on the original GE 30" range, that was introduced in '57. I like this style with the inset doors better than the models where the door overlaid the cabinet.

 

[combo52]

Electrical Outlets On Ranges, Cook-Tops and Wall-Ovens

Were discontinued by UL decree before the end of 1974, even though very convenient they were considered a hazard if a cord was draped over a hot heating element or burner. This was the type of UL regulation that appliance manufacturers welcomed because it saved them MONEY and there was no competitive disadvantage in one company trying to save money by dropping a feature because everyone had to do it.

 

At the same time the push-to-turn control knobs for surface burners were also mandated by UL, this is when the push-button burner controls that GE and HP had used forever also disappeared, because the requirement said [ it must take TWO different movements to turn on a surface burner ] so GE chose not to brother to redesign the PB switches to require two different motions to use them.

 

Sandy the nice knobs your range uses were much lighter in color on ranges built in the late 60s-the early 1970s and they did tend to fade and the writing wear off even more as they were used. The knob you pictured with the darker brown background was a later but completely compatible knob.

 

You had me going when you said the selector knob said rotisserie on it as I knew that that was wrong for your range and the thermostat knob should not have the word rotisserie on it either. GE did make both style knobs, so it may have even been a factory mistake.

 

Sandy if you have any problems finding knobs for this range I should have them as we have BOXES full of GE range knobs.

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

I'm going to get to do a first cleaning and a first powering-up on Wednesday, which will probably give me a good idea of what I'm going to need. I am a little antsy about the Sensi-Temp burner, just because it is a Sensi-Temp burner. If the crud in the burner bowl is any indication, it works just fine.

I can definitely say a set of knobs is going to be needed. These are so bleached out that I have to use a flashlight and my reading glasses for them.

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. I cannot wait until I can use this range for some goodies I sorely miss, like meatloaf and ribs. Too spattery and messy for a non self-cleaner, so I've foregone them these last four years. I detest oven cleaning more than any other household chore, yet I hate a dirty oven. My solution has been just not to mess the damned thing up. I'll be glad when that's over!

 

[rustyspaatz]

Well... O.K-Hahhh....

Here comes 7 layer Lasagna, meatloaf, apple pie,...

and throw in a couple of candles and a can of spray paint.

Oh hell, let's get on with the incineration. We'll see what this thing can REALLY do.

What's the worst that can happen?

 

[frigilux]

A beautiful, classic GE. Congratulations, and three cheers for the AW members who made it possible! Another example of the generosity found at AW.

 

[combo52]

Cool Dirty Oven Picture, Rusty

Of an early GE P-7 oven, are you going to show the after SC picture ? if it is working properly it should completely clean that oven.

 

Sandy I could not agree more about not having a SC oven, it just takes the fun out of cooking. I have 8 SC ovens in the three homes I send my time in and 4 of these ovens get the great majority of  the use, all four of these ovens are quite dirty now and since cooler weather is here now all will gets cleaned in the next month or so.

 

They all get cleaned about once a year, always when the weather is cool and immediately after they are used so the oven is already hot to save a little power and stress on the oven liner.

 

While there is no diffident interval recommended to run the clean cycle it is up to the user to decide, I have always been very happy to use the feature just when really needed as the high temperature clean cycle does take a toll on the oven liner and racks.

 

Happy Cooking   John L.

 

[rustyspaatz]

Combo-
"Cool Dirty Oven Picture, Rusty"

I don't know, it gives me the creeps.
I'm vegan and don't eat much cooked food. I don't even have so much as a toaster oven. Hey, if our friend is baking, lets party.

Actually, I wonder if a self cleaning oven would remove spray paint and candle wax. for some reason I think the paint would turn brown, but some of it would stay stuck on permanent. wax, no problem.
Anyone?

Seriously, this new oven is waa-aa-aay too nice to do those kinds of experiments with.
And I have no doubt it will clean off the worst food stains he can throw at it.

Fresh made apple pie does sound really good right now. Cinnamon, apples, yum, the smell...
My mother does still make numerous pies, especially when apples are in season, then freezes them before baking, to be cooked at a later time.
....and apple crisp.... yum

 

[norgeway]

I am..

SOOOO careful not to spill stuff in the oven!!!LOL!

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Congrats Sandy

It is so nice to get a stove you really like and enjoy cooking with.  I hope you and the GE will make many happy meals together. 

Here is the MT Advanced Cooking System stove I found 4 years ago.  I love having one with the cast iron grates and big oven. I have loved cooking every meal on it.

WK78

 

[danemodsandy]

Got Started....

....On the cleaning this afternoon. She's dirtier than she looks, but that's the way of it with vintage appliances. It's mostly accumulation under, around and behind details. For instance, the oven door handle looked pristine in place, but a look at its underside was like - Oh. My. God.

I am definitely not complaining! Nice to have something worth working on. I well remember when I had to clean the BOL POS I have - I went through all that knowing full well that a clean POS was still going to be a POS when I was through. This new range is worth the effort.

And once again, I'm enormously taken by how well she's built. I don't think a new Hyundai has this much metal in it!

Tomorrow is a day off, so I'm hoping for huge progress - as in powering 'er up and puttin' 'er through some paces.

 

[danemodsandy]

RUH-ROH!

I'm sure it's not a real problem, but I've had my first "WTF?" moment with the range.

I removed the oven door handle to clean under it and to clean the Bakelite spacer behind it. When I did so, the oven door wouldn't go back together properly. Investigation showed that the door would have to come off its hinges to be properly reassembled.

The door hinges LOOK like the current lift-off type, but they are not; there is a screw in each holding the door in place on them. I removed the screws, lifted the door, and - uh, boy.

Two little spring clips fell out of the bottom edge of the door; they are obviously what holds the screws in place when the door is fastened on the hinges. Both clips are intact and present, but I have less than NO idea how to re-insert them. I was able to figure out how the door went back together, in spite of more little spacers than you can shake a stick at.

In a moment evidently lost to history, GE must have been the first inter-species employer, offering trained octopi gainful employment - you need eight hands to hold everything in alignment as you re-assemble.

Anyway, can anyone reveal the mystery of those two spring clips for the hinges? John maybe?

 

[polkanut]

Sandy,

You had me scared for a moment that there was a major mechanical defect.  I hope your cleaning and polishing efforts yield great results.

 

[combo52]

GE Oven Door Clips

Sandy are  these the two little curved spring steel like clips? if that is what we are talking about they assemble near the bottom of the slot in the door where the door slides onto the hinges, they improve the fit and aliment of the door when installed.

 

Anyway I don't know if I am helping much here, when I go over to the warehouse around noon I will look at a similar range we have and I will probably be better able to describe how to reinstall the clips, but basically they clip up into the bottom of the hinge brackets.

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

Yep, they're two little curved clips. I am going to look at them again after a night's sleep (yesterday was a hard day at work and I really shouldn't have been working on the range last night), with your description in mind.

She's a very nice range, but she's a very complicated one!

P.S.: Tim, I was hoping to avoid giving that impression that something awful was wrong - Astro's "Ruh-Roh!" was my attempt to keep it light. Sorry if I scared you. I'm sure there will be some, shall we say, adventurous moments along the way to Range Nirvana? I'm just trying to treat it all as a journey and not stress. [this post was last edited: 11/13/2013-09:42]

 

[atomict]

Congrats

That is a beauty!  Just love that styling with all the bells and whistles!

 

-Tony

 

[polkanut]

Sandy,

No fear here.  I knew it wouldn't be perfect, but it's a huge improvement over what you've been using.

 

[danemodsandy]

Trudging Along....

Well, I've spent about five hours on her so far today, and strides have been made.

Her backguard and cook top are clean. The drip recesses under the burner bowls are cleaned out (such fun!) and the oven vent deflector, which had been out of position, is clean and back where it belongs.

The news is mixed on her trim rings and burner bowls. The trim rings are better, but they have rust in places, which means I'll want to replace them. The bowls are much, much better, but there is still carbonized grease in crevices underneath them, which means another pass, another time. They look great from the top. These are not getting replaced, because they're original aluminum bowls; today's replacements are that cheap, thin chrome. I like a burner bowl I can scour vigorously if need be.

Some tape residue that was on the backguard also came off cleanly; her "Sensi-Temp" logo now shines proudly.

As I worked, I felt the range was telling me the story of its previous ownership. I could tell that for a long time, she was cared for, quite well. I could also tell that the care stopped at some point, perhaps a few years ago. Most things were reasonably clean, but the Sensi-Temp burner was pretty bad, and none of the burner bowls had been Brillo-ed for a while. I get the feeling that a woman prized this range for a long time, and then after she died, her surviving husband just used it bachelor-fashion, maybe wiping it down after use, but certainly not worrying about the finer points of cleaning.

Anyway, she's getting better. Hope to power her up tonight. Pray.

 

[oldskool]

Her Transitional Home...

...is now vacant. This is where the range was held in safety until her travels to Waterloo, IA - at Tim's garage. Sorry it took me so long to get the pics uploaded.