New stoves vs Old Ones

[circlew]

Bygted, that's a great kitchen,

It looks very classy. Your Westy looks a lot like the '53 Westinghouse I have that my Mom & Dad bought new. What year is yours? Differences are that mine has window in door, and control panel not exactly the same. Mine has the clock-timer in the middle, with oven control to left, and wind up minute timer to the right. Light switches are in different location, and knobs are a different shape. It is very heavy & well constructed compared to the 6 year old Admiral that's in the kitchen here in the house I'm renting while I'm renovating mine. I can move it with one hand without any trouble. Sure can't move my Westinghouse like that. Also the Admiral sounds like it's going to fall into a heap when the oven door is closed. Oven also takes a long time to get hot compared to my '53. The only thing the Admiral does better is the burners get hot quicker, but also cool down faster. Sorry I don't have any pics I can post of my Westinghouse at this time.

 

[58limited]

I love my 1950 O'Keefe and Merritt, except for the broiler being under the oven (I have the 34" model). I have not been too happy with the modern stoves that I have used in the last 20 years, especially in college. I think the landlords bought the cheapest crap, but then most college students wouldn't have known the difference. Mainly the stoves were cheaply built, the burners would go out, or the thermostat would go out (two temps: off and high).

I have a friend who designed and built her home. She bought a high-end Viking type range and it works well, but I think my O'Keefe and Merritt cooks just as good.

I can't wait to really get going with the restoration of my '36 Chambers Imperial: 5 burners, deep well, extra large griddle with broiler underneath, and two ovens - one standard size, one 50% larger. Now if I only had a place for it inside; I might have to set up a garage kitchen.

 

[westingman123]

I might have to set up a garage kitchen

Where I come from we call that a summer kitchen!! lol Actually, I think I'm going to have to set up a garage laundromat.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I love my vintage electric ranges, but there is one feature in my 80s Amana, my newest range, that I find heard to beat. It has a micro-thermal oven combining the functions of a 230 volt oven with a magnetron. The results are superb. Cakes bake in half the time. A pound cake in a Bundt pan goes in at a temperature 25 degrees higher than the recipe. The door is locked. The microwave delay timer is set for 35 minutes. The power level is set to medium and the microwave timer is set for 5 minutes. The cake bakes with heat alone for 35 minutes then gets 5 minutes of very even, pulsed microwave energy added to the thermal baking to finish. The cake rises beautifully, has a beautiful color and is slightly moister than one baked for twice as long in a strictly thermal process. This stove still has Amana's rapidly pulsing magnetron which even thaws meat on low without cooking it at the edges. On a more practical level, it can deliver crisp, browned frozen French Fries in just over 3 minutes using the broiler and microwaves both going full blast, something a 120 volt appliance can't do.

The surface units are very fast at 1600(6 in) and 2600(8 in) watts, just like my 1964 Westinghouse, and are very flat. The two main faults I find with the stove is that the oven, even though self-cleaning, is poorly insulated and the broiler has no reflector because of the construction concessions to the arcing situation during microwave operation so its performance is weak. For serious broiling, I use one of the ranges downstairs. It is not built with anywhere near the heavy construction of my older ranges, but it does offer a feature simply not available when they were made. None is perfect yet all of them have merits, sorta like most everything in the physical world.

 

[gansky1]

I would agree that most of the older ranges I've had were hard to beat. The 58 Frigidaire, 57 GE I have in the kitchen now and the 59 Turquoise Frigidaire I found on CL are built like tanks. I got all bothered to have a Maytag Dutch Oven range once and found two of them that I combined to make one beautiful range. I was shocked at how long it took to bring a stock-pot to a boil, the oven was probably the most even baking of any gas range I've ever used, but the 25 pound hunk of cast iron in the floor of the oven made all the difference there. That hunk of metal also was the cause of much frustration, if you wanted to cook a 1/2 dozen muffins or a frozen pizza - it was an all evening affair. I spent more time pre-heating that oven than baking in it. Seeing the writing on the wall (and the gas fumes) I twitched my nose and off it went to a good, loving home in Iowa at a friend of Ben's and I put the 57 GE in it's place. I was so glad to get back to my electric range, I can't tell you! I'm excited to use my 59 Frigidaire soon - it's still in the garage undergoing an entire clean and restore right now.

 

[bugsyjones]

I get to use a 2001 GE el-cheapo, almost bottom of the barrel gas stove. The house came with all new GE appliances and the refrigerator is the only one that hasn't required replacement or work. The electronic ignitions on the range don't always start the burners. Just sit there and tic, tic, tic, tic...I've had mechanics look at it but they just say there's air in the lines. Whatev. Now, the oven thermostat is gone crazy. To cook something at 400 degrees means you set the oven for 250. Rediculous. A new stove under 10 years old.

My grandparents, however, have a 1970's HARVEST GOLD, Signature by Montgomery Wards, 'Menu Magic' electric Cooking Center. It is a unique stove because it's slightly smaller that a regular one, and it has TWO ovens. One full size regular oven, and one ABOVE the cooking surface. It's got a flourescent light to illuminate the work area and a clock and timer that STILL WORK. It works for their house because it's kinda small. They bought a new Whirlpool fridge and it looks like a behemoth next to the svelte Signature stove. This is the only appliance that has outlasted all the others they've had EXCEPT for the 1963 Maytag Wringer Washer, which I have now.

~Tim

 

[polkanut]

We have a 1998 Magic Chef 30" gas range in almond that has given us 10+ years of trouble free service. It is self-cleaning, has timed bake, sealed burners, and electronic ignition. The oven heats perfectly, and has stainless drip pans which are a breeze to keep clean, just pop 'em in the dw. I prefer mine over my Mom's 3yo POS GE gas range, don't remember what model hers is right off hand.

 

[danemodsandy]

Oven Thermostat Calibration:

" Now, the oven thermostat is gone crazy. To cook something at 400 degrees means you set the oven for 250. Rediculous. A new stove under 10 years old."

Bugsy:

You might have a very simple problem. If your oven temperature is set by a rotary knob, you can pull the knob off its shaft and you'll see the calibration screw on the back side of the knob. You want to look closely at where the screw is; there are usually directions stamped somewhere close to it. You will probably see an arrow and something like +10 degrees and -10 degrees. Basically, you loosen the screw and turn the calibration one notch for every 10 degrees of correction you want. If the screw is loose when you remove the knob, that is why your thermostat setting is fluctuating; it should be tight to hold a setting.

If you don't have this kind of setup, you may have a calibration adjustment through the electronic readout; look at your range manual for how to calibrate things.

Hope this helps!

 

[sudsmaster]

The main problem with old stoves is... that they are old.

Typically, their chrome drip pans have serious rust issues. The griddles are often scratched and in need of re-plating. The oven doors are often sprung, and the exterior porcelain would be rare if it didn't have at least one chip. The fiberglass insulation probably has absorbed a lot of odors, if not worse - mice. The oven thermostats can be wildly inaccurate, and often the electrics (clocks, fans, wiring, etc.) are shot. Then there are the pilot lights - which are unreliable and an energy waste.

Yes, they can be reconditioned, but one could probably get a modern high quality stainless near-commercial range for the cost of what an older range would cost to be fully reconditioned and be brought up to date with igniters, etc.

OTOH, I wouldn't pass up a minty old TOL Wedgewood or O'Keefe at an estate sale... if the price were right...

 

[laundromat]

GE

In 1984,I was given a 40 inch GE Americana electric range (circa 1966) by John LeFever from Belysville,MD.Along with it was a Westinghouse Roaster oven with the stand nd clock.I grew up using an old,basic "Tragic chef" 36 inch gas range and have the scars to prove it.I told John as much as I wanted to try electric cooking out,that the models I had any experience with had burned everything and I had no dontrol over the heat.John showed me the Sensitemp burner and told me to use it until I was able to use the other burners as the Sensitemp would show me how to set the other three burners to perfection.This range completely converted my taste in ranges from the du;; gas models to the more sofisticated electrics.I cooked up a storm on that model and vowed I would never use flames to cook anything except on a grill.
This had two different electric outlets.One was times,the other was manual.The right,larger oven was self cleaning and the left oven had removable sides,back and bottom panels you would remove to place in the main oven to use for self cleaning(P-7)and the main oven had a rotisery along with a meat probe.

While in Houston,I visited a store called "The Great Indoors",Sear's version of Ikea and walked right over to look at electric ranges.I had a horific Hotpoint from 197?.I saw the unit(JBP83CECC) was marked down from $1899 to $399!!!!!!!! I grabbed the price tag and a salesman and made sure I wasn't seeing things.That model has the ceramic cooktop,a bridge,a three posion set up for the right front,large 10",8",or 6" cookware,warming zone,warming drawer,dual speed convection self cleaning oven and huge see through glass oven window.I did so much cooking and enjoyed every bit of it.I'd recomend that particular model to any and everyone.Nobody else makes one that performs anywhere near what that model can do---and did!!When I left Texas,I sold it to a great friend who was replacing a 197? Tappan basic 30" model. No clock,no light,1 8" burner and 3 6" ones.

 

[bugsyjones]

danemodsandy

I checked the temprature knob as you suggested. It does indeed have the adjustment screws, but they are tight and not loose. I am fairly sure that it is a thermostat problem, because the knob can be shut off completely, and the oven still kicks on.

I don't have the money for a new stove right now, so in the mean time, I've 'ghetto-fied' it by plugging the stove into a powerstrip with an on/off switch. It solves the problem of the oven spontaneously kicking on and wasting my propane. I can just flip the switch.

~Tim