Observations of new vs old ranges....after,

[norgeway]

Fixing a 1958 Frigidaire Custom imperial in lovely pink!, First, a little background, Ron Jones, our good friend from Rockingham NC, has had this range for a while, it once belonged to, of all people, Billy Grahams Mother!!! Anyway, it had several problems that I fixed, The Heat Minder didnt work just right, well, I found one of the leade from the sensor to the control had a corroded spade clip at the control, A wire brush and a little cleaning set it right, then the speed heat control was about shot, so I replaced it with one from the 56 Model range he got for parts a few weeks back, now it works fine, the clock was a royal pain, when I finally did get it to run , it ran...BACKWARDS!, I switched the sides of the magnets ,curing it, and replaced all of the signal lights with new bulbs, now it lights like a Christmas Tree as it should,,Now the comparison, There is NONE, the only thing a new range will do that this one want is clean itself, Features it does have that NO new ranges have, A meat probe to tell when your roast is done,A Speed Heat unit, A Heat Minder thermostatic unit, Heavy Radiantube Surface Units that laugh at the weight of a canner! a flourescent light,a fused and timed convienience outlet, illuminated controls for each unit,A deep well cooker, A griddle that is made for the Heat Minder unit,a special broiler control for rare med or well done that tells you when your steak is done, a minute timer that you set by turning one knob, instead of touching a miserable touchpad 3 or 4 times for one operation, a glass backsplash that can be easily wiped clean, But most of all, pure old fashioned QUALITY! You dont have to bolt this range to the floor to keep it from turning over!! and you wont burn yourself on it either if you touch the outside while the ovens are on, I could go on and on, after really looking at how the stuff used to be made, What is made today is a big joke!

 

[danemodsandy]

I Agree, Hans!

Someone I know just got a new 30-inch Frigidaire smooth-top with a self-cleaning oven, and I am absolutely amazed by it!

I have never seen anything so tinny and with so many rough edges. The thing is less than two weeks old, and already the plastic storage drawer glides have broken.

And it was well over $500. Amazing.

 

[norgeway]

YES!

My point exactly, some of you remember I bought a new stove about a year and a half ago, A smoothtop Hotpoint,I had never used anything new and decided to try it, well, I used it for about a year, and while it worked ok, there was no quality, after the storage drawer fell off the track for the third time I said no more, I sold it and put my 55 Norge back in!

 

[danemodsandy]

Oh, Hans....

....How did the trip to Lowe's go?

 

[oldskool]

Absolutely

I bought into the hype before becoming acquainted with AW and did the whole appliance update to SS in early 2010.  The KA smooth top is okay, but feels very 'tinny' and the newer KA Dishwashers lack as well.  Two burners and two knobs have required replacement, one water valve on the left KA dishwasher, and control panel problems on the other.  I'm working toward aquiring a set of vintage units that I can replace all with.  Would really like to go with a 40" stove but present configuration of the kitchen requires a 30".  In the not too distant future I'd like to make some cabinet changes and replace all units.  Could kick myself right now for not grabbing a beautiful coppertone Fridgidaire side by side earlier this year - for $75 - it would have matched one of these 40" coppertone stoves I've seen recently.  I plan to continue working toward a vintage transformation in the kitchen. 

I really appreciate all the inspiration from you guys and other AW members who have shared their experiences and inventory.

 

[philr]

Hans, did you notice if the clock/timer assembly in Ron's range was made by GE? I guess it's similar to the one I have in my early 1960s Frigidaire ranges? Later ones (some from 1961-62 and most newer) were made by International Register.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations Hans,

although I might have had the stove exorcised before bringing it into the house. If you want to prolong the life of the Speed Heat unit, always start it at Simmer, then, once you hear it click out of 230 volt operation, turn it to a higher heat. The Broiler Grill varies the intensity of the heat for the broiler element in my 1961, letting you use a single shelf setting for broiling. The Rare setting uses 100 percent of the 3700 watts of the broil element, a very powerful one at that. Medium and Well settings pulse current to the element like an infinite switch for a surface unit. When I just don't have the time to bother with the Farberware Open Hearth Broiler, I broil in the smaller oven of the 1961 Frigidaire. I formed mirror image "L"s of foil which sit on the shelf and extend up the walls of the oven. They catch almost all of the pops and spatters except for the ones that go up and those, as I have mentioned before, are converted into little bursts of flame by the intense heat of the high wattage broil element.

Hans mentions the weight of a canner. Unfortunately, with older Frigidaire ranges, the element supports, but not the elements themselves, can weaken, causing the centers of the elements to sag when used at high heat. Unfortunately, only a replacement support will remedy the situation and finding a support for the early 50s ranges where the support ends rest on tiny nubs in the trim ring is difficult. The elements can also warp because, unlike most surface units, they are not attached to a frame, but can be forced back into shape by bending the offending portion up or down as needed.

For those of you who do canning, there is a 2600 watt element that WP makes for their ranges that plugs into the 8" surface unit receptacle, but has higher supports underneath to raise the element higher above the cooktop to lessen the chance of porcelain damage. It will fit some other brands with plug out surface units. John would have to tell you which ones. KA sells the same unit, but at almost twice the price.