Old electric range versus new?

[hunter]

Folks,

Given the often discussed disgust with the poor quality of new appliances, I have a question:

DO you all think it better to buy a NEW electric range or an OLD electric range? When I say 'new' I mean something since 2005 onward, or 'old' as being something from (say) the 1960s or before?

Just curious.

 

[mattl]

Not sure.  For me it depends on the technology.  If I was in the market today and had the money I'd jump on an induction range or cooktop.  If that was not a concern or want odds are I might look to late '50s or early '60s stuff, things that were more solidly built.  My preference is for cleaner lines so i would avoid the rounded look of the late '40s and early '50s.

 

That said I love the look and performance of my Sieman's gas cooktop, and the functionality of my Electrolux oven.  Both perform flawlessly and do more than I expected.

 

[kenmore71]

A lot depends on what features you are looking for and how handy you are with repairs. Old ranges can be a lot of fun, but you will need to lay in a supply of spare parts and have the willingness and the know-how to make repairs as things go wrong. For myself, I would personally focus on the GE or Frigidaire models from the 1960s. Part of the reason for this is that many of the basic parts from these models were used well into the 1970s and are still sround. If you buy a vintage range you are definitely going to want to lay in a stash of replacement elements (both oven and top), an oven thermostat, a couple of cooktop burner controls and then you will always be on the lookout for the "fun" stuff like clocks, timers, griddles, rotisseries, etc. Owning and using an old range is kind of like driving a a vintage car

 

[danemodsandy]

I'm Partial....

....To vintage stuff, for several reasons.

First, I like the look better. Or perhaps I should say looks? The rounded corners of Truman-era styling, the crispness of the Sheer Look years, or the chrome-y glamour of the later '60s and early '70s are all attractive to me.

The quality of vintage is higher, almost every time. The weight of a 1955 stove versus a modern one is, well, no contest. Gauges of metal are thicker, handles and knobs generally more substantial, porcelain instead of paint commonplace. Backsplash and control markings are usually molded in or printed into porcelain or protected behind glass, not just silk-screened on like today.

And there's the electronics question. Today's feature-rich appliances depend on electronic circuit boards, which are vulnerable to heat and moisture - which are two of the main byproducts of stovetop cooking. Steam from pots and pans rolls right over the clock/timer assembly of most modern ranges, and it can't be doing that assembly any good. Vintage ranges depend on robust electro-mechanical timers that aren't nearly so sensitive.

You can get almost anything vintage that you can get new - slide-in, drop-in, built-in, stainless, self-cleaning, you name it. You just have to want it bad enough to search for it, and my experience is, if you search for it, you WILL eventually find it.

My two cents -

 

[norgeway]

As Someone who has used both!

I have a new range in my kitchen now,...I like the way it bakes, and I have no real complaints with the glass top, but it has to be the cheapest made thing ever, if you put anything heavy in the small storage drawer, it not only is hard to open, but will fall off the track and get stuck!!,,I will be going back to a real range.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I grew up with a mid-1950s GE Liberator range like the one Robert has and it was so awesome that it was worth it to not have a self cleaning oven.  I wish I had a range like that today.

 

Ken D.

 

[norgeway]

If I could Have!!!

My 55 Norge NEW I wouldnt trade it for anything!!

 

[hunter]

This helps...

Gotcha, thanks everyone (and thanks in advance to anyone who wants to add stuff).

I have a later vintage Miele oven as well, which is very sophisticated. I'm just getting wary of electronic controls in general, because the quality just isn't what it once was - too many things are pushed through engineering and test too quick, and with gold so expensive, a lot of circuit boards don't have enough metal on them to be really reliable for long.

I'll keep my modern Kitchenaid range for a while, but I'm going to keep my eyes out for other things, I guess...we'll see.

I hadn't thought about stocking up on spare parts, as electric ranges are pretty simple, but that makes perfect sense.

Of course I DO like self cleaning ovens which really are a later vintage, so, maybe that matters too.

 

[lordkenmore]

I am not qualified to compare old vs new...but my lack of qualifications hasn't stopped me babbling before, so why should it stop me now?

As a renter, I use what is in the kitchen. I've never had a bad stove. Every stove has worked acceptably--but then, I've never done anything demanding, like a cake that has to be baked exactly right, or else it's a concrete block.

However, if I were buying my very own stove, I suspect I'd go vintage. Some might say I live in the past--in fact, some have said that. But I like older styling better. And I like how solid the stoves are. And I suspect that in some ways the performance might be better in some ways. I can't say for certain, but I think my current Coppertone Hotpoint (despite a way off thermostat calibration) is the best baking conventional oven I've ever used. And I really don't like electronics in my stove.

However, I'm sure that there are really excellent modern stoves and ovens. I am interested in induction. But...the problem is, one pays.

I suppose no matter what, one pays. One has one of three things:
-Vintage, which may require repairs due to age/years of service
-High end modern, which may work with zero problems for years, but has a high price tag, and when repairs are needed, could be expensive or impossible.
-Low end modern, which is cheaply built, and may not last very long.

 

[danemodsandy]

Hunter:

Self-cleaning goes back to 1963, when GE introduced the technology.

So you could conceivably find a self-cleaner going back that far. That time frame covers Coppertone, Yellow, Turquoise, and I believe Pink, as well as White.

Finding a really early one might be a challenge, and keeping it working might be a bigger one, but people here have done harder stuff.

 

[xraytech]

For me it would be a 1960's GE 40" electric range all the way. While I like my Frigidaire Flair I enjoy the looks and controls of the GE much better, and I like both more than my 2007 Kenmore smooth top.

I am most partial to mid 60s GEs with the pushbutton controls and the early P*7 ovens.

 

[hunter]

I didn't realize

I didn't realize that self clean went back that far.

Wow...that's good to know.

And from this forum I've also read that the P7s were most accurate ovens made !

So that's what I should look for

 

[customline]

Well......

An old electric range/oven works and does basically the same thing as a new one. Some of the features on an older model are more desirable than a new one. The wiring is better and safer in a new appliance. A lot of older appliances were not even grounded. A newer appliance does not have the charm or style of an older one though. I'll take an older appliance any day over a new one (after it's been rewired).

 

[tomturbomatic]

Older electric ranges were grounded, although through the third terminal, not through the dedicated 4th terminal on the cords and outlets. That was why UL made manufacturers eliminate the small appliance outlets on ranges. Since the range was grounded, if a small appliance being used on the range developed a short, it could ground to the range and make the whole range electrically LIVE which would make cooking a shocking experience.

I would probably steer clear of really old self-cleaners. The thermostatic systems were complicated and expensive to replace if parts are even still available. Usually old electric oven thermostats were very dependable and all of the old GE, Frigidaire and WH ranges I have used baked well. I always keep a sheet of foil under the bake element and that eliminates the worst oven cleaning situations.

 

[fido]

I've had 3 electric cookers since I got my first place in 1981. The first was a Creda, probably the cheapest cooker I could find new at the time. It was OK but not as good as my mothers slightly more expensive Tricity. It had 4 spiral rings a grill and a conventional oven. A few years later I moved to a better house and revamped the kitchen with pine units. I bought a new cooker, a slot in Tricity with ceramic hob that had one halogen zone. It also was a double oven cooker, the main oven being a fan oven. This served me well for some years but one day I noticed the ceramic top was cracked. Nothing had been dropped on it, it just cracked. That has put me off ceramic hobs and by then it was not worth spending megga bucks on a new top anyway so I needed a replacement cooker. I don't like the solid hotplate type that were common in mainland Europe, as they take ages to heat up. This only left the spiral ring type. At least the rings are cheap and easy to change when they blow. I looked at the new cookers of that type available at the time and there were only about 3 models to choose from. The build quality of these was so poor I would not waste my money on one so I bought a secondhand Tricity Bendix Tiara. I suppose the challenge with a '50s or '60s appliance would be to find one that's been well treated. If every surface needs to be re-finished it could end up costing a lot more than buying new.

 

[maytagbear]

Another potential drawback of an early GE P*7

besides the potential scarcity of parts....is that the oven, especially in the 30 inch models is smaller than other self-cleaners, like the Frigidaire or Westinghouse.

For some people, that isn't a huge challenge, but for those who do bake frequently, or bake large batches, or entertain frequently, it could be a major consideration.

If I wanted a vintage electric, I would go with a GM Frigidaire. The best electric cooks I have known were/are devoted to their Frigidaires.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[firedome]

Some of the '70s

ranges still had quality construction and also have self-cleaning, as well as modern features, while retaining electro-mechanical controls and of course have no ICs or other computerization. I love our Harvest Gold '76 Frigidaire Custom Deluxe 30" as much as our '58 GE Liberator 40" in Sunny Yellow, but do miss the self-cleaning on the latter range and the 2nd oven on the former one, though the '58 has more of a Jetsons feel that the '76 lacks... maybe it's just that one needs more than one!

 

[firedome]

BTW: Ken D.

you mentioned missing your old GE Liberator? due to range overload around here we may be selling our 40" Liberator soon and Bing NY isn't very far from NJ, if interested in one.

 

[philr]

In Canada, old ranges (and dryers) already had separate grounds and ranges had fused circuits. For example, there were fuses for oven elements and for pairs of burners. 

 

Even those made in the US that crossed the border had to be made that way.

 

Here's an example of a late seventies Frigidaire made in the US for the Canadian market, but even those from the fifties have fuses like that.