Question About '50s Westinghouse Commander

[digitaleraser]

My brother recently bought a house that came with an early '50s Westinghouse Commander, which we all immediately recognized as being super stylish despite our having been born long after it was produced.

Unfortunately, there seems to be some strange problem with the oven. He says it won't hold a constant temperature, constantly warming and cooling, ruining anything they try to bake.

He's thinking of simply buying a new oven, and gutting the Commander to use as a stylish workbench, which I think is kind of a shame. Does anyone know what the problem with the oven might be or how it could be fixed?

 

[rp2813]

If the oven still has its original open coil elements (the curly kind), there may be a loose connection or broken wire.  New tube type replacement elements can be found at appliance parts houses -- independents are more likely to help with this than the big chains.  Bring the old element assembly in with you.

 

It could also be a bad thermostat, or, if it's designed like my mom's '49 Commodore, it has a cable-operated thermostat and just the cable may have deteriorated. 

 

IIRC, the knob to set the oven temperature has a pulley on the back, the actual thermostat down behind the oven also has a pulley, and the cable wraps around the pulleys in a figure 8 pattern.  This is what I remember from helping my dad replace the cable on the Commodore with plain old picture wire, a repair that was still working fine a few decades later when the stove went to its new home in 2008.

 

It's not a difficult repair for someone who is mechanically inclined.  Be sure to mark pulley positions.  If it's the actual thermostat, you may have trouble finding a replacement. 

 

I think the Commader was top of the line for Westinghouse.  A very nice stove, but it doesn't strike me as practical for repurposing as a work bench.

 

 

 

[combo52]

Most Likely A Bad Thermostat

 

As these are NLA you will either get creative to fix or it will be VERY expensive, too bad as these were cool old ranges.

 

[volvoguy87]

Rebuild.

It is possible to have old oven thermostats rebuilt. Here is a link to a place which does it.

Dave

http://www.antiquestoves.com/toac/thermostats.htm

 

[tomturbomatic]

You can also get generic new thermostats, you just have to look up the part number in an old WH parts list and then have a parts dealer cross reference that number to the generic thermostat catalog number, unless it is one of those cable things, but I think the Commander had enough of a control panel that it should have a more standard thermostat. I wanted to say GEMLINE, but they are gone. Unlike old people, old thermostats often don't have enough gas to work properly.

 

[ea56]

I lived in a rental during the early 80's that had a 1939 Westinhouse Champion electric range and it was WONDERFUL, at least until the oven thermostat went out. I still have the owners manual that the original owner left in the duplex when she moved. The landlord replaced the stove with a new Magic Chef, there was no comparison to the Westinghouse. Your brother won't regret spending the $ to have this stove repaired, if at all possible. The Westinghouse that I had all those years ago was the best stove I ever used.

 

[norgeway]

OAC thermostat rebuild

I had them rebuild a gas stove thermostat several years ago, it was expensive but they did a great job and it worked well.

 

[rp2813]

Lucky for us, Larry's legacy lives on --

That would be Modern Parts in Parma, OH.  They're worth a try if it turns out the thermostat is bad.  They might have just what you need on some dusty old shelf way in the back, but it won't come cheap.