Question, Repair/replace old Tappan Fabulous 400?

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mattl

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Got a cousin that lives in Detroit proper, not a great neighborhood, house is not worth much at this point.  Kitchen was updated when his parents bought the house in 1960, has a Tappan 400 range and an Aqua Kenmore bottom freezer fridge. Anyway the range is all but dead, no working burners.  He had someone out a few years ago quoted $300+ to fix.  He has a range in the basement he's been using.  Have sent him lots of CL ads for Flairs and Tappans over the years, but he seems to think he's going to move and hasn't bothered following up.

 

Anyway he started out the year by falling and ripping the muscle in his leg, requiring surgery to drill holes in his kneecap then weave the muscle through to reattach it.  He's been laid up at his nephew's home since and is looking forward to getting home.  I'm trying to come up with an option for him since he won't be able to get up and down the stairs to his basement range.  A hot plate might be a quick fix, but I was wondering if anyone has rewired a similar range and what is involved.  Might be something I could do.

 

We have been talking about this for years, the Tappan's been slowly dieing.  Pulling it out and replacing it with a standard 30" range would require a redo of most of the kitchen, floor in particular, since it's on a base unit that matches the rest of the cabinets, not a metal one. Not an option with the value of the house.   Also it would be impossible to match the cabinets.   An old 40" range might fit but he would loose quite a bit of storage space, and there are no upper cabinets above the range.   I have no idea if the elements have gone out or the wiring to them is bad.  How available are replacement elements for the Tappan?  I think one oven works too, the other might need parts.

 

I'm tempted to go down, it's 60 miles from me, and pull the unit out and bring it up here to work on.  I would think it might be somewhat involved.  If I came across a 40' Flair or Tappan in the are that would be  the perfect solution, but these are pretty rare in the area.    Are these 40" or 42"?  Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Here's an ad from '59 for the range...

mattl++2-7-2011-01-47-7.jpg
 
Wow, that's a deal. I'd be all over it if it was closer.

Does anyone know what elements the Tappan uses for the burners? If there were something that could be used I know that is a fairly simple fix. The range does not have to be fully functional, just 2 burners would be great.
 
What a range!

I hope you can bring it back to life - it would be less than tearing apart the kitchen to accomodate a new range, plus you would have something really unique and better than anything you could buy new.
 
I guess the real question is parts availability.  I found oven elements on ebay, but I have no idea what the burners use for elements.  Are the proprietary or did Tappan use a Ge or Frigidaire element?
 
Those Tappan surface units can be safely replaced with Chromalox elements, except I'm not sure about the 8 inch. I can't remember if it was a two size element or if that was something else. They only had one 8 incher. Replacing the elements would not be hard, but I wonder if you are dealing with switch failure and unless his is different from the one in the ad, one 6 incher is thermostatic. If you are going to try to move it, be warned; they are very heavy and awkward to move.

How long is he gonna be laid up? Could he get by with a hotplate? Doesn't the 400 have an appliance outlet? That would give him a good 15 amp outlet if the kitchen is circuit poor. Tackling that whole stove at a crisis moment seems like a lot, especially when he is probably gonna be microwaving frozen stuff until he is able to be up on that knee long enough to be standing at a stove.

I send my best wishes for his healing and for you to have strength to help him.
 
I see plenty of Frigidaire Flair ranges (real similar to the Fab 500's On ebay under "frigidaire".Most are in great shape and have the original Radiantube elements and Cookmaster controls.
 
Tom, thanks for the info. A hotplate might do the trick, but I'd like to get 2 burners working for him. I can't imagine all 4 controls are bad, so even if 2 work I'd be happy.

I feel bad for him. Around here, 60 miles north of him, anytime anyone has a problem someone is around to fix it, Need a roof, we put one on, need wiring, we get it done, just about any repair we get done, because there is enough of us around here. He's more or less isolated and could use the help but with his work schedule and the distance it never seems to work out. Now he'll be off work, the Dr. said up to 6 months, so I might be able to get down there and help him out. I have a nice range in the basement, but I can't imagine going up and down the stairs several times a day to cook. He's stuck in a rut, not sure what he want's to do so he does nothing.
 
Portables

Matt
I was thinking about a portable unit too, at least to give you some time to establish what exacly is up with the Tappen and then work out a remedy, although I wonder if your friend has been going up and down to the basement to cook whether he would actually want to - maybe you can put a positive spin on it as a "new start" for your friend. As well as the portable hotplate you could check out thrift stores for a decent electric frypan and perhaps a steamer (Tefal), they are great when you live alone and want some fresh veggies as they can all be done in one cooking vessel with minimal washing up.

I know when I remodelled my kitchen recently I thought very seriously about re-installing my 4 burner induction as I hardly ever use 4 burners, I dont even use one burner that often. Good luck

Al
 
Matt, the reason I was thinking about the outlet on the Tappan is that it would be sufficient for a two burner hotplate. They usually have one higher wattage element of around 900 watts and one that draws about 500 hundred watts so they sorta use the capacity of a 15 amp circuit. If he had two elements and a microwave and maybe a toaster oven, it would buy some time and a two burner hotplate could sit on the wood chopping block part of the cooktop.

One thing to remember about the Tappan and all of these stoves with the cooktops you could hide is that there is a safety switch that prevents them from operating if they are closed. That is something else you have to investigate. Where it is and how you get to it are things someone who is an expert in these stoves can tell you. There are also wires that flex when the cooktop is pulled out and pushed back in that might have broken inside the insulation so the break will not be visible. You will need to determine if the elements are wire in (probably) or plug in. If they are plug in, you better buy the receptacles when you buy the units. I would take one of each size to the parts store along with the model # of the Tappan. I have to pick up parts today. I will try to remember to ask if they sell Tappan parts. I think that is all WCI/Frigidaire/Electrolux now. If you or somebody who has literature can supply me with a model #, I will see what I can find for surface unit part numbers on the microfiche.
 
Yes, in the research I did I found several people who had problems with the switch getting gummed up and broken wires from flexing. It's been pulled in and out for over 50 years, I can imagine that a wire or tow could break.

As to the hotplate idea, if I recall correctly the plug is just a 2 prong unit, I'm sure he has some adapters around. Being that the house was built in the '50 I know it's severely underwired, so using that outlet would be useful.
 
Matt, I sorta lost this thread; could not find it. I guess I did not tab down far enough. Anyway, these are very old numbers and don't cross over to anything newer, but the 8" element is KRS 233-2 and the 6" is KRS 233-7. I think you will have better luck just removing one of each and taking them to a parts place unless you want to contact Larry at Modern Parts in Parma, OH.
Sorry for the delay.
 
No problem.  My cousin was on his way home but the weather stopped him and now his sister-in-law- died so things have been up in the air.  Thanks for the part numbers, when he gets settled in at home I'm head down there and explore the issues.
 
Tappan Parts And Surface Elements

I Believe I Have Tappan 400 Series Parts And Elements I Will Need To Fully Check Make Sure They Are The Right Parts For This Tappan Model And Just Let Le Know If You Need Any Parts I Have Parts Books From Tappan On Certain Models And I Know I Have It On This Model.Any Questions Just Post And I Will Reply I Also Have Old Frigidaire Part.
 

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