Questions about the G.E. Mark 27

[thatwasherguy]

Hey everyone! Hope you are all well. I recently learned that a family member is remodeling their kitchen, and has saved for me their old stove, which is a beautiful 1996 G.E. Mark 27 drop-in. I am told that one of the surface units is out on it, but that’s nothing I can’t fix. I was doing some research on the mark 27 as a result, and found some ads for them dating all the way back to 1961, which would put the production run at a minimum of 35 years. Over the course of that time, it appears that many changes and revisions were made. My question is this; What is the basic timeline of updates and changes to the mark 27, and when did the model JMS07001AD come into the picture? I see some pictures online of a similar one in harvest gold, leading me to believe that it dates to the 70’s (in fact, I initially thought that this stove was 70’s until I saw the date code for 1996). I’ll hopefully be picking it up sometime in the next couple of weeks, so I can provide some more pictures then.
Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[repairguy]

This one was probably built in 1984. Congrats

 

[combo52]

GE Mark 27 drop in ranges

They get their name because they’re approximately 27 inches wide. The oven cavity was the same as their 27 inch wall ovens at the time.

AsThey get their name because their approximately 27 inches wide. The oven cavity was the same as their 27 inch wall ovens at the time.

As Melvin mentioned the model you pictured is from the 80s , Please ranges were discontinued in the original format by 1996 but GE may still have a drop in replacement that they make.

The one you pictured is the bottom of the line model that doesn’t even have a clock. They are good quality ranges that cook and bake well, GE was clever because nobody else made them so they got the replacement business for years and years.

These ranges came out around 1961. They had a variety of different styles. Some had the burner controls mounted on the range hood that went with the range. Others had the controls at the back of the range some had them at the front , they came out with a seven self cleaning version in mid to late 60s.

It’s kind of a hard range to use unless you want to make a special spot for it, it’s still easy to get the surface elements or elements for the oven.

There was a community built of single-family homes nearby from 1963 through 1970 there were 1800 homes they all had one of these ranges, I always thought it was a shame for the big four bedroom houses not to have a second oven or a bigger range, as they wore out people just cut the countertop and push the cabinet over a couple inches and put 30 inch ranges in to replace them. These homes had all GE kitchens. The earlier ones had the larger GE induction disposer, but once GE changed to the cheap little universal motor disposer, that’s what the rest of the houses had we used to repair those all the time or replace them when they flew apart.

The houses either came with a single door or a two door combination refrigerator later on they let you upgrade to a frost guard model. All the houses had the cheapest GE dishwasher. It made a great replacement market when they rusted out most of the dishwashers were replaced by the time they were 10 years old.

John

 

[philcobendixduo]

Sunken Cooktop

I have not seen this GE range before but it's sunken cooktop reminds me of the Roper/Kenmore unit that I picture here in my kitchen (remodeled in 1989).

I HAD to have a "sunken" cooktop as there needed to be adequate space between it and the microwave/hood combo above it and I was not changing out the cabinets.

The Kenmore/Roper was the only "sunken" cooktop I was aware of at the time.

 

[steved]

From a 1961 GE catalog

"New!" Plus a copy of an individual brochure. Locally, these Mark 27's were used in many 1960's housing developments as we are near the GE Main Plant in Schenectady NY and GE appliances were the predominate choice of builders.

 

[thatwasherguy]

Thanks for the info everyone!

Repairguy...
The more I think about it, the more I agree that it’s probably 1984. The house was built around 1996, but there was a trailer there before that (1984 seems about right for it). The owner of this house was very frugal, so I’m betting that they took the kitchen fittings out of the trailer and installed them in the house, especially given that the counters and cabinets looked earlier than 1996 to me. I initially thought the stove was 1970’s vintage by the styling.

Combo52...
Thanks for the info on the different features these came with! I thought that it looked suspiciously like a wall oven with a compact cooktop screwed to the top, and figured that this unit was bottom of the line, with the ‘mark 27’ blank covering the opening for a clock. I’ve always heard wonderful things about G.E. cooking appliances from this time period, and am happy to finally get the chance to own and use one. I’ll have to figure out installation at some point, but for now, I’m just going to temporarily hook it up in the garage and use it a little bit (and see what’s going on with the surface element). Good thing the parts for these are easy to get! I bet those houses with all their original interiors were awesome! I’d love to have seen them.

Philcobendixduo...
I LOVE your kitchen! Especially that microwave! It looks exactly how I envision a kitchen that this mark 27 would have been installed in from new.

Steved...
Thank you so much for posting the ads for the mark 27 for us to see! The dimensions will be especially useful in transporting it.

If all goes well, I should be picking this thing up on Sunday. It’s about an hour and a half from my house, and there’s some really pretty country roads between here and there, so it’ll be fun.
Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[thatwasherguy]

All righty folks...

Break out the Pointer Sisters and grab your tickets to see the Terminator, because we are going on a road trip back to 1984! That’s right, I’m actually picking this thing up today! More pictures will follow.
Thatwasherguy.

 

[jamiel]

They did an update of this (again, replacement market) labeled "Spacemaker" (which was GE's trademark for the undercabinet appliances etc) with slanted stacked burner controls and an electronic oven control. You're better off with this one...

GE 27 in. 4 Burner Element Drop-In Electric Range with Self-Cleaning Oven in White JM250DTWW - The Home Depot

Acquire an essential and ultimate addition to your home with this GE ft ft DropIn Electric Range with SelfCleaning Oven in White.

www.homedepot.com

 

[pulltostart]

Jamie,

In the last years of the original configuration (above), GE had already abandoned the 'Mark 27' badge and started marketing them as 'Spacemaker' ranges.

 

lawrence

 

[thatwasherguy]

I’m back...

And as promised, there are more pictures. I even got some shots of the new range they replaced this one with. The build date of the house turned out to be 1985, which would explain a production date of August 1984. I’m told that the temperature set knob for the oven is loose, and that the right front burner stays hot for longer than the rest after it is turned off (I’ll have to pull the temperature switch and see if I can re-create that). Other than this, I’m told it’s fully functional.

Jamiel...
Funny you should mention that unit, because the black version of it is exactly what this stove was replaced with! The burners on the cooktop look identical to the original mark 27’s, save for the safety switches. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.

Pulltostart...
This one does have the ‘spacemaker’ emblem on the console, but it also has a ‘mark 27’ emblem in the blank where the clock would be on a higher end model. Was this unit a transitional period between the end of the ‘mark 27’ and the beginning of the ‘spacemaker’ names, or was the mark 27 emblem just left over from past production of BOL units?

Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.

 

[thatwasherguy]

Work has started on the ‘84 G.E...

Last night was cleaning behind the control panel and re-attaching the Neon indicator lights to the jewels, along with diagnosing the issue with the right front burner (infinite switch was getting stuck on). I also noticed that the jewel for the burner light was broken, causing the indicator light to want to pull back from the control panel (this was the cause for the jewel and light being out of position when I got the stove). Both parts are on order, and slated to arrive sometime next week (good thing G.E. stoves from this time period are easy to get parts for!). Tonight was calibrating the oven thermostat, as the adjustment on the knob was loose (it was running 75 degrees hot!). Once I get those parts installed, it will be back to 100%. I also took the opportunity to get some shots of the warm and inviting cal-rod glow at it’s full effect in the dark got you all to enjoy.

Thatwasherguy.