Range thread continued!

Gather App
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The GE Microwave Guide and Cookbook

as mentioned in the ad immediately above is well worth seeking out in the secondary market. With (a) very little trial and error, the recipes will work nicely in almost any microwave. Some public libraries may still have copies.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
Paulg . . .

Thanks for the photos and explanation of the Tappan water-cooled microwave! That's a seriously cool piece of equipment, I didn't realize anyone made one that elaborate so early on. It's worth remembering that in '61 $1500 would have bought quite a few compact cars, so that was a chunk of change for a special use oven. Was it still working when you pulled it? If not I wonder how long it kept going after it was installed in '61?
 
TAPPAN was not working

The TAPPAN Electronic was presumed to not be working as it was unplugged when I arrived. Despite this, I ensured there were no residual charges on the unit and pulled it.
I don't know how long they used it. I do know it was working in 1964 as they had it repaired. TAPPAN/O'KEEFE & MERRITT Factory service came out and adjusted the safety switches and trimmed up the current - for a whopping eight dollars.
Apparently the owners of these TAPPAN ovens were on a subscription plan for recipes. I have these recipes through about 1967 I think. Also there was a brochure for new electronic ovens circa about the same time. Perhaps TAPPAN wanted their legacy owners to buy up.. Hmm.
 
Are these Tappan microwave ovens supposed to be unsafe or unreliable? Otherwise, it would be cool to have this unit working and occasionally used!

 

 

To continue on vintage ranges, here in Canada, we also had some brands like Belanger, L'Islet, Tappan Gurney and Moffat. I have seen Moffat refrigerators from the 1950's that were identified as Moffat Crosley so I presumed they were built under license. I don't know much about their ranges, here's a picture of one.

 

 

[this post was last edited: 8/6/2011-11:43]

philr++8-6-2011-11-21-17.jpg
 
Old electronic ovens unsafe?

Are very old electronic ovens unsafe or unreliable? Don't really know. Here's my swing on it...
I believe in the notion that just about anything is going to be reasonably reliable provided it is properly maintained over time.
You have to keep it in context of the time the unit was made. For example, early color TVs were expected to have five to seven service calls a year! Expect the same for a well-maintained unit of the same age today. I don't know the expected frequency-of-service for a 1960 electronic oven but I presume they needed to be serviced regularly unlike modern ovens.
For early microwave ovens, RF leakage is a concern. I own an official Holaday certification RF leakage tester and so I can check my ovens to ensure their leakage is low. I would use the FDA method of checking. If the leakage isn't low the oven needs to be adjusted or just not used. Since my oven isn't powered up I can't quite get to that point to try.
 
well...

Its a 56 not a 54, we had a similar one at home, and I wish I still had it, it had a very well insulated oven, unlike the pull and cleans, the 56 never got hot on the outside....That Moffat looks very Norge like or Monarch like to me, wonder what the connection was.
 
EARLY MICROWAVE OVENS

The 1962 Tappan built Westinghouse oven that I just bought I intend to get running and use occasionally at our warehouse-museum. I do have the Holiday MWO leakage meter and will check it, however after checking litterly hundreds of MWs over the years and never finding one that leaked badly I am not very worried. I have had a 1968 Tappan built-in MW oven in my W Va house for over 25 years and it does leak about 10 milla-watts on the left side, but as there is no known harm to such low level leakage it has never bothered me at all.   The 1968 Tappan has never needed any repair except a new magnetron tube when I got it over 25 years ago. I am sure this earlier machine may be a little more service prone, but this is nothing like an early color TV or even a B&W one for that matter. The factory seals had never been disturbed on the one I just picked up, however the owner said she never once tried to use it since they bought the house it was in since 1967. The MW shows no sign that it was ever used in fact. I am thinking of registering it with Frigidare to see if I can claim the 1 year warranty LOL.
 

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