RARE!!! Frigidaire Fold Back Surface Units!!

[Kittysunshine]

Help please

I have 2 of these units as well and am having a hard time finding out where to sell them. If anyone has any ideas of a good way to go about that please let me know!

 

[cornutt]

Wow... and I thought I'd seen everything in 1950s-60s appliances. Until I saw this thread, I had no idea that any such a thing ever existed.

Seems odd that the "High" position is out of sequence with the others, in terms of ordering by heat. I suppose that had something to do with the switches that were used, but I can't imagine what.

As I make it, you'd need a 20A circuit for one of these. If you had both burners on high, it'd be right on the edge for a 15A circuit at 230V, but back then a lot of utilities supplied houses at closer to 220. If you had two of these plus the oven, then you're talking about some fancy wiring by the standards of that day. Of course, back then, a lot of electricians would just pull one 50A circuit and attach everything to that.

 

[luxflairguy]

To answer why "High" was out of sequence is in almost every Frigidaire instruction manual is the saying that you start on "High" and finish on "Simmer"
To quote: "Because most surface cooking is started on "HIGH" and finished on "SIMMER", these two heats have been placed next to each other for greater convenience." From a 1956 manual. Greg

 

[bd]

Unit For Sale

We have a mint condition of this exact unit. Can someone help me to find a buyer? We are in Northern CA. How much should we charge?

Thanks for your help!

 

[frontaloadotmy]

List them on Ebay , bd

and hope for the best!
What part of Northern Ca are you in?

 

[cherilync]

RBW84 foldback surface unit

Looking for an RBW84 Frigidaire foldback surface unit to purchase Pic attached

 

[brib68]

I remember these!

My grandparents had a lake cottage (actually, pretty nice for a 'cottage', but def only designed for a summer vacation home) in NW Indiana. The kitchen was basically a 1-sided galley. The stove was a single unit (2 burners) of these. I think they may have been from the early-to-mid 60s. *IF* my memory serves (a bit doubtful) the cabinet may have been a combination of stainless and brown-painted, or stainless and woodgrain. I also think the indicator dial was a little different--more radio-tuning dial in appearance, with the "window" in the middle rather than the sides. Again...memory is tricky after so many years (They sold the cottage in the early 80s.) The oven was definitely newer than the French Door model. It was a brown wall oven that was built into the opposite wall, in a space tucked under the staircase that was on the other side of the wall. The fridge was white and small and squared. and the freezer was not a separate door. I don't remember the brand, I just remember the treat of having a variety of flavors of Shasta cans to choose from--not like boring ol' home! The other appliances were an enormous International Harvester deep freeze (which fascinated me because my Dad had an IH Scout), and an ancient, battleship gray GE revolving-top vacuum.

 

[jjr-mrr68]

Frigidaire RBW-84 Fold Back Surface Unit Cooktop

I have this and use it on a daily basis. I believe it was installed in 1957. (We are the second owner of the house.) It still works very well, but the drip pans and trim rings are showing their age. I have replaced two of the drip pans and trim rings twice, but I need replacements again. I also have the wall oven pictured and use it frequently, also. The temperature control is not real accurate so I use an in-oven thermometer which helps immensely. Does anyone know where I can get replacement drip pans and trim rings. The ones I am using were purchased locally many years ago and are not exactly the right fit. Also does anyone "rebuild or refurbish" these appliances. They are of a built in nature and finding replacements that fit in the same spot is about impossible for my custom built kitchen. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[danemodsandy]

I'd Be Interested....

....To hear from owners of these units regarding their cleanability. Every time I see these things, I have a vision of fried chicken or bacon spatters covering every exposed atom of their surface, with lots of time, lots of Job-like patience and a powerful degreaser needed to get all their little nooks and crannies back up to snuff.

Anyone have any war stories - uh, owner's lore?

 

[chachp]

I think of this too...

<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">...every time I see a pristine Flair range with the shiny clean interior.  All I think to my self is one roast or pan of chicken would cause a terrible mess to clean up.  How did people clean these?  I hadn't thought about it for these fold down burners but you're right.  Wouldn't they be a pain to keep clean?</span>

 

[Cbg]

Wall oven

I just bought a house with the Frigidaire fold-back surface units and two of the Imperial wall ovens as shown in the vintage brochure further up in this thread. The previous home owners all faithfully saved the original 1955 brochures for this so it was fun to discover that I'm now cooking on equipment that is as old as I am! So far everything seems to work, and works as well as the newer model ceramic top range in my old house. I like being able to fold down the burners and only take as much counter space as I have to.

My only problem is that one of the ovens is missing its rack. I'm wondering if anyone here might be able to suggest someplace to look for a replacement rack. I already looked on ebay and they had a very similar one but it isn't exactly the right one. Any suggestions would be welcome!

 

[norgeway]

I think

The rack for a standard Frigidaire range oven will fit.

 

[uabill]

Brand New IN THE BOX RV-92 UNIT!!!

Yes, you read that correctly. Brand new unit. Has sat on a shelf in a hardware store that used to sell appliances. If anyone is interested in making a real offer to purchase please email us at [email protected]

 

[Pink pony]

Nice find

Had no idea these were available so early - introduced the same year as me, 1955! Very sleek and modern; the very first of the "Sheer Look". Does anyone know how long Frigidaire made this type unit?

I was curious about that too, as I’ve seen four different knob designs on these fall back units