Replacing the '49 Westinghouse Stove With ???

[rp2813]

I'm looking to change out the '49 Westinghouse stove at my mom's house as my partner's daughter and son-in-law have expressed interest in renting the place. We could use the income to help cover nursing home expenses and they'd be good tennants. Given the tanking real estate market, it might make sense to wait a while before putting the place up for sale anyway.

So the Westy is 38" wide and I'd like to find another electric stove of similar width. I'm looking for something that's not brand new and won't cost a lot, but that wouldn't be difficult to find parts for. I'm thinking a common size would be a 36" stove, which would work, but it seems most used stoves out there are 30" wide.

Can anyone advise on what my options would be in a 36" model? I'm willing to go semi-vintage as long as parts are readily available.

Oh, and at the risk of being labeled a broken record, the '49 Westy is up for grabs if anyone is interested.

Ralph

 

[hydralique]

38" is really an odd width so far as I know. 36" has been a standard for a long, long time and shouldn't be difficult to find used, albeit not as easy as a 30". Insisting on an electric rather than gas unit will make things a bit more difficult, as most people seem to prefer gas and so there are just more of them out there. However, if you find an electric it may well be very cheap as the demand is less too - I once talked to the owner of a used appliance store here in LA and he would sometimes refuse good electric ranges and dryers even for free because it took so long to sell them.

I would recommend worrying less about parts availability, which can change instantly as NOS parts are depleted, and instead visit some used appliance stores and find one which will warranty their stuff for a month or two. If it lasts that long chances are it will work for years to come.

 

[petek]

Check out the Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. There's probably one near you somewhere and any that I've been in always have a good selection of white goods

 

[rp2813]

Electric vs Gas

Thanks for the advice guys. I would love to put a nice old gas stove in there, and have seen some cheap or even free ones, including a 30's Wedgewood, but about 30 years ago my dad put a false ceiling above the stove and the passive vent that was up in the real ceiling was sealed off. I can only imagine how hot that kitchen would get with a gas oven venting its heat out with no flue. Too much work to remove the false ceiling. So I'm stuck with electric. The plus side is it should be easy to find a cheap electric based on reply #1.

 

[Cybrvanr]

What size is the cabinet opening? 38" sounds like the appliance size for a 40 inch stove. I have seen several ranges designed for 40 inch cabinet openings... Most however are pretty fancy, with dual ovens, griddles and stuff like that...usually in the $1000 and up range

 

[58limited]

~I can only imagine how hot that kitchen would get with a gas oven venting its heat out with no flue.

How about a combo unit? Gas stove top and electric oven.

 

[sudsmaster]

I've lived in a number of places with gas ranges and no venting and the heat never seemed to be a problem. Of course, SJ is a bit warmer than SF/Oak but not all that much.

Otherwise, for a rental unit, I'd go with something fairly recent - you can get good enough quality coil-top stoves, new, fairly cheap. And you can also usually find used coil-top stoves fairly cheap on Craig's List. Heck, I found a good one on the curb a few years back! (See the Tappanific thread)...

 

[rp2813]

Rich, I am cruising Craig's List and am confident I'll find something there that will work for me. Nice vintage gas stoves are easy to come by for little money and would be ideal but taking on the removal of the false ceiling isn't an option right now. I'm enjoying the hunt!
Ralph

 

[danemodsandy]

40

Ralph:

I've been around several 40-inch ranges in my time (love them), and I've found that it seems to be a nominal size, meaning that there was some size variation. The '49 Frigidaire I grew up with was by-grannies forty inches, not a whit less. But the 1970s Westinghouse I had for a time was at least an inch narrower. I'd do some looking and some measuring; perhaps you'll find a range that will fit.

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, my dad basically built the cabinetry to fit the space next to the stove. I figure I'll end up with a 36" unless I can find or put together an 8" cabinet or spacer that can act as a bit more work surface next to a 30" size. I'd love to find something more vintage but that parts can still be found for.