Sandy's New Range - The Pictures!

[firedome]

was this '72

one of GE's last to have the nice chrome/cast knobs? Our '74 GE had the much cheaper looking and feeling stamped aluminum knobs that one sort of associates with '70s GE right after the passing of the PB era.

Boy she sure came out nice Sandy... congrats! Cooking is such a pleasure on one's dream range, n'est ce pas?

 

[danemodsandy]

Roger (firedome):

I think you're right that knobs got substantially cheapened right after this - the mid-1970s were the beginning of The Great Cheapening that afflicts American appliances to this day.

It is a little strange using the range - everything is so heavy and solid. It has been so long since I've used a range of this quality it feels weird now.

 

[ovrphil]

Wow! A stadium-full of applause for you, Sandy. Honestly, it looks like new from where I sit. It's just beautiful looking and is gleaming in looks and spirit from your labor of love to shed off the years of moderate(?) neglect. Some stoves, I think, might look ok in a gold colour, but not this stove; agree with you.

We have a 1987 almond GE four-burner electric with a coil select like yours (4, 6 and 8)in the Michigan house - don't recall the model, but it's not T.O.L. - but it has the florescent light that lights the surface, but not a lighted glass panel. The build quality is a shadow of what yours is - nothing like the older units.

Glad for you and I'm glad others helped make your wishes come true.

 

[swestoyz]

Sandy - the GE looks great!  If you haven't already used the coil control feature yet, I sure hope you do.  It is a wonderful feature. 

 

BTW - what are your thoughts on the Heat Minder?

 

Ben

 

[sarahperdue]

Bravo!

Sandy, it looks great.

 

[danemodsandy]

Ben:

I have become an enthusiastic user of both the Sensi-Temp and Coil Select features.

The Sensi-Temp is absolutely wonderful for simmering and frying; there is not the need for watchfulness that you have with other burners (gas as well as electric). It also makes the griddle as useful as my former gold-standard griddle, the Farberware Model 260. And the griddle for this range is far easier to clean than the Farberware one. However - I have only used the Sensi-Temp for my Farberware pots and pans so far. I am going to be testing it with Corning Ware soon, which will be interesting, because Corning Ware has very different cooking characteristics than metal cookware. I'll report back when I have info.

With Farberware, the Sensi-Temp is deadly accurate. It holds an exact, bare simmer and I don't get a sense of the burner cycling on and off - I just get the temp I dial in. I used the griddle yesterday for fried eggs and got exactly the partially-cooked yolk I like, without the slightest hint of browning at the edges of the white. The eggs looked like something out of an Egg Production Board advertising shot.

Coil Select is also a great feature. It is nice to know that you're not using any more power than is needed to heat a particular pot or pan.

Other features that improve my life around here are the cooktop light - that corner of the kitchen is dark, because the fridge is between the range space and the overhead light - and the timed outlet, which makes my Farberware percolator automatic. I have not had coffee ready when I wake up since moving to Waterloo, and it's about darn time, LOL.

All in all, a very nice range and a big improvement over the BOL POS I was using.

P.S.: I re-checked the 1971 GE full-line catalog and this range is evidently only one model off the TOL, not two as I said earlier in the thread. I was thinking there was another model in between this and the TOL J757. The catalog shows a model (the J339L) slightly different to my J 370002 WH, with a disclaimer that styling and model numbers will change after April 1, 1971. But it is substantially similar to mine, and there is not another model between it and the J757. No rotisserie capability is mentioned. And interestingly, the griddle is not mentioned among its features, though a griddle is mentioned for the J757. That makes me think my range's griddle was an extra-cost accessory. [this post was last edited: 11/25/2013-06:16]

 

[combo52]

Yay For The convenience Of Sensi-Temp Cooking

I am glad your are enjoying this great feature. GE always stated in their manuals that this feature was best with medium weight aluminum utensils, but I found it would work with anything even glass.

I always said that the only thing wrong with automatic surface burners was that they usually only put ONE on a range, if they had installed it on all burners people may have actually learned to use them, can you imagine how many fires would have been prevented and how many more people would have actually learned to cook if it could be this easy.

I was at a house warming brunch some 20 years ago in Baltimore and a young man was attempting to make pancakes on a KM gas cook-top and having a terrible time. They kept burning or sticking etc, I noticed that the CT had a Burner- With A Brain control on the other front burner, so I said try this burner. I set the burner flame size at about a medium heat then turned the dial to 350 and he set about making pancakes. He was absolutely amazed that every pancake came out perfectly and he continued to cook for the next hour. As fast as you pored in more batter the flame sprang to life and as soon as they were perfectly brown the flame was gone.

If their was ever a place where the government or even insurance companies should have intervened this was it, these should have been required 40 years ago.

 

[alr2903]

Sandy, I am glad things are worked out for Thanksgiving. Your range looks great. alr