Strange Range in Saint Maybe

[tomturbomatic]

This is a Hallmark Hall of Fame Production filmed in the 1990s in North Carolina. There is a range in the parents' kitchen that has the oven and storage drawer arrangement of a typical GE 40" range, wide oven with narrow storage drawer next to it and storage drawers underneath each. The range has a divided cooktop. The control panel is charcoal with a single dial oven control to the right of the surface units and 4 dials for the surface units further to the right above the blank work space. The control panel arrangement looks more like a Frigidaire, but the area over the surface units has what looks like GENERAL ELECTRIC with the GE medallion in the middle, but all in chrome. If you happen on this movie when you have absolutely nothing better to do than waste time on a pot boiler, see what you think of this range. Fortunately the range is shown near the start of the thing so you won't have to waste a lot of time trying to see it. I will admit that I was not spending as much time in the 90s eyeballing new GE ranges as I did in the decades before, but this is too weird. I checked to see if maybe this was filmed in Canada, the North American Home of Hybrid Appliances, but it's not.

Thanks

 

[gansky1]

At 1:44 there is a good shot of the range, if it's the correct one.  Looks pretty BOL but I'd still take it over a more recent BOL (or TOL) Frigidaire/Elux 40".

 

 

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thanks, Greg

Do you suppose that second dial, way to the left could be the oven set dial? I did not notice it in the scenes I watched.

 

[circlew]

This is one of the last 40" ranges GE made in the Louisville plant, using the frame introduced in 1957. I would say it is mid 70's - early 80's. Made after UL began requiring two motions to turn on surface units, which required they replace the pushbuttons with knobs. I remember seeing them at the local GE dealer, and the nearly identical Hotpoint models at Swallen's.

After 40" range production ended at Appliance Park, they sourced them from WCI, using the Kelvinator style.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I think I remember that GE had started using infinite switches on higher end ranges before the UL decree. Those dials only required turning to move them out of the "OFF" position. The two step procedure required pushing in and turning.

 

[danemodsandy]

Early Infinite Switches:

"Those dials only required turning to move them out of the "OFF" position."

The GE J 370 I recently acquired (from 1972) has early GE infinite switches; no push is needed to turn them.

I confess that they took some getting used to; infinite switches have conformed to the "push to turn" standard for so long that I'm accustomed to doing that. After so long, it feels a little strange to be able to turn a range control without pushing it in first.