Stupid O'keefe & Merritt Wall Oven Rotisserie/grillevator questions

[luciamuir]

I am purchasing a vintage gas O'keefe and Merritt wall oven (as well as the angled gas cooktop) from people who were not the original owners...how can I determine what the year of the appliances were made? All they know is that they think the appliances were installed during a reno in the 50s. They used the appliances themselves for 10 years then put them in storage for a year after doing a modern reno themselves. According to them, the pilot lights on the stove don't stay lit really well so they usually just used a kitchen match to light it and sometimes in in the winter the oven pilot light would go out if they didn't keep then bottom door open a little. Other than that apparently the appliances worked great. Which leads me to Question 2 - they told me that the lower broiler section is a rotisserie and has the original broiling pan, but no skewers. Would the skewers from ANY O'keefe & Merritt oven fit, or would they need to be model specific to this actual type of wall oven? Final question - would the oven also be "grillevator" compatible/interchangeable or was that an either/or choice buyers made upon original purchase? Thanks for any input - I'm finding it difficult to discover any info on these style O'keefe & Merritt appliances.

 

[customline]

Nice Items...........

These appliances are a really nice find. The cooktop is definitely 50's but the wall oven looks early to mid 60's. I would consider a total rebuild on these two items just for the safety factor. parts can be had on Ebay and other old appliance clubs on the internet. Congrats on your new appliances !!!!!

 

[vacerator]

Since O&M

was a Tappan subsidiary, and shared parts, I bet Tappan skewers would also work.
If none show up, I bet a hex shaft that fit's in the oven rotisserie female end can be welded or braized to other skewers with a tig welder.

 

[appnut]

I'd say these are 1959-1963 origin.  We moved into a brand new house September 1961 with very similar oven and cooktop--ours were coppertone.  Our cooktop had a griddle in the middle and was 42 inches wide.  I don't recall the rotisserie ever being used.  We just used the mechanism to raise and lower the broiler pan. 

 

[luciamuir]

Thanks! REALLY appreciate all of the positive input. I feel very fortunate to have found these appliances (AND a matching pristine turquoise cast iron sink with hudee ring, which was also part of the deal!) as we are doing a vintage Reno on our 1961 home & have been looking for gas, era appropriate, appliances that would fit the footprint of our kitchen...these definitely appear to fit the bill and appear to be in good condition, other than the pilot light situation, which I am praying will be a simple fix. I have been researching, but haven't found much info on this type of wall type oven, however after digging further online today, I did manage to find a couple original instruction guides - one dated from 1957 - https://archive.org/stream/DesignForLivingByOkeefeMerritt/DesignForLiving0001#page/n0/mode/2up and a partial one from an eBay auction. There is mention of the oven having a rotisserie and a grillevator but it is not clear to me as to whether one converted INTO the other or if they were both separate devices which had to be decided upon at original purchase? I'm thinking the oven shown on the cover of the link above must be what what Appnut grew up with. The range depicted on the cover is throwing me a bit as far as dating my cooktop goes,, as the area where the knobs are located in the brochure photo appears to be flat and not recessed like the one I will be getting. Vacerator, I have to,say that your idea of looking into Tappan skewers is brilliant - makes sense that they might be compatible....and I hadn't even considered that idea - or that of "making" my own skewers in a pinch - thank goodness hubby is pretty handy when necessary.

 

[appnut]

Lucia, the oven from the 1961 house is exactly like yours (slightly different contrast colors on the panel--but temp knob is exact) except ours also had a meat thermometer and the little control knob and temp display were right in the middle of the panel.  So that added feature made it the model above what yours is.  The grillevator was the ability to automatically raise and lower the broiler pan and that was driven by the same motor that was used for the rotisserie.  A multi-purpose use mechanism. The recessed burner knobs on the cooktop is a nice touch and looks much nicer than the flat surface design.  I'm not sure what year the photo above you found is from.  The dishwasher is throwing me and I cannot figure out the brand, thus I cannot figure out a date.  It could be newer than your appliances even though I see 9/10/57 written on the cover.  I don't think coppertone was a color option back in 1957. 

 

[luciamuir]

Thanks for the clarification on the rotisserie/grillevator issue Appnut. I suspected the two were part of the same broiler, but having never seen one of these "in the wild" wasn't sure. Hopefully we can get them both working as intended as I am quite excited about the idea of having both options available. Regarding the 1957 date on the cover of the brochure linked above, I tend to think that it is accurate since if you look on the bottom of the second page (where Jane Russell is shown in 3 separate pics - yes, that IS Jane Russell, pre bra-modeling days! ) you will see in tiny print the words "Jane Russell starring in the Russ-Field production "The Fuzzy Nightgown" combines motion picture talent with interior ....". Continued onto the bottom of the third page it says "decorating for Russel Bros. Construction Co.". After seeing that, of course I had to go google the movie and learned that it was made in 1957....which sort of makes sense when you think about how Hollywood would often use starlets in various commercial ads to help promote their name recognition. I am wondering a bit about the "Russel Bros. Construction Co." part though - coincidental last name or was she related to them and a bit of nepotism was going on?! As far as the movie goes, despite the ridiculous sounding name, if I ever find it playing I guess I will HAVE to watch just to see if these O'Keefe & Merritt appliances are perhaps showcased in it. I have a question about that meat probe you mentioned - was it attached to the oven, or a separate optional add-on? (Also - I must add that I am quite impressed about your ability to remember all the features your childhood oven possessed - unless you STILL own it?!).

 

[appnut]

The meat probe plugged into the side of the oven wall.  The little set knob and temperature range was in the same spot as the emblem is on your control pan--mid way between the clock and the temperature knob.  If I remember the movie correctly, it was in the "kitchen" of the movie With 6 you get egg roll ?? with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda???  the oven in the movie was yellow vs. ours was coppertone/brown.  Our street was the Spring 1961 parade of home tour in Houston.  the house on one side of ours had the exact same wall oven model and the cooktop was the same, except theirs had a grill surface rather than griddle in the middle.  their house had an RCA Whirlpool dishwasher and ours was the O'Keefe & Merrit.  Both kitchens had a Norge gas fridge (with ice maker) during the home tour.  Our house still had the Maytag washer & gas dryer that had been on display during the home tour when we looked at the house in August 1961. 

 

[appnut]

I found a picture online of our wall oven. Even the same color. 

 

[luciamuir]

Appnut - VERY cool you actually grew up on a parade of homes street. If you moved there in 1961, then you were in Houston when they moved the space center there the next year. That must've been an absolutely amazing time to grow up in Houston. I found a book on space (We Seven) autographed by John Glenn at my local thrift store last year - that, coupled with the fact my parents lived in Houston for 23 years in the 90s/2000s got me curious about where the astronauts actually lived in Houston when all of this was happening. Researched it and apparently they were all out in a neighborhood called Timber Cove in Clear Lake - in what one would surprisingly consider fairly modest homes. Your neighborhood wasn't per chance near there, was it? It'd be interesting to find out what state-of-the-art-at-the-time appliances were in their new homes back then! Wonder if any OKM wall ovens were busy cooking up astronaut family meals?! Thanks for the mention of the "Eggroll" movie - I've seen it before (Doris Day fan) but never noticed the oven - will definitely check for it next time. Speaking of appliances on shows, I wonder if you recognize this oven & range I saw on a photo of the set of Mad Men?

 

[devmonkey]

We have the exact same OM Oven and Stove as the Draper's had on the set of Mad Men. It was a real kick to see it when we were watching the show. Had to TiVo back and pause it a few times. It came with our 1956 ranch house. The previous owner left it as is, in original shape, from the hanging saucer lamps all the way down to the outlet covers.

Sorry I can't help with you're question as ours has the adjustable chrome broiler on the bottom. I'm currently looking for owner/repair manuals for this stove without much luck. I need to pull it out to repair the door spring on both oven and broiler.

-jeff

 

[davey7]

Did you ever figure out the rotisserie parts? Some of mine have gone awol over the years and I have no idea what would be required to get mine working again (meat probe is higher priority at the moment). I think the grillevators were optional - you could trick out the range/oven any way you wanted.

 

[rapidry1000]

Hi

I found my 1965 Tappan gas oven rotissere rod and frame to support the drip pan today cleaning a kitchen storage cabinet. You are welcome to have the items. My rotissere was used in the main oven and not in the lower oven. My oven was replaced in 1994 and I removed all the usable parts from the Tappan oven. Please email me at [email protected] if interested.

rapidry1000
(Jim)

 

[smtaylor999]

O'keefe amd Merritt Double Oven Clock

I have the exact same double oven as in the photo at the beginning of this thread. Have you found any sources for parts? Mine is misbehaving and I believe its the clock. If I can't find a clock has anyone tried to bypass the clock and just run off the thermostats like a modern oven?

 

[oliger]

To clean the pilot light... I would push a toothpick or needle around in the orifice, and then blow it out with shop/compressed air. It ought to stay lit then.

 

[oliger]

I didn't realize this was a dug-up thread.
I don't know about this particular oven, but my Magic chef oven can perform all functions with the clock internally disconnected. It can perform all non-clock functions with the whole stove unplugged because the pilot lights are always burning, and the metering devices work mechanically with mercury. No electricity needed.