Swapping out ranges at the cottage

[kevin313]

We decided it was time to change things up in the cottage kitchen and so we took out the GE stove and replaced it with a Frigidaire "Thrifty-30" that was stored away. Here's a little video tour of the two ranges.

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A Tale of Two Ranges

Unless you’re cooking outdoors, it’s pretty difficult to prepare a hot meal or bake without the help of a range. Over time, we have prepared...

cavalcadeoffood.blogspot.com

 

[tomturbomatic]

Beautiful range, but

I can tell you from personal experience that you are going to miss speed and flatness of the elements with the Radiantubes. As they age, they warp to where they do not make overall close contact with pan bottoms and summertime is the last season of the year when you want waste heat in the kitchen. I replaced the two front elements on my Thrifty 30 with Chromalox units so that I could get pans up to cooking temperature quickly and efficiently before transferring them, if necessary, to the rear elements which only had to be on at low or simmer to maintain cooking heat. Often the supports allow the inner turns to sag below the outer turn so the inside of the element glows red because it is not touching the pan bottom. I can't fault the oven or broiler, though. Both perform great.

 

[abcomatic]

Kevin

I love those stoves. I have a question for you. My great-aunt who lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin had a huge Frigdeaire range. The entire bottom was for storage, the oven(s) had the heat element exposed and looked like coils that were strung back and forth. The burners were on the left side and then a big space on the right for setting things. A clock and a florescent tube, up and on the back and switches clicked when you used them and a light showed through to the setting you had selected. What would have been the age of that stove? I was born in 1949 and always remember it being there in her kitchen. Thanks, Gary

 

[pulltostart]

Kevin,
Have fun with the Frigidaire and, most importantly, carefully pack the GE away!

Lawrence

 

[norgeway]

Frigidaire!! YES!

I think there is NOTHING better than a Radiantube unit, I have never seen one warp, the heat is much more even and steady than anything else, and the oven is much better insulated.I am pea green with envy!! I would LOVE to have a Frigidaire or Westinghouse in my kitchen, dont get me wrong, I like a GE also, but I like Frigidaires better!

 

[norgeway]

The Main Thing!!

I DO NOT LIKE about GE is that the large burner is on the wRONG SIDE!!! it is supposed to be on the right like most others, LOL!

 

[frigilux]

The Catholic church in my hometown had several of the same Frigidaire ranges in the kitchen. Very stylish. It's always fun to swap appliances and work with something different. Looking forward to new cooking videos featuring the Frigidaire.

 

[twintubdexter]

even your non-food videos make me hungry...

...well Mr. Kevin, you are going to have to add "versatile" you your profile. One minute you're in the kitchen whipping up a "perky party frappe'" and the next minute your strapping a handtruck to a stove like a big burly Bekin's man. It's no wonder you're so popular.

I have to say that both of those ranges are very nice, although I like the angular GE better. Here comes another short story from my happy childhood at the big appliance store...and I just know I am going to get slapped up one side of my head and down the other for telling it. Since Western Appliance was Frigidaire headquarters for San Jose they sold thousands of ranges and got tons of Frigidaires in trade. I saw several Raidiant Tubes that had shorted out and occasionally sent a hot piece of metal shooting off the top of the burner like a projectile. If you brought a Frigidaire range in to be cleaned up for resale you ran your finger tips along the tops of the surface units (no, the range was not plugged in) to feel for any bumps. Of course you'd replace a burner with a hole in it. In addition, I saw a few ranges where the burner and/or switch shorted out and caused the metal above the switch to fracture. One vintage serviceman who was probably the best guy in the shop told me he once went out on a call where a Radiant Tube blew out and shot a piece of metal through a ladie's percolator. I don't know it that was true but he wasn't a story teller.

Now before everyone says I'm crazy...which is partially true...I am not knocking the quality of GM Frigidaire. That Thrifty Thirty is great. It's just that if anything ever went wrong with a major appliance from the 40's to early 60's I probably saw most of it.

ps...the left front on that Frigidaire should be a speed-heat burner...get a flashlight and look inside, the switch should be different that the others

 

[norgeway]

Speed Heat..

The Speed Heat didn't come out until 1955 on Frigidaire, most other companies..Westinghouse Norge ETC, came out earlier, my 55 Norge has a speed heat on it, Westinghouse was the first, I think 50 or 51.

 

[chuffle]

Your videos are...

...eye candy! From trips through wonderful foods and now this "range swap" - I agree, they are mouth watering!

That Frigidaire brought back tons of memories, for my grandmother had a larger Frigidaire - with the double ovens. She would bake weekly to sell baked goods at the local farmers' "curb market." When I would spend an overnight here at the farm, she would make her cinnamon sticky buns for me in the morning. Such wonderful childhood memories!

Always, thanks for sharing with us.

Joe

 

[twintubdexter]

Well I was only one year off on that speed-heat burner thing and was 4 years old when that range was made so I'm allowed one mistake before being smacked.

Kevin, you'll have to get some spiffy new cooking accessories for the new range...silicon oven mitts, Frigidaire Porcelain Polish (it used come in yellow & blue cans and smelled very flammable) and most importantly...protection from those exploding burners.

just kidding of course

 

[norgeway]

Exploding Burners//LOL!

I remember my Dad placing my Moms teakettle on the left front unit of our 55 Hotpoint one morning! After heating for a few minutes it went BANG! and the teakettle levitated about a foot in the air, when it was all said and done, the kettle had a hole in the bottom about the size of a 50 cent piece!! I did see a Frigidaire unit short once, it made an equally loud bang, and burned a hole thru the chrome ring, but all in all, Frigidaires outlasted Calrods 3 to one...IMHO of course LOL!..Oh Yeah..when the Hotpoint burner shorted, water from the punctured teakettle sprayed everywhere, to which my Dad replied in a loud voice..G-D! the D- stove blowed up!!!I replaced the unit and all was well!!

 

[kevin313]

I guess we will have to see if one of these Radiantubes explodes or burns a whole in my pan. As things are right now, the burners all seem to work as they are supposed to and are smooth and level. This is one of four Frigidaire ranges I have - all radiant tubes, but it is the first one I've ever actually put into service. So I am looking forward to comparing the performance against the Calrod and Corax units I am used to using.

GARY - your aunt who lived in Kenosha probably had a 1953-55 vintage Frigidaire range. I have a 40 inch model much like the one you describe, with the back-lit switches. I would have thought Kelvinator would have been big in Kenosha, because I believe there was a Nash-Hudson/American Motors plant there for many years.

LAWRENCE - The GE has been carefully and lovingly put away. I'll bring her back out again some day!

JOE (Palm Springs) - Yes, we are "versatile" - we do it all ;-) These stoves aren't going to rearrange themselves, so it gives us a little badly needed exercise. I wanted to make this stove swap now because I'm going in for surgery (tomorrow, actually) as I managed to completely tear my Achilles tendon, so I won't be moving stoves (or anything else) for a few months. I'll keep an eye on those Radiantubes for any potential monkey business!

JOE (PA) - I love your story about your grandmother's Frigidaire. That is what is so fun about our collections - they bring back wonderful memories about people, places and good things to eat!

HANS - You're a hoot! I can hear your dad cussing up a storm at the Hotpoint!

 

[xraytech]

Kevin,

 

The Frigidaire is a looker, though not as flashy as the GE. Cant wait to hear what you think about the Frigidaire.

I know I like the radiantube burners on my Flair.

 

Good luck on the tendon reconstruction, since  you will be non weight bearing for a while may I suggest a knee walker if it hasnt been suggested to you already. It will help your getting around immensly

 

[vintagekitchen]

exploding burners

GE wasn't safe from this issue either. When I was about 14 or 15 we moved to a house with a GE 40 inch TOL range, in harvest gold, with matching refrigerator. One day I was heating some soup for lunch, and being a hungry teenager, I was in a hurry and set the 6 inch burner on high. I had my back to the stove, rummaging in the refrigerator to make a sandwich to go with my soup, (hungry teenager), when I heard what sounded like a gunshot, followed by hissing like pouring water on something hot. I turned around, and smoke and steam were billowing from the burner under my soup. When I lifted the Club Alumium saucepan to see what the problem was, there was a stream of soup pouring from a pea sized hole in the bottom of the pan, and a chunk of metal missing from the calrod burner. Needless to say, Mom was not pleased. The repairman who came to replace the burner said that sometimes happened when old burners went out. [this post was last edited: 6/27/2012-23:54]

 

[abcomatic]

Kevin

Good luck with your surgery. I hope you can take the time off from work to heal. Thanks for you comment on aunt Rose's stove. I know what you mean when you said that you were surprised to see Fridgedaire instead of Kelvinator.
You weren't running around the outside of the walls of Troy by any chance driving a chariot? lol Gary

 

[norgeway]

REST!!!

The hot weather coming up is just the thing to get you to stay inside and heal!! Good luck, Then you can start cooking on that beautiful Frigidaire!

 

[kevin313]

Thanks all for the well-wishes! I'm just home from the hospital, a little sore but otherwise OK. I'll be out of commission for a while, but lucky to have Ralph wait on me while I recover!

 

[abcomatic]

Kevin

I am glad you are home now and resting. Take care of yourself and Ralph will be a great help I am sure. Take those pain meds, that's what they are for. See you soon. Gary