The Monarch Smooth Top Stove is Home!!

[vintagekitchen]

After a well earned rest, I am ready to post some pics. The stove was sooooo dirty when I got it, as the previous owner was a friend of my grandparents who was a single man in his late 80's, with failing vision. Failing vision or not, he actually kept cooking right to the end, he had someone put little stick on plastic nubs on the oven temperature knob at the off, 250, and 350 markings, so he could feel the knob and know what temperature he had set the oven to. He passed away a few months ago, and when his heirs offered this stove for sale, I snatched it up.

So, without further ado, the "before pics"

[this post was last edited: 7/15/2012-02:49]

 

[vintagekitchen]

How could I not rescue this? Anyone wanna take a guess at which one was the previous owners favorite burner?

 

[vintagekitchen]

Ewww! Poor baby, we won't ever let this happen again...

 

[vintagekitchen]

Now, for some "after pics"..

The stove really wasnt that difficult to clean, except for the smooth top. The rest of the stove was covered with layers of baked on grease that acted as a sort of protective coating, leaving the finish underneath pristine when finally cleaned. But oh lord, that smoothtop with the burnt on stains..

 

[vintagekitchen]

The Smooth Top

I tried it all. First thing I tried was the smooth top stove cleaner. I think I heard the stains laughing at me. Next some soft scrub cleanser, now I know the stains are laughing. Desperate times calling for desperate measures, I pulled out the oven cleaner, and after draping a atowel over the knob area for protection, sprayed a good coat on and gave it a good soak.

The oven cleaner barely lightened the stains. Now I was getting mad. I laid a rag torn from an old t-shirt over each burner, and squirted each one down with a good dose of toilet bowl cleaner. (I was desperate, and it is made for cleaning porcelain and ceramic surfaces, so I figured what did I have to lose). After a 10 minute soak, the stains scrubbed right off! A trace remains, but its a trace I can live with for now.[this post was last edited: 7/15/2012-03:04]

 

[vintagekitchen]

As you can Probably tell, someone in times past had done some major scrubbing to the stove knobs, which removed about one third the markings on most of the knobs, and every last mark from the knob to set the oven from preheat to bake to broil. But if you tilted the knob just right, you could see a ghostly white trace of the origional marks, so I got out my trusty extra fine point permanent marker, and delicately traced over all the original markings.

It's not perfect, but it means I can tell what I am doing when I use the stove.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Why is it that every stove I buy has had one of the knobs replaced at some point? Don't suppose anyone has the correct knob kicking about do they?

 

[vintagekitchen]

With the hood up..

I wasnt sure at first why a smooth top stove would have a lift up top, but after a few moments realized, A-there is a fuse under there in the back corner for the convenience outlet, and B-it makes it so much easier if the burners ever need worked on.

 

[vintagekitchen]

One last pic, in all her glory..

All told, the stove works like a dream. The burners all work, the clock runs, the timed bake setting functions correctly, even the oven light and fluorescent backsplash light work. So far my only issues are that the timer is so quiet its almost silent when it goes off, and those traces of stains on the cook top, but I think I can keep getting them lighter as time goes on.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Good find & nice restoration job!

-- Dave

 

[goatfarmer]

Great stove, that looks like a Corning top.

 

[chuffle]

What a wonderful range!

Just love such finds, when one knows that there are good bones under the crud. My Tappan, bought for $50 a few years ago, was similar when it came to grease...and sure 'nuff, the porcelain finish, minus a few scratches, was pristine, having been protected by the crud. There's history in that stove, and if you are like me, you probably enjoyed the elbow grease involved in revealing the glory of such a fine piece.

As for the cook top - have you tried Corning Ware cleaner? I have had great success using it on my range, on vintage Descoware, Corning Visions...almost anything that has burnt on crud. Just thought I'd pass that on.

I hope you enjoy your new range - from what I can see, it looks spiffy in your kitchen.

Joe

 

[retro-man]

something you might try to remove the rest of the stains would be just plain baking soda. i have had great luck removing a lot of stuff from stoves and surfaces with this. dump some on the surface with a little water to make a paste and scrubb away with a rag. it is non abrasive but does the trick.
Jon

 

[norgeway]

Oh My !!!

One of my favorite brands!! I never knew Monarch made such a thing!!! Talk about RARE!!!! I LOVE it!

 

[frigilux]

Nice job on that vintage glass top! I can't imagine letting a range get that filthy.

 

[jamiel]

Interesting...that seems like a higher quality unit than the run of the "non-name-brand" stoves you see from the mid-70s. Lived for a quarter in a student house in the mid-80s with a smooth-top Kenmore stove which was a mess...did get the self-cleaning to work to clean that aspect of it....but you've probably done the best you can with the top. Interesting that the top tilts...clearly this was a retro-fit to Monarch's standard design. I think you're right with the fact that this was the Corning top...apparently ISTR that there were 2 manufacturers of the tops for these ranges---Corning, which made the honed/smooth surface, and someone else which made the more pebbly surface ones. Also the Corning top had the true thermostatic control. Consumers' Reports did a report on these in the 70s which I vaguely remember reading, essentially saying that unless you were going whole-hog on the Corning surface with the Corning Counter-Mates (flat ground) cookware you weren't going to be too happy. You really should keep an eye out for that cookware...I think it will really transform your satisfaction with it.

 

[philr]

Nice range! I was told some Monarch ranges looked quite similar to the Enterprise ranges in Canada but it's the first time I see a picture of one that looks very similar. I haven't found where I saved a picture of one with a smooth top. 

 

 

 

[vintagekitchen]

At last..

I spent the morning correcting the fact that the cabinets were set up for my 40 inch GE stove. Luckily, when I installed the countertops (salvaged from a house down the street that was being remodeled), I saved an extra peice, just in case I ever went to a standard 30 inch stove. So it was just a matter of inserting a wooden panel to fill the gap, and adding the additional piece of countertop.

As a bonus, the extra countertop gave just enough room to bring the blender out of the cabinets, and add it to the line of countertop dwellers, lol.

I beleive this really is the Corning top, it appears identical to all the photos I could find of the Frigidaire Corning top ranges I could find, and feels exactly like Corningware, totally different from a modern "glass top" range.

I find the performance very good. Heats faster and hotter than the old GE, and I like the fact that it retains heat. My mother had a stove with the solid cast iron burners when I was a teenager, and one of my first homes after I moved out of my parents house was an old farmhouse with a wood cookstove, so I am well versed in making the most of retained heat. I simply switch off the burners during the last bit of cooking, and let the food finish cooking on the retained heat of the burners.

 

[appnut]

Kevin, yoiu've done ana amazing job on everything, right down to the cabinets and countertop. I'm impressed.

 

[gansky1]

I have never seen a Monarch branded range this new - quite grand looking! You likely will only get so far in removing the stains from the glass top - I've labored over many of these through the years and once deeply stained, it's nearly impossible to restore to like-new again. Much progress has been made in smooth-top glass-ceramic in the last few decades that has nearly eliminated this, but regular care is naturally the best defense You might try some soft-scrub with bleach, apply it and allow it to dwell under a wet towel or cloth for a 1/2 hour or so to fade the stains, but you've done great so far, it's 100% better!

 

[retropia]

It looks so much better now!  Ammonia should be safe to use on smooth-top cooktops, I think.  I would try placing a rag over a burner that is soaked in ammonia - wear rubber gloves - then cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap to keep it damp underneath. Leave it overnight, then the next morning remove the rag, and see if you can gently scrub the burner with a nylon scrubbie, water and dishwashing liquid. Periodically wipe it off with a sponge, and see how it looks.

 

The remaining stains might laugh at ammonia, too, but that is what I use to get broiler pans clean, and I also use it to periodically clean my grill grates.  It's non-abrasive, though the fumes are bad, so you might want to open a window.

 

 

[vintagekitchen]

Ammonia

I use ammonia alot around here. Nothing cuts grease better. And its the best way to clean an oven. Just plug the vent hole to keep the fumes from leaking out, then put a cereal bowl of ammonia on the floor of the oven, close the door, and leave it overnight. The next day, add a splash of ammonia from the bowl to a dish pan of hot water, and the oven will come clean so easily! Way better than easy off. Of course I also keep foil in the bottom of the oven, so the any spills are tossed with the foil.

 

[mrb627]

Fingered?

When you run your fingertips across the glass, can you feel the stain on the surface of the glass?

Malcolm

 

[danemodsandy]

Time Warp Advice:

I usually lurk around here, not post, but I wanted to give you some tips based in actually owning one of these puppies back in the day. Mine was a 1974 Lady Kenmore, with the same top.

At that time, the manufacturer's recommendations for cleaning were Corning Smooth-Top Cleaner for routine cleaning, and a cleanser called Delete for tough stains. Delete, so far as I know, is NLA. You used it first, then followed up with the Corning Cleaner, which had some kind of polishing agent - like perhaps a silicone substance - in it. The Corning Cleaner made the surface slick and shiny; today's smooth-top cleaners still do the same thing.

What I would suggest is to try Bar Keeper's Friend, which seems very similar to Delete, and which Corning Ware collectors swear by to get stubborn stains off their treasures; I use it for this purpose all the time. It does not harm Corning Ware when used to remove heavy stains, and it works very well as long as there's no permanent damage like scratching or heat tint (see below). Then follow up with a smooth-top cleaner.

If that does not work, Zud is a very heavy-duty cleanser that might also work. However, Zud is ROUGH STUFF, so be judicious. And definitely plan to follow up with a smooth-top cleaner.

You should also know that Pyroceram can take on a permanent tan tint when repeatedly overheated, so part of your stain may never come out. However, I think the above methods are worth a try.

We now return you to my regularly scheduled lurking -

 

[danemodsandy]

One More Tip:

Forgot to mention this -

It was important on old smooth-tops NOT to use the surface when it was wet, or to use wet cookware on it.

The reason was that the moisture trapped between a pan's bottom and the Pyroceram surface created little blasts of steam that could cause the surface to become pitted.

The smooth-top I owned first belonged to my mom, who bought it thinking she could just wipe it clean. When she found out the care requirements, she realized it actually took MORE work than a regular coil-top range, not less. Eventually, I ended up with it. I used it for a few years, then sold it on when I also tired of the care requirement, and also got tired of having to pay through the nose for cookware with the requisite flat, smooth bottom; such cookware was not all that available - or cheap to buy - in the late '70s and early '80s.

 

[abcomatic]

Kevin

The knob that says 'left front' is from a 1964-65'ish Whirlpool electric stove. Mine were on the stove that had the pull-out cooktop with bottom and top ovens. Great stove too I might add. Gary

 

[norgeway]

I Also see!

You have the same Tupperware canisters I have, only mine are orange, As for Monarch, our local furniture store sold Monarch as well as Hotpoint for many years, and they still sell Hotpoint, he collects ranges also, and you should see some of them!!

 

[norgeway]

I Wonder,

If soaking the stained areas with Clorox might help, maybe place a old rag over the areas and saturate it with Clorox then leave it overnight..Might be worth a try, As for Monarch ranges, our local dealer said he sold tons more Hotpoints, mainly because Monarchs were much more expensive, I believe they quit making them about 1980 or so, a wonderful product!!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Hans, maybe you could help Kevin find the original spec sheets for this if he sent you the model no. He said that the dealer that sold Monarch in his area is long gone.

 

[norgeway]

Well...

There is one problem...The store here burned in 1985 and destroyed all of his old literature,he had several buildings full of old stoves etc, but all the paperwork was in the main building that burned.