Vintage Cooktops

[ozzie908]

From what I recall we had gas stoves so it was put a pan on the gas and on the rare time we had electric it was known as a ring. Seems now all we have are gas tops and electric ovens and for electric its those horrible solid hotplates or ceramic and Induction. I am a fan of Induction having cooked on many sources including solids fuel.

 

[circlew]

Many of my relatives in Mississippi and Alabama refer to the cooktop units as eyes.

 

[DADoES]

 
I've seen/read the eye reference on message boards and FB & CL ads, a regional/dialect terminology.  I understood immediately but it seems odd and awkward vs. burner.

 

[combo52]

It doesn’t really matter what you call it

Unless you want to sound like you know what you’re talking about, a gas stove has burners, and electric range has elements, and induction cooktop has heating areas or cooking areas they are also sometimes called power coils as there’s a huge coil of copper wire under the glass surface of an induction range.

John

 

[ea56]

Re:#42

Well then I guess GE doesn’t know what they’re talking about then because the control panel on my stove has a “burner on” indicator light.

Eddie

 

[combo52]

Proper names for surface cooking elements

GE does not call them burners in technical literature, there’s a big difference between scientific and technical information and what the public understands this is where you get that discrepancy it still doesn’t make it correct to call electric element a burner it just isn’t right.

There are many miss uses of the English language, common things we see every day like they’ll ask you to please print when you are filling out information by hand what they really mean they want you to letter.

It’s impossible to print without a machine like a typewriter but this is what we put up with it’s a sloppy language.

John.

 

[ea56]

John,

I was taught to PRINT in elementary school when I first learned to write, and thats just what they called it and I bet thats what you were taught too.. They didn’t call it LETTERING, they called it PRINTING, because thats what it is, as opposed to cursive writing.

Yes in GE’s owners manual they do call the burners “surface units”, not elements. And most of the country calls the heat source on their stove tops burners.

So now you’re an English teacher too.

Potato/patato, tomato/tamato lets call the whole thing off.

Eddie
[this post was last edited: 1/10/2023-09:43]

 

[Marky_Mark]

I like how dynamic the English language is

I think it's good that new definitions of words and changes in English usage are decided by English speakers themselves and not by a central regulatory agency, as is the case with languages such as Spanish.  So if enough people in Mississippi and Alabama refer to cooktop elements as "eyes" then it's therefore a valid definition of the word "eye" and is correct usage in those areas among those people, although it may not be used in places like California or England.  People all over the world have their own identities and cultures and their own way of speaking English.  It just so happens that the American way is wrong ha ha.  Just kidding!!!!!

 

Do electric cars have gas pedals?  

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thank you all for the help and advice.  I've purchased the only electric 36" Thermador cooktop that I could find for sale.  Comes with griddle and grill.  I'm looking forward to restoring it and installing it!

 

Mark

 

[luxflairguy]

Mark! Did you take the vent system as well?

 

[Marky_Mark]

Hey Greg.  Although the vent was also available with it, I didn't buy it.  I was advised to stick with my current Viking vent, as the Thermador vent is no better and it would be a pain to change it.  Not to mention the cost of shipping from Montreal to Palm Springs.

 

I was thinking it might be possible to hook up the cooktop's "vent up & down" control to my current vent. 

 

[appnut]

#46

Mark, those localized/regionaized sayings are called colloqioalisms. Not sure if you have heard of that term befoe. Did not want to assume.

 

[chachp]

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">That's a nice looking cooktop Mark.</span>

 

[2packs4sure]

1962 RCA Whirlpool gas cooktop

This is the unit that came with my house..
Mmmmmm,,, gooood catfish........

 

[appnut]

@2packs, does your cooktop have pilotless ignition? I grew up in the subdivision across Westheimer from Westchase. Our street was built fall 1960/winter/spring 1961. A house down the street from ours had a RCA Whirlpool kitchen and the cooktop looked an aweful lot like yours as I remember it. The cooktop had pilotless ignition. I was fascinated by it given our O'Keef & Merrit cooktop (as well as our 1954/1955 Norge gas dryer) had standing pilot lights.

 

[sudsmaster]

Pilotless ignition

I'm of the opinion that much of the harmful pollutants that a gas cooktop or range might produce would be reduced, perhaps greatly, by getting rid of the pilot lights and replacing them, if possible, with pilotless ignition.

 

[2packs4sure]

Hey appnut !

No it's standing pilot.
Two standing pilots for the four burners..

 

[appnut]

Thank you. Our O'Keefe & Merrit cooktop had two pilot lights also, maybe three. There was a griddle in the middle between the two sets of burners on each side. One could purchase an additional burner grate so one could have a total of 5 surface burnres for pots/pans if dsired. I don't remember my mom ever having more than 3 burners going at the same time. The front right burner had the "burner with a brain" and it spooked her. I had to finally show her how to use it after I read the owners manual. Both the wall oven & cooktop were replaced in the mid-1980s. I wish I could have kept the manuals for both. But my mom pitched them after the units were replaced.