Vintage Cooktops

[Marky_Mark]

Hi guys

 

I am looking for a vintage electric cooktop to buy and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on which ones are best and which are to be avoided. 

 

Does anyone know how wide this GE model is?  Good performer?  I'd be interested to know the power of the largest burner.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thermador

These Thermador models look good.

 

My current cooktop is 36½" wide and 21" deep.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Jenn Air

I've seen a lot of 30" Jenn Air models but they are not wide enough to fill my hole (!).  Does anyone know the power and size of these coils?

 

Here is a nice 48" model.  I could enlarge my cutout but I am not sure how I could accommodate a smaller cooktop.

 

All thoughts and advice much appreciated.

 

Mark

[this post was last edited: 12/23/2022-23:37]

 

[circlew]

The first cooktop shown is a Hotpoint (a GE division). If I could find my 70s Hotpoint catalog I could give you the dimensions. Perhaps Lawrence (Pulltostart) has info on that model.

 

[pulltostart]

Mark,

The first one (almond) fits a 30" base cabinet.  It features a 3-in-1 "Power Saver" unit that can be a 4", 6" or 8" unit.

 

lawrence

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thank you very much, Tom and Lawrence.  That's a real shame, as it is for sale locally but is not wide enough .  Is it 21" deep?

 

Looking at the photos above, it looks to me like the largest Jenn Air coil is smaller than the largest on the GE and Thermador.  Is that the case?

 

Mark

 

[appnut]

I've had several friends with vario9us configurations of those Jenn Airs over the years. They are the standard 8" and 6" burners.

 

[sudsmaster]

When I bought this house in 1997, it had a Corning electric cooktop, with a flat piece of glass covering all the burners. I had the gas extended to that location, and then stored the Corning cooktop in the workshop. Unfortunately a year or so later it got tipped over and broke. It was no big loss, because it had burn marks, deep in the glass, underside, on at least one burner location. Still, I probably would have kept it. As it was, it went in the trash.

 

Now I have a five burner Frigidaire Gas-On-Glass cooktop that I've been quite happy with for the past 20+ years. If it were now, I'd probably consider an induction cooktop, except for the high price of electricity here. Gas has gone up as well, but not as much as electricity. Plus, I can cook with gas any time. Between 4 pm and 9 pm we get charged extra for electricity.

 

 

[combo52]

Best slightly vintage, electric cooktops

Hi Mark, of the three you have there the Thermidor is the best choice although it does have a built-in grill griddle so you need an overhead hood.

The second best choice is the JennAir but that needs to be vented down and out of your home that may or may not be possible

GE hot point is too small for your opening. There are ways to have a trim piece made out of stainless steel and put it in if you wanted the GE is the best built one of the three followed by a close second with the Thermidor in the JennAir is not bad.

All three cooktops have the same size burners. They have 6 inch and 8 inch burners. There’s no way a central difference in any of them all about the same power as well.

Happy holidays John give a call sometime Mark.

 

[petek]

With the Jenn Air you may be able to find an induction cartridge (if they were standard fitting for all years/models) Plus if you already have an overhead exhaust hood you wouldn't need to use the downdraft.

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, I got inspired enough last night to give the Frigidiare Gas-On-Glass cooktop a thorough cleaning. Much better now!

 

 

 

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thanks for the replies and all the good info.

 

Here are a couple of photos of my current cooktop, which is in an island.  I have a pop-up downdraft vent that is ducted through the slab floor and out of the house.

 

John, I might even be able to catch up with you in Beltsville during the coming year!  

 

[combo52]

Hi Mark, the Thermidor would come closest to fitting and would be a much much better cooktop than that Viking

Good friend of mine had that Viking and downdraft unit you have fortunately, he did not cook much, but that was a miserable cooktop to use to clean, etc.

You may also be able to put in some thing like a 36 inch GE induction cooktop if you like. And put a natural gas cooktop or stove outside to use when time of use electricity gets too expensive if you’re going to do a lot of cooking.

John

 

[Marky_Mark]

Regarding the power of the elements, I have seen some Thermador 8-inch replacement elements that say they are 2100 Watts.  Whereas some GE 8-inch elements say they are 3000 Watts.  I often bring large pans of water to the boil, so the extra power would be great.  If it turns out that the Thermador elements are 2100 Watts, could I replace one of them with a more powerful element?

 

I have found a Thermador cooktop for sale online in Montreal that I am considering buying.  I cook a lot and the cooktop is typically used for 3 meals per day.

 

I do have a 2-burner gas cooktop outside.  I'm excited about the prospect of replacing the Viking!

 

Happy New Year

Mark

 

[combo52]

Conventional coil element power

Hi Mark, the GE you pictured would have 2350 white elements for the large ones and probably 1325 for the small ones.

The Thermidor you pictured has 2100 W for the large 1500 W for the small

The Genaire cooktop pictured has 2100 for the large probably 1500 for the small or 1250 on this cooktop a cheesy to change the elements to 2600 W and 1500 watts

My brother, Jeff has a similar Thermidor cooktop and he was able to upgrade the power of the large elements by buying 208 full elements which jump the power up to 26 or 700 W on 240 V, I don’t think those elements would be readily available anymore but who knows

The GE would be hard to upgrade to, unless we found some used elements of higher power.

 

[sudsmaster]

What's wrong with the Viking gas cooktop? I'd probably be very happy with a six burner set up like that.

 

Of course you'll probably have to run a 220 volt connection under to the cooktop if one is not already there.

 

 

[sudsmaster]

PS-Nice bananas!

 

 

[combo52]

Six burner Viking Gas Cooktop

One of my friends had that exact set up, it was a miserable cooktop hard to clean the controls were in an illogical, not very powerful, etc.

Yes, it would need a 240 V line of course note there’s no such thing as 220 V in this country.

John

 

[sudsmaster]

"Yes, it would need a 240 V line of course note there’s no such thing as 220 V in this country."

 

Why on earth would a gas cooktop need 220 V?

 

 

[sudsmaster]

Even more, 220 and 240 in America are basically the same:

<blockquote>
In the previous time, they have been known as 220 volt electric circuits, but they are now refer to as 240 volt electric circuits. Over the years in America, there have been the problem of accommodating increase electric loads. In resolving this, the American utilities increase the minimal voltages in order to lower the electric current and the wire size that is being used.

</blockquote>
 

https://homeimprovementer.com/difference-between-220-and-240-volt-wiring/

 

[combo52]

And electric cooktop needs 240 volts

Again, there is no such thing as 220 V in the United States there has not been since the 1930s

After that time, the voltage went up to 230 V and in the 1950s it went up to 240 V

Lots of people read these forums when you talk about 220 V you look like you don’t know what you’re talking about, yes, a lot of people, call it 220 V, but that doesn’t make it correct.

Please refer to the installation instructions

John

 

[sudsmaster]

220 volts is the most common way to refer to appliance electrical requirements, as is 110 volts for stuff like light bulbs. It doesn't matter when it was boosted to, as you claim, first to 230 and then later to 240. And it is hardly a big deal: when you say 220 volts people instantly know what is meant: it's for usually a home appliance. Similarly, 110 volts refers to stuff like light bulbs. You can bitch and moan that it's not accurate but I doubt anyone is going to change they way they talk about it just to shut your trap.

 

 

[Marky_Mark]

Happy New Year!

John, thank you so much for the great info.  This is really helpful.  I'll text you later. 

 

I do not currently have 240 V at the island but I have already had someone out to quote for this.  He is hoping to fish a cable through the existing conduit.  If that is not possible, new conduit will have to go in the slab floor.  I have 240 V at my house rather than 208 V which would often be found in apartment buildings.  And I most certainly do not have 220 V, as I would be the only person in North America to have that voltage by design.  But yes you're right, Suds, even the guy who came to quote referred to it as 220 V ha ha.  I had an electrician in the UK still referring to "the fuse board" or "fuse box" even though it contained circuit breakers and no fuses.  I guess legacy terms sometimes remain in use.  Maybe this is like ending a call on your mobile phone and describing it as "I hung up on him" or talking about "dialling" a number.  But personally I would never say 220 V because it is simply inaccurate and it is just as easy to say 240 V -- with the added benefit of being correct.

 

Suds, as for the 6-burner set-up, it's good in theory. But the burners are pretty close together and you can't really use 6 pans at once, unless they are small.  It's rather like the signs in lifts/elevators that say "maximum capacity 20 persons" when really anymore than 10 people would be a little difficult, even though it's not overloaded.  Other than that, it has all the usual advantages and disadvantages of gas cooktops.

 

 

All the best for the new year

Mark

 

[chachp]

220, 221 whatever it takes

 

Here you go…

 

 

 

[DADoES]

 
Ugh!  I'm getting excess voltage.  Not 110 or 220, or 120 or 240.  A whopping 122.2 and 243.9!  Gonna hafta call for service quick, before all my devices get fried!

 

[combo52]

Excess voltage

Hi Glenn, your voltages are pretty typical of what most people are getting today.

They are allowed about a 10% variation from 240 and 120.

I find most homes in our area run about 242 to about 244 all the more reason not to call it 220 lol

John

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, since the allowable variation is 10%, and 10% of 220 is 22, that means calling a 240 circuit 220 is within the variation. I.E., a 220 circuit can actually be 242. Furthermore, a 240 circuit could be 216 and still be within spec.

 

In other words, calling a 240 circuit 220 is within the specs for 240.

 

 

[combo52]

No, not actually Rich

The normal voltage variation is more like 5%. It’s very rare to have a 10% difference so I don’t think you can justify calling 240 volts 220 just because it could possibly be that low.

I can’t believe you were ever a machinist and yet you describe things,in such in precise ways.

John

 

[sudsmaster]

John,

 

I said the "specs", not what actually occurs. Do understand what "specs" means? It means specifications. Not spectacles.

 

And, as another poster already said, everyone knows what one is talking about if one says 110 or even 220. They are within specs and so IMHO it's ok to refer to 120 or 240 circuits as such.

 

Of course some will bitch and moan about this until the cows come home. That's just the way some people are. Their problem, not mine.

 

And John, as for your opinion of my background/experience/training: I don't really care. You seem to be taking a legalistic approach which may be fine in a courtroom, but in reality it's sort of useless.

 

 

 

 

[sudsmaster]

Mark,

 

Thanks. As you say, the professionals often will say 220 instead of 240, or 110 instead of 120. But everyone (within reason) knows what they mean.

 

As for the cooktop, I have a five burner Frigidaire Gas-on-Glass cooktop that is now at least 20 years old, and which I much prefer to any resistance electric cooktop I've ever encountered. I suppose an induction cooktop would also be fine, except for the fact that some cookware won't heat up on induction burners. Notice I said "burners". Will someone try to sue me over that? I wonder...

 

I can certainly see how a 36" wide six burner cooktop could be problematic in terms of space between pots and pans. However it's rare that I've ever got all five burners going at once, so it may not be all that much of an issue even with the six burner setup. I suspect someone in the cooktop marketing department figured a six burner setup would attract more sales... and they may well have goofed on that assumption.