Vintage Maytag Gas Ranges

[mixguy]

Any members own or know anything about Maytag "Dutch Oven" gas ranges? Besides Chambers stoves, these are the only other ranges that I know of, having recipes created to cook with the gas turned off. The ovens had features to help retain heat in the oven cavity. Having the burner controls in the back panel had to be a complicated affair. Reading the instruction book you would think you have the finest gas range in existance pointing out all their features to make you think any other brand is inferior. Nice to read the vintage literature compared to what you get today. Interesting how that all changed. Today there are no home economists or recipes and most instructions utilizing pictures rather than words.

 

[gansky1]

Maytag did have a very cool range. You could cook with the gas turned off once the heavy steel plate in the bottom of the oven was heated. This worked very well for roasting and long-baking dishes. It took some time for the gas burner to heat up the plate and bring the oven to temperature so I found mine pretty impractical for the quick pan of cornbread or a frozen pizza. Once the oven was up to desired temperature (30-45 minutes) it was a great baking oven, one of the best I've ever had.

The high control knobs did mean some additional plumbing for the gas, but it wasn't all that more complicated than any gas range, just longer tubing runs down to the burners. For safety reasons in the mid-late 50's, certification rules and codes were changed to mandatory front controls on all gas ranges. Hopefully others will chime in with dates, etc. if they know specifics.

The company that made them for Maytag (Indiana Stove Works?) closed their doors in the late 50's, quite suddenly, and left Maytag with not only no more ranges, but no parts for existing ranges either. Through the early 60's, there were calls to Maytag service companies in their "Let's Talk Service" newsletter for range parts.

 

[norgeway]

Re Maytag stove

These were built by Globe American Co

 

[tomturbomatic]

For a great deal of information about these stoves type Maytag gas stoves into the Searchalator box at the top of the Super Forum.

 

[twintubdexter]

I cleaned up several Maytag gas ranges as a teenager. The bottom of the oven was a cast iron plate (I think) and the entire stove was very heavy. The "seasoned" repair guys had stories to tell about several of these ranges. The lever/knob burner controls on the back panel often resulted in singed arm hair when the burner didn't light immediately...often due to greasy, clogged pilot holes. The unusual gas deep well cooker had it's own history of "explosions" when the burner didn't light right away. I'm sure the owner's manual said to remove the pot prior to turning the cooker on but who reads instructions? I'm sure with reasonable care these old Maytags were fine appliances. They certainly had a quality look and feel to them.

 

[launderess]

Is this what you all are going on about?

Pipe:

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[tomturbomatic]

I wondered about the evenness of the heat when the deep well was turned to simmer since it was just cooking with the pilot light that was off to the side. I remember reading that you had to remove the pot, then open the left hand door and light the pilot light, which almost required a kneeling pad unless you were sure you did not have gas elsewhere that might be forced out if you squatted, then you lit the burner and then put the pot in the well. The pilot for the deep well had to be lighted each time the burner was used.

A friend had a Hardwick range with slow ignition syndrome. It was particularly dramatic in a dark kitchen. The burner valve was turned to lite and the whooshing gas noise was heard, the kind of noise the gas company warns you about because it might signal a major leak from a broken pipeline, accompanied by the clicking of the igniter then WHOMP and a ball of blue fire briefly surrounded the tea kettle signaling ignition.

 

[mixguy]

Thank you

Appreciate the comments

Lighting the Deep Well Burner seems like a "royal" inconvenience to me! I can understand the longer preheat time with the heavy cast iron bottom plate too. Surface burners were claimed to have a spiral flame that was to be more efficient in heating pots and pans too. I had heard they were prone to problems--soot clogs, etc.

 

[maytagbear]

I cooked on a conventional oven

Maytag gas range for years. When we finally replaced it with a Maytag badged Hardwick in the 1980s, it was like going from a Rolls-Royce to a Kia or Yugo.

However, we loved the big oven on our Hardtag.......

Both were fine performers.

Lawrence/Maytagbear