Vintage vs. Modern Freestanding Ranges

[gefilterflo]

I haven't really seen much about older ranges being better than their modern counterparts. Case in point, a 1970 GE 30" freestanding range, close to top-of-the-line with the surface light, the "digital" timer, the P7 self-cleaning system and the window. It needs two new Calrod elements and the timer and the clock don't work, but the oven heats very evenly and is by far one of the most accurate ovens I've used. Despite its quirks, it does what I need to to do, very well, I might add, but it had made me curious: how do new ranges compare to their older counterparts? Has the quality declined enough to merit maintaining an aging, nondescript specimen or does one replace it and later wonder why he put up with an faulty, obsolete range for so long? Anyone have such an experience?

 

[vintagekitchen]

Most older ranges seem to have far more even heating in the ovens, even BOL models. And more vintage ranges had options such as thermostatically controlled burners, deep well cooker, built in griddle, built in rotisserie and automatic meat thermometer, options rare today even on TOL models. My Range is a 1939 GE, and my oven provides more even heating than my grandmothers new TOL convection oven, HA! That said, the older surface unit burners do tend to be slower than modern ones, but the heating seems more even, less hot spots. Even so, its easily remedied by simply replacing the burner with a new calrod unit. All types are still available at hardware stores, or online. On mine, I changed the front 2, and left the rear one and the deep well cooker one for slower cooking and simmering.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Timer...

Clock is most likely the motor, easily available online. Timer available online as well. Another good source is junkyards, or the "graveyard" behind appliance stores. They will usually give you the part if u remove it yourself .

 

[circlew]

I own a 30" Westinghouse range that my parents bought new in 1953; it is currently in storage, but was used continuously until about 5 years ago. At the present I'm using a 30" Admiral that is about 7 years old, provided in the rental house I'm living in.

I can tell you one thing for sure, and it's that the Admirial is no where nearly as heavily constructed as the '53 Westinghouse. When I close the door on the Admiral, the thing rattles and shakes (yes, it's level and firm on the floor); the Westinghouse has a much more solid sound and feel. The oven control on the Admiral went out not long after I moved here, and I've had to replace the drip pans because they got discolored and rusty. The thing is just plain flimsy, and light enough to move with one hand. The Westinghouse did have to have a couple replacements of the Corox speed-heat unit, and the clock did stop working some years ago, but nothing major.

The Admiral does bring water to a boil a little faster than the older one, but the oven takes a little longer to heat than the one in the old Westinghouse. The Westinghouse also bakes more evenly, as I think it's probably better insulated.

For my new kitchen in my own house, I've purchased a Kenmore built-in cooktop (Roper-GE), and will be getting GE double wall ovens. I hope I'll be satisfied with them. I'm going to restore the Westinghouse, and keep it in the basement.

 

[westingman123]

My own opinion is, there's nothing like a vintage range. I'm partial to Westinghouse, their ovens are very well insulated and bake to perfection. I like a range to be solid, too. The Westy Commander in my kitchen weighs a ton, but she performs like new--and the styling is pleasing.

The rest of my family has various ranges/ovens. When it comes to cookie-baking time, guess whose house they all end up at? LOL

 

[customline]

Well......

You can't beat an older range or oven for the extras. The wiring always needs to be updated on the older units though and if you're up to it and replace it and ground the unit properly, you will have a great cooking appliance.

 

[rll70sman]

Kenmore/Frigidaire electric stove

I purchased a brand new Kenmore/Frigidaire coil-burner electric stove in 2006. By 2009, the oven element burned out so I ordered a new one from Sears. Just after Thanksgiving last year, I decided to run it through a normal self-clean cycle. When the oven cooled off and the door unlocked, I immediately noticed the feet that hold the element up off the oven floor had turned sideways and melted through the porcelain into the steel. Sears refused to do anything about it because the warranty had expired.

I went to one of the local appliance stores and looked through its used appliance inventory for a replacement. I found a beautifully maintained Frigidaire Electri-Clean from the late '70s or early '80s for $195. The thing looks showroom new with all-mechanical controls and has worked without a hitch. The oven preheats within a few minutes verses 10 plus minutes with the Kenmore. Furthermore, the self-clean cycle leaves absolutely no traces of burned-on soil behind like the Kenmore did.

It's amazing how appliance quality has plummeted in the last 10 years, let alone the last 30 years. I would rather spend the money on a solid, old, utilitarian major appliance than a new-fangled, overpriced tin can! And never again will I buy a new appliance from Sears!

Rob

 

[amyswasher]

I'll go out on a limb here

I love my 2006 GE smooth top range. I guess it's because I've put up with ones that were in rentals that were abused over and over again, I guess. The quality I will probably be proven later. My dishwasher is another story altogether, but love my oven, wouldn't trade it for anything. Oh it's a J BP78DOH2CC.

 

[passatdoc]

2001 Frigidaire 30" convection gas range

Ten years of solid service. Not the world's fastest oven for pre-heating, but if you remember to turn on the convection switch, it pre-heats faster. Never had any parts break or a service call. I did have some flaking issues (paint/finish coming off) on very small areas (say 5-8 mm) on two grates, but I had extended warranty and Frigidaire sent me two replacement grates (for once, extended warranty paid off....).

 

What I like about it:

 

--cook top (white finish, not sure if porcelain or just paint) easy to clean with Barkeepers Friend. Grates are dishwasher-safe (gray finish over cast iron) and I toss them in the DW maybe once every 2-3 months. That keeps them looking new, and BF can handle any spots the DW can't remove. Burner caps are not DW-safe (bare cast iron on the back) but clean up easily with BF.

 

--self clean feature works like it's supposed to. Now and then I have to put some oven cleaner on the door window, otherwise everything comes out clean. I neglected to remove racks and thus they are discolored, but I recently discovered that they respond to BF, so cleaning the racks is a rainy day project for this year.

 

--convection feature shaves 5-10 minutes/per hour of cooking time and allows a 20-25 F reduction in cooking temp.

 

--simmer burner (4-5K BTU max) works great for little melting or heating jobs, and nothing burns.

 

--high power burner (12K BTU) heats fairly quickly, though by today's standards 12K is not all that great.

 

--oven keeps accurate temperature. I noticed earlier this year that the thermometer read "375" when I had it set to 350. I bought two more inexpensive thermometers and they all read 375, so I knew the oven was off. I followed the manual to recalibrate it, using the electronic controls, now it stays at 350 when it's set to 350. When convection is switched on, heat goes up to 370, so I reduce temp by 20 F when using convection. This was the one and only calibration ever performed, and only after 9 1/2 years of ownership.

 

--I like having a <span style="text-decoration: underline;">manual </span>convection switch. I don't want anyone auto-converting for me. I know how to reduce cooking temp and time.

 

--has storage drawer below. Next model up had warming drawer which I'd probably never use. Many people I know with warming drawers just keep them turned off and use them for storage.

 

Cons:

 

---as mentioned above, high power burner is rather anemic by today's standards, but Frigidaire's current equivalent model has higher power burners, I think 14 or 16K for the big one and 14 or 12K for the second big one. OK for boiling water, just adequate for stir frying in a large wok.

 

---does not have grates that go all the way across the oven. Frigidaire did offer such a model at the time I bought, but the grates were ugly and I felt my model was overall more attractive (other features were identical). The equivalent model today has five burners with grates all the way across, and it looks nice, so I'd have no hesitation to recommend the current model.

 

---electronic control panel for oven has worked fine for ten years, but if it wears out or breaks, how much will a replacement part cost?

 

---plastic burner control knobs don't look very sumptuous, but are reasonable considering the price point of this model in 2001 ($700).

 

The current equivalent model:




http://www.frigidaire.com/products/kitchen/gas-electric-ranges/fggf3032kw

 

The top of the line model has two ovens:




http://www.frigidaire.com/products/kitchen/gas-electric-ranges/fggf304dlw

 

The large oven is convection, not sure if both have convection but I'd doubt it. Not sure I'd give up my storage drawer for a second oven, since I have a countertop Breville convection oven which is great for small jobs.

 

 

 

[drewz]

love vintage stoves, does anyone know what year they started and stopped putting well's on stoves? Seemed like it was a popular feature on many stoves.

 

[circlew]

Deep Wells

Joe, the wells were common through the early 50's. I believe GE was the first to do away with them. When GE range production moved from Columbia, MO to Louisville, KY (Appliance Park) sometime in 1953 or so, the wells were no longer offered. Hotpoint kept them for a while longer; until around '57 or so. Not sure about Frigidaire, but think they were gone by the time they restyled for the "Sheer Look" '57 models. Westinghouse still had them in '53, as they are shown on some of the 40" models in the use & care book that came with my range. Mine is a 30", so lacks the deep well. I have seen an ad for a Hotpoint 30" model with well, and I think one or two other brands may have had then in 30".

You probably have noticed that the oven under the well is shorter than the other oven, due to the well extending down further than the regular surface units and drip pans.

 

[vintagekitchen]

The deep well cooker, or thrift cooker, was one of the most amazing things about the older stoves to me. I searched long and hard to find a stove with one, and when I finally found mine, it was in someone's garage for 40 bucks, with only one previous owner, lol... It is a bit like a crock pot, but more useful, as the heat can stay low, or get high enough to boil or deep fry, depending on what setting you use, but it doesnt heat up your kitchen like a regular pot and burner, since the well and lid are heavily insulated. Also because of this it uses far less energy than a regular burner and pot. Apparently you are also able to bake in it, preventing heating up your kitchen with a large oven in the summer, but I have never tried that, as Im afraid of damaging the aluminum pot, (replacements are hard to find), and its not thermostatically controlled like an oven. Some of the later and more deluxe models even had a burner in the deep well which could be raised for use as a surface burner. I know many older women who still mourn the loss of their old stoves with the deep wells when they wore out, and like me, still don't understand why they were discontinued.

 

[vintagekitchen]

The deep well cooker, or thrift cooker, was one of the most amazing things about the older stoves to me. I searched long and hard to find a stove with one, and when I finally found mine, it was in someone's garage for 40 bucks, with only one previous owner, lol... It is a bit like a crock pot, but more useful, as the heat can stay low, or get high enough to boil or deep fry, depending on what setting you use, but it doesnt heat up your kitchen like a regular pot and burner, since the well and lid are heavily insulated. Also because of this it uses far less energy than a regular burner and pot. Apparently you are also able to bake in it, preventing heating up your kitchen with a large oven in the summer, but I have never tried that, as Im afraid of damaging the aluminum pot, (replacements hard to find), and its not thermostatically controlled like an oven. Some of the later and more deluxe models even had a burner in the deep well which could be raised for use as a surface burner. I know many older women who still mourn the loss of their old stoves with the deep wells when they wore out, and like me, still don't understand why they were discontinued.

 

[amyswasher]

I think they were discontinued because of air-conditioning. I don't know, but that's what I'm thinking. The ad's that were pics-of-the-day all had air-conditioners in the wall of the kitchens, and electricity was cheap.

 

[hunter]

Also people don't cook so much.

With the exception of folks on sites like this, most people don't cook that much. Look at the Garden Web -- many people doing INCREDIBLE kitchen refits will come right out and say 'Oh I'm doing it for resale value because I don't cook.' Obviously on Garden Web there are a lot who DO cook too.

But trying to find an inexpensive or mid range stove that actually gets HOT and cooks well is rare.

When I lived in Massachusetts I had a 24" apartment sized electric stove, with 1 big burner, 1 mid size and 2 small ones. It had a light, a clock (that didn't work), and (oh joy) an outlet on the range top. It was solidly made and great to cook on.

I bought an expensive Dacor with a convection oven. The smoothtop was nice, the self clean was nice but really the small apartment electric coil range had better control.

My new range doesn't have as good of a temperature control in the oven as the old one either. (My current range is a Kitchaid, that I bought when the Dacor gave me one too many hassles after 10 years or so of service).

 

[mrb627]

Double Oven Range

I'm still not sure I like the double oven range with the main oven all the way down on the floor. I miss the double oven range with micro-convection above the corning smooth cooktop.

Malcolm

 

[davey7]

O'Keefe & Merritt

I have a circa 1960 O'Keefe & Merritt range which I like (not love yet, cos' the oven has been problematic - can't get the pilot lit). I've heard, anecdotally, that the oven thermostats in vintage ranges/ovens held the temperature through modulating the flame (in gas, obviously) rather than modern thermostats which switch the flame on and off. Apparently a lot of women replaced their ranges for fashion and then realized that they didn't cook and bake as well - in fact the Abt deliverymen who brought my new fridge up commented on how O&M among others went out of business because their stoves were so well made.

My range doesn't actually have two ovens, but an oven and a separate broiler with rotisserie and "Grillevator" which raises and lowers the broiler pan (in my model) electrically as well as a broiler beneath the oven - the space below the broiler is just a storage compartment. There is also a griddle which has accessories to make it a fifth burner.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4361050376_cb0d94c0d4_b.jpg

 

[passatdoc]

@Malcolm

Agree re: the double oven ranges. Placing the main oven down below could be awkward, particularly for a large family using either both ovens or at least the main oven on a daily basis. For a single person or couple/no kids at home, it might be practical if they would tend to use the small oven as the "daily driver", while using the big oven only for special projects or holidays. I'd rather have a second oven than a warming drawer way down at the bottom. However, whether I'd give up my current storage drawer (my model has a drawer but not a warming drawer) for an aux oven is another question.

The Frigidaire model has convection only in the big oven, but both are self cleaning. I have a Breville counter top convection oven that I tend to use when making meals for one or two persons. It preheats faster than the range and I feel it's wasting a lot of energy to heat up the big oven just to roast a chicken or what have you.

 

[combo52]

DEEP WELL BURNERS

These came about because they were a little more efficient in thier use of electricity. You have to remember that it was VERY expensive to cook with electricity as power in most of the country was around 3 cents per kilowatt hour till the 1960s. And when cooking everyday in the 1960s as most households did you could easily add $6.00 a month to your electric bill and at the time this was real money.

 

Deep wells were continued on some ranges through the 1950s, our 1957 40" Frigidare shear look still has a raisable Deep Well burner.

 

Deep Wells were not well insulted, in fact they had no insulation other than another layer of metal around the pot, but the small size allowed you to bake a few potatoes without heating up the whole oven just like we do today in uninsulated toaster ovens.

 

Deep Wells were not discontinued because of more people getting air-conditioning as in fact they would have helped keep the kitchen cooler.

 

But in reality Deep Wells did not do anything that could not be easily done on top of any other element and because of the slight added cost to build and the extra cleaning hassles they created they went away, this also allowed range makes to have larger ovens  below the cooktops.