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Wedgewood Stove Anyone?
- Thread starter launderess
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DROOL!
(eh on the color.)
(eh on the color.)
Cool, but I prefer the 40's and 50's white/chrome Wedgewoods.
I love it! It's not often you see a gas stove with "modern" styling. Most of them are a bit too old-fashioned for me. I could even live with the harvest gold ;-)
Clutch the pearls in mock horror
Most of them are a bit too old-fashioned for me.
OMG I thought I'd NEVER I'd hear that near-blasphemy here!
Most of them are a bit too old-fashioned for me.
OMG I thought I'd NEVER I'd hear that near-blasphemy here!
Brneyedgrl80
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2005
- Messages
- 337
I like how they spelled the word "broyl" as opposed the regular boring way.
Toggle, I am a strictly post-war (WWII) kind of guy. Most of the 50's gas stoves look like depression-era design to me. Apparently all the action was happening over in electric back then.
I left depression-era design, along with Victorian Architecture, back in Council Bluffs. You couldn't turn around without bumping into either genre there. Mostly because nobody had any money. ;-)
I left depression-era design, along with Victorian Architecture, back in Council Bluffs. You couldn't turn around without bumping into either genre there. Mostly because nobody had any money. ;-)
The Depression era stoves generally sat fairly high off the ground on 12" legs, and the oven was up high, beside the small four burner cooking area.
The 40's and 50's stoves brought the oven down closer to the floor, resulting in a much expanded cooking area. In my opinion, these stoves generally cook better than modern sealed burner stoves. They have open burners, and unlike modern open burner gas stoves of the post 50's era, they have very handy removable/cleanable drip trays under the burners. I can't tell you how unpleasantly difficult, if not dangerous, it is to try to clean a spill up from a lift-top modern open burner gas range that doesn't have these drip/crumb trays.
The 40's and 50's stoves are also generally built very solidly. They used thicker gauge enameled steel all round (modern gas ranges may opt for cheap painted side panels), often with chrome plated top surfaces. The burners are heavy porcelainized cast iron - not the cheap stamped steel/stamped aluminum affairs you see on modern open burner consumer grade gas ranges. The burner gratings are generally cast iron, not the cheaper welded steel you might find on a BOL modern gas range. Each one of my Wedgewoods has a fold down burner cover, so that the range can also serve as a preparation or serving area once cooking is done.
These ranges date back from the era of big kitchens that were the center of home activity. They are highly functional while, I think, quite beautiful.
Electric ranges? Some look pretty nice... but yeech... electric!
The 40's and 50's stoves brought the oven down closer to the floor, resulting in a much expanded cooking area. In my opinion, these stoves generally cook better than modern sealed burner stoves. They have open burners, and unlike modern open burner gas stoves of the post 50's era, they have very handy removable/cleanable drip trays under the burners. I can't tell you how unpleasantly difficult, if not dangerous, it is to try to clean a spill up from a lift-top modern open burner gas range that doesn't have these drip/crumb trays.
The 40's and 50's stoves are also generally built very solidly. They used thicker gauge enameled steel all round (modern gas ranges may opt for cheap painted side panels), often with chrome plated top surfaces. The burners are heavy porcelainized cast iron - not the cheap stamped steel/stamped aluminum affairs you see on modern open burner consumer grade gas ranges. The burner gratings are generally cast iron, not the cheaper welded steel you might find on a BOL modern gas range. Each one of my Wedgewoods has a fold down burner cover, so that the range can also serve as a preparation or serving area once cooking is done.
These ranges date back from the era of big kitchens that were the center of home activity. They are highly functional while, I think, quite beautiful.
Electric ranges? Some look pretty nice... but yeech... electric!
Those fold down burner covers were also know as "Mother In Law" covers. Theory being a wife who was not on top of her house cleaning could cover the stove from the prying and perhaps overly generous with the comments, mother in law. Think Mrs. Raymond Romano and her ever present MIL, Mrs. Frank Romano.
Launderess
Launderess
Electric ranges? Some look pretty nice... but yeech... elect
Sick of heairng my say this yet? LOL
OK OK gas has three benefits on top.
Visual, cheap and instant on-off.
BUT when you get tired of washing walls and painting them as well as de-greasing cabinets from the schmutz gas cooking puts out- electric is just fine!
Electric is faster, cleaner, safer, cooler, and does not pollute the indoor air. A smooht-top is even nicer!
Gas is cheap and easy. Can't always be cheap and easy! After 20 something y.o. that is unattractive! LOL
Sick of heairng my say this yet? LOL
OK OK gas has three benefits on top.
Visual, cheap and instant on-off.
BUT when you get tired of washing walls and painting them as well as de-greasing cabinets from the schmutz gas cooking puts out- electric is just fine!
Electric is faster, cleaner, safer, cooler, and does not pollute the indoor air. A smooht-top is even nicer!
Gas is cheap and easy. Can't always be cheap and easy! After 20 something y.o. that is unattractive! LOL
In my experience the grease and grime on kitchen walls/ceilings come from the foods being cooked, not from the heat source.
The main by products of natural gas combustion are heat, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. None of these will cause a greasy buildup on surfaces. There may be a slight amount of soot from a malfunctioning burner, but proper adjustment will cure that. One is likely to get far more soot from a burning candle.
A range or cooktop should be positioned under an efficient exhaust hood to vent out the vapors and smoke from cooking foods - regardless of the heat source. This will also help to keep cooking odors out of the dwelling, especially if the cooking area is in an "open" type of floor plan.
Gas appliances are generally not cheaper than electric ones. Most of the time they cost a bit more. So I don't quite get the point about "cheap and easy". I do find it easier to cook with gas, though, as there is no problem telling if the burner is on, and what heat level it is likely to be putting out. There are visual and auditory clues that are missing or impaired with electric ranges.
Modern ranges are generally built more flimsy and less durable than older gas ranges of the 40's and 50's. You have to go with a high end range to equal or surpass the quality of an old Wedgewood, O'Keefe & Merritt, or other vintage range. And, in point of fact, the basic configuration of a good kitchen range has not changed much since the advent of the floor-hugging ranges of the 40's. What differences there are are relatively minor: electric ignition instead of pilot lights, windows in doors and lights in ovens, and the infamous sealed gas burner. Computerized controls are a mixed blessing. The older range controls will work for decades - not so a computerized control panel. The electonic ignition is probably a very good bit of technical progress. Safer, and less costly in terms of gas consumption.
The lower cost of an electric range may be offset by the need for periodic replacement of burner and oven elements. Not so with a gas appliance - the valves and burners will last for decades. Additionally, electric energy used to power an electric range will often cost more than an equivalent amount of energy used to power a gas range. The difference is not as great, though, as the difference between using electricity vs. gas for a clothes dryer or home furnace, as a gas range will tend to waste more heat energy as it escapes with air currents under the cookware.
I know many people prefer electric, and there are pros and cons for each technology. But aside from energy cost considerations, I don't think many people choose a gas range over electric range based on pricing.
The main by products of natural gas combustion are heat, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. None of these will cause a greasy buildup on surfaces. There may be a slight amount of soot from a malfunctioning burner, but proper adjustment will cure that. One is likely to get far more soot from a burning candle.
A range or cooktop should be positioned under an efficient exhaust hood to vent out the vapors and smoke from cooking foods - regardless of the heat source. This will also help to keep cooking odors out of the dwelling, especially if the cooking area is in an "open" type of floor plan.
Gas appliances are generally not cheaper than electric ones. Most of the time they cost a bit more. So I don't quite get the point about "cheap and easy". I do find it easier to cook with gas, though, as there is no problem telling if the burner is on, and what heat level it is likely to be putting out. There are visual and auditory clues that are missing or impaired with electric ranges.
Modern ranges are generally built more flimsy and less durable than older gas ranges of the 40's and 50's. You have to go with a high end range to equal or surpass the quality of an old Wedgewood, O'Keefe & Merritt, or other vintage range. And, in point of fact, the basic configuration of a good kitchen range has not changed much since the advent of the floor-hugging ranges of the 40's. What differences there are are relatively minor: electric ignition instead of pilot lights, windows in doors and lights in ovens, and the infamous sealed gas burner. Computerized controls are a mixed blessing. The older range controls will work for decades - not so a computerized control panel. The electonic ignition is probably a very good bit of technical progress. Safer, and less costly in terms of gas consumption.
The lower cost of an electric range may be offset by the need for periodic replacement of burner and oven elements. Not so with a gas appliance - the valves and burners will last for decades. Additionally, electric energy used to power an electric range will often cost more than an equivalent amount of energy used to power a gas range. The difference is not as great, though, as the difference between using electricity vs. gas for a clothes dryer or home furnace, as a gas range will tend to waste more heat energy as it escapes with air currents under the cookware.
I know many people prefer electric, and there are pros and cons for each technology. But aside from energy cost considerations, I don't think many people choose a gas range over electric range based on pricing.
Gas energy is cheaper in most parts of the country in that it takes THREE units of gas (heatwise) to make one unit of electricity. (heatwise)
Gas stove-top cooking easy to regulate in that the feedback is visual.
Even though 30% of the heat from stove-top cooking goes into the food and 70% into the room, it is still usually much cheaper to opeate.
Gas stove-top cooking easy to regulate in that the feedback is visual.
Even though 30% of the heat from stove-top cooking goes into the food and 70% into the room, it is still usually much cheaper to opeate.
look over ANY gas ocen and htere is a huge amount of beige to brow saining on the ceilig no mater how well vented.
If there is not mcuh domestic gas cooking in your are look over a gas pizza oven at th ecolor of the ceiling tiles...
Trust me it is MORE than the foods giving off a film.
Theoretically even the cehmical used to give gas its smell for detecion purposes could very well be the culprit as it burns...
If there is not mcuh domestic gas cooking in your are look over a gas pizza oven at th ecolor of the ceiling tiles...
Trust me it is MORE than the foods giving off a film.
Theoretically even the cehmical used to give gas its smell for detecion purposes could very well be the culprit as it burns...
omg i had better edit my postings better. sorry
Toggle, love--
Were you typing that blindfolded?
Lawrence/Maytagbear
Give me a gas cooktop and an electric oven! (but only, only! if the oven is self-cleaning!!)
Were you typing that blindfolded?
Lawrence/Maytagbear
Give me a gas cooktop and an electric oven! (but only, only! if the oven is self-cleaning!!)
Let's take the example of gas vs. electric clothes drying.
1) Cost: In general, on average, gas is about 50% (not 67%) cheaper to dry clothes with than electric. And bear in mind that ALL of the thermal energy in a gas dryer goes to use. Not so with a gas rangetop. In one of those, only about 30% of the gas energy goes into the cookware. The rest is lost. Electric fares quite a bit better, with some 60% or more going into the cookware. So... do the math... it costs just about the same to cook with gas as it does with electricity.
2) If burning gas created brown stains, we'd see brown stained clothes coming out of gas dryers, and big brown stains on the walls of homes where the dryer exhuast vent exits. Neither are observed, so I must repeat that a gas oven is not more likely to cause grease, smoke, and grime on a kitchen's walls than an electric stove.
What MAY be at work here is that by nature, a gas oven must have more venting than an electric one. After all, the flames need not only oxygen, but a way to exhaust the products of combustion. So... there is likely to be more airflow through a gas oven than an electric one. This MIGHT account for more food vapors being released from a gas oven than an electric one. In any case, the solution is simple... turn on the darn range hood exhaust fan!
Also, in older setups, a gas oven was connected to an exhaust flue by design. Somewhere along the way, code writers apparently felt that such exhaust systems were not necessary. Modern gas stoves seem to have omitted this feature... too bad, it was a good one and should be reintroduced (in my humble opinion). It probably sent most cooking odors/vapors up the chimney instead of out into the kitchen. I'm guessing that a lot of electric ovens would benefit from a similar arrangement. A concern might be the loss of heated or cooled home air to the outdoors via the continually open range chimney. This is similar to the heat loss that may occur with in-room vented gas wall or space heaters. However by keeping the exhaust opening relatively low on the appliance (about a couple of feet or less off the floor, as is standard on older ranges), the loss of heated air may be minimized.
I have two electric ovens in my home (one is an older GE wall oven in the kitchen. The other is a in a vintage Frigidaire 30" drop in electric range in an enclosed patio. However, I never broil or bake meats in either one. Instead, I have a gas BBQ/rotisserie on an outer covered patio that gets that work. This keeps the greasy cooking odors out of the home and also allows for a much easier cleanup. I still use the electric wall oven for baking pizzas, cookies, breads, etc.
3) The odorant added to natural gas is a mercaptan (sulfur-bearing organic compound) that is present in extremely tiny amounts. It is consumed in the combustion process and the amounts used are far too minuscule to cause any residual odor or staining. Far greater amounts of sulfur-bearing compounds can be found in most meats, anyway (that off-odor that comes from burning hair results from hair's relatively high sulfur content).
1) Cost: In general, on average, gas is about 50% (not 67%) cheaper to dry clothes with than electric. And bear in mind that ALL of the thermal energy in a gas dryer goes to use. Not so with a gas rangetop. In one of those, only about 30% of the gas energy goes into the cookware. The rest is lost. Electric fares quite a bit better, with some 60% or more going into the cookware. So... do the math... it costs just about the same to cook with gas as it does with electricity.
2) If burning gas created brown stains, we'd see brown stained clothes coming out of gas dryers, and big brown stains on the walls of homes where the dryer exhuast vent exits. Neither are observed, so I must repeat that a gas oven is not more likely to cause grease, smoke, and grime on a kitchen's walls than an electric stove.
What MAY be at work here is that by nature, a gas oven must have more venting than an electric one. After all, the flames need not only oxygen, but a way to exhaust the products of combustion. So... there is likely to be more airflow through a gas oven than an electric one. This MIGHT account for more food vapors being released from a gas oven than an electric one. In any case, the solution is simple... turn on the darn range hood exhaust fan!
Also, in older setups, a gas oven was connected to an exhaust flue by design. Somewhere along the way, code writers apparently felt that such exhaust systems were not necessary. Modern gas stoves seem to have omitted this feature... too bad, it was a good one and should be reintroduced (in my humble opinion). It probably sent most cooking odors/vapors up the chimney instead of out into the kitchen. I'm guessing that a lot of electric ovens would benefit from a similar arrangement. A concern might be the loss of heated or cooled home air to the outdoors via the continually open range chimney. This is similar to the heat loss that may occur with in-room vented gas wall or space heaters. However by keeping the exhaust opening relatively low on the appliance (about a couple of feet or less off the floor, as is standard on older ranges), the loss of heated air may be minimized.
I have two electric ovens in my home (one is an older GE wall oven in the kitchen. The other is a in a vintage Frigidaire 30" drop in electric range in an enclosed patio. However, I never broil or bake meats in either one. Instead, I have a gas BBQ/rotisserie on an outer covered patio that gets that work. This keeps the greasy cooking odors out of the home and also allows for a much easier cleanup. I still use the electric wall oven for baking pizzas, cookies, breads, etc.
3) The odorant added to natural gas is a mercaptan (sulfur-bearing organic compound) that is present in extremely tiny amounts. It is consumed in the combustion process and the amounts used are far too minuscule to cause any residual odor or staining. Far greater amounts of sulfur-bearing compounds can be found in most meats, anyway (that off-odor that comes from burning hair results from hair's relatively high sulfur content).
er one handed. LOL
Dont ask
Dont ask
Great points TYVM.
In my experince:
If you look at the grille (and above it) that brings the heated air into a gas dryer in the drum..it is often stained around that area (brownish not blue/green).
I have been known to scrub these every couple of years.
In my experince:
If you look at the grille (and above it) that brings the heated air into a gas dryer in the drum..it is often stained around that area (brownish not blue/green).
I have been known to scrub these every couple of years.
Said: If burning gas created brown stains, we'd see brown stained clothes coming out of gas dryers.
Given enough time in contact with products of combustion (and no washings between cycles) I GUARANTTEE you the load would be dirtier than when it went in. It justt can't be seen after one hour of contact.
In theory both heat sources carbonize air-bound dust and shoot it through the clothes.... and then again there is the issue of what level of dust and particlate matter the gas itself has in it.
Perhaps we have to agree to disagree..But yes a good exhaust fan does wonders and should always be used with gas cooking in that the products of combustion vented back into a room are unhealthy. FACT. To what degree is debatable..
Now where are those pics I once posted of kitchens where there is gas cooking?
Given enough time in contact with products of combustion (and no washings between cycles) I GUARANTTEE you the load would be dirtier than when it went in. It justt can't be seen after one hour of contact.
In theory both heat sources carbonize air-bound dust and shoot it through the clothes.... and then again there is the issue of what level of dust and particlate matter the gas itself has in it.
Perhaps we have to agree to disagree..But yes a good exhaust fan does wonders and should always be used with gas cooking in that the products of combustion vented back into a room are unhealthy. FACT. To what degree is debatable..
Now where are those pics I once posted of kitchens where there is gas cooking?
