Who made this vintage wall oven

[floyde]

Can some one tell me maker or model. Opens like a fridge. Hinged on the right

 

[bradfordwhite]

most likely

Westinghouse.

My Aunt had that when she built her ranch house in '72

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?59850

 

[steved]

Pre WCI

Westinghouse

 

[vacbear58]

Definately

Westinghouse

 

[rp2813]

It looks like that oven could date back to the days of "Instant On" TV sets.

 

[steved]

better view

Here's a similar oven

 

[bradfordwhite]

I don't believe any of these were self-clean

 

[tomturbomatic]

You are right.

 

[vacbear58]

Double Oven

April 1976 but that style was around for a good while

 

[turquoisedude]

This style was incredibly popular here in Québec in the late 80s and early 90s - most often they were WCI brands like Frigidaire or Kelvinator.  I've worked on a couple for friends over the years!

 

[jamiel]

Am almost certain that WCI sourced them from their Quebec plant until it closed about 10 years ago.

 

[sudsmaster]

I'll be sticking with my GE P*7 wall oven. Door opens "normally" and it also can do an awesome self-clean. Granted I don't bake a lot, mostly use it for cooking pre-made entrees (like frozen lasagna). And for stuff like steak, chicken, and turkey I use the propane fired grill with rotisserie out on the patio.

Eventually I'd like to convert that to NG, but it gets used so sporadically it's not really worth the effort. Especially since I discovered the propane tank to grill hook up wasn't fully sealing. Fixed that a couple months ago and now a new cylinder is lasting much longer. LOL. Safer, too. I've also started shutting off the cylinder at the tank, once cooking is done. That's kind of a chore, since the tank is hidden inside a cabinet in a difficult-to-reach location, but it can and has been done regularly. The difficult location is probably why at least one tank had a slowly leaking hook-up. I was wondering why the propane was getting consumed so fast. Duh!

 

[tomturbomatic]

This design eliminated the heavy metal hinges and springs in the traditional downward opening doors. If there was a cheaper way to do it, they found it, like the lower dishwasher rack that had no wheels, just glides that slid along the rails in the tub and eventually wore holes in the tub.

 

[sudsmaster]

There are some advantages to the bottom hinged door over the side hinged door.

Namely, the bottom hinged door provides a convenient platform on which to rest items as one is loading or unloading the oven.

There may be other reasons but that's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[bradfordwhite]

bottom hinged doors are safer than side hinged or french doors.

 

[vacbear58]

Westinghouse

I have checked back through my old kitchen brochures and this style of Westinghouse oven was around from at least 1970 if not slightly before.

Whilst drop down doors have their advantages, and seem pretty universal in built ins these days, side opening doors have their advantages too, especially in smaller kitchens where you would have to stand beside the oven with the door open rather than in front of it

 

[tomturbomatic]

Just like the side hinged doors in the ranges with high and low ovens like the GE Americana, you have to make sure that the door is opened far enough that you don't accidentally hit its hot surface with your arm when lifting pans in and out of the oven. The French Doors on the Frigidaires, being narrower and having heavier hinges, were somewhat safer and took up less room in small kitchens.

A friend's parents redid their kitchen in 1970 and used this Westinghouse double oven with the big dials.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

All this Oven talk is making me think

How come there was never an oven that instead of having a door open from the side or from the top down, why did they have it mounted like over a stove or over a kitchen counter and the bottom of the oven drops down to reveal the different oven shelves are so instead of opening a door you just push the button and gently the racks are all exposed from the bottom upwards So like the base of the oven is the actual door

 

[tomturbomatic]

Check your medication.

 

[DADoES]

 

Siemens Liftmatic oven

Fulgor hidden lift oven

Caple Sense C5100 lift oven

 

[sudsmaster]

I have never found it necessary to "stand aside" when removing or adding to any drop down door oven. And I'm of relatively average adult height.

 

[lotsosudz]

I thought it was a good idea

My sister had a duplex, that had one of these. When loading large items, [turkey, roasts] it was very handy, as it was easier to heft the roasting pan in and out of it.
David

 

[norgeway]

My cousin

Built their house in 1966, this was the oven they used, Westinghouse ovens are wonderful baking ovens.

 

[turquoisedude]

I've used drop-door and side-swing ovens, both in ranges and on built-in oven units but my absolute fave is the Frigidaire Flair "swing up" oven door!  It works best for me (I'm not tall) and I find with increasing joint issues that getting a pan or dish out of the oven is so much easier when I don't have to reach over an oven door... 

(Now, what shall I do when I get that 66 Frigidaire Electri-Clean range baking again... LOL) 

 

[combo52]

Westinghouse side swing oven door wall ovens

These were good baking ovens, relatively simple in design and construction but had lots of wiring problems like other Westinghouse cooking products of this time.

Most frequent problems were burned up wires and contacts on the thermostats and burned wires on the bake and broil elements which were very difficult to fix you had to take the whole oven out of the wall and take it completely apart As well as burn wiring and cheap clocks which would keep the ovens from working at all.

The side swing doors were cheaper build and handy in some locations but more dangerous to use as others mention you can bump your elbow on the hot door and might cause you to drop some thing you might also pull a pan or something out of it and tip it back on to yourself and scald yourself with hot liquid where the door would normally protect you if it was below what you doing.

This design of an also did not feature a self cleaning oven or even a variable broil control so they were pretty simple and not very versatile.

John L

 

[bradfordwhite]

#23

"It works best for me (I'm not tall)"

FWIW- lol
I don't know if it's your picture or...that you look like someone I knew who was 6'4".
I don't think of you as not being tall.

 

[ozzie908]

Neff Hide N Slide is the best one

For getting out the way.... But the most problematic when needing to take apart for cleaning.!!