Vintage Gas Stoves

[JacquieJet]

Hello,
I'm having a difficult time finding good information online about this, so I thought I'd ask here.
I currently have two stoves, an electric 1963 Custom Imperial Frigidaire Flair, and a modern gas Jenn-Air. I love my Flair for the ovens, but usually use the cooktop of the Jenn-Air because of the gas burners.
I really want to replace the Jenn-Air with a vintage gas stove though, but don't like the idea of pilot lights because I have small children in the house.

So, my question is, when did electric ignitions become standard with gas ranges? Is there a year cut-off I should be looking for? What about notable brands?
I guess I could always go with a new "retro" look unit, but where's the fun in that...

[lovesickest]

Hi Jacquie.

I can't answer your question about when electric ignition for gas stoves came into common usage.

I had a 1920's Acme (from Guelph, ON) gas stove that I used for 8 years. I think this was quite a modestly priced brand. There was a pilot light which remained on at all times for the burners. My oven did not have a regulator. This meant it needed to be lit with a match. Additionally, the temperature dial was on the exterior of the oven, and the oven would tell you how hot it was v.s. you telling the oven how hot to be(actual temperature setting was a little hit and miss as the adjustment knob had no markings).

A gas stove from the 50's would have improvements made to the general design, including many with self lighting ovens.

In the time that I had that stove, the pilot light never went out except when I was too liberal with spray cleaners on the grates, and I noticed this right away, and easily relit it with a match.

Is your concern with regards to your children about the chances of the pilot light being accidentally extinguished (ie gas leak) or is it about a potential burn hazard ?

I have seen mention of vintage gas stoves being completely restored and refurbished, including adding electric ignition switches. However - the only sites I have seen were from U.S., particularly with higher end Magic Chef stoves.They were quite expensive, like $ 5,000 and up (before shipping, duty fees or the exchange rate). I am not aware of any places in Canada that do extensive restoration like this. There are a few skilled appliance places that will repair antique/vintage appliances, but as far as I know they do not do intensive rebuilds or retro-fits ?

[JacquieJet]

Thanks for your two cents, Lovesickest. Your Acme stove sounds very cool! Why did you get rid of it? Was it too much of a hassle, or something else?
I'm trying to educate myself before I make a decision, weighing options and whatnot. I know this forum is more house-specific, but I figured I can't be the only old house AND old appliance fan out there, heh heh.

I think my biggest concern with a pilot light is my wild three year old, who would likely throw something on the stovetop "drive-by" style and it would go up in flames, or he would touch it and get hurt. My daughter is only a year old but so far much more reserved!
I hopefully want to avoid a total refurbish job, and instead maybe find something out there that has a factory sparker, even if that's from the 60's (not period-appropriate for my home, but neither is my Flair and I'm fine with that). I'm just not sure if it exists in older stoves/when it came into being. For once, Google was of no use! Heh heh. Thanks again.

[Ober51]

Check out: Antique Stove Collectors on facebook, those guys/gals know a lot.

[Ireland House]

Try calling a good heating and cooling guy to replace the pilot light. It is the same thing they would use on an old furnace. My hvac guy winds up working on old stoves all the time, especially when he is already there to fix old radiators.

[phil]

doesn't the pilot light usually have a thermocouple to sense that the pilot light is lit and so that it shuts off the gas if it should blow out? and isn't the pilot light usually located about the center of the stove so it can light all 4 burners? as I recall that was not in an area where it could ignite other things unless you intentionally stuck a long rolled piece of paper in there or something? Im not that familiar with them but I think there were safeguards in place on early gas stoves?
not many worry about the pilot light in their furnace or hot water tank being hazards to kids right ? why is a stove different?

[JacquieJet]

Ober51: I'm not on Facebook, but I tried googling that group name in case it came up that way. No such luck

IrelandHouse: That's a great idea! I will look into that, thanks!

Phil: I guess the difference is that the stove is open-access, whereas the furnace or hot water tank are usually in the basement, away from children. I guess it all depends on the brand and configuration, as some stoves I have seen have the burners clustered, as you mentioned, where on others in the same era they are widely spaced apart.

[phil]

I seem to remember the one we had, had tubes from each burner that ran to where the pilot light was, but it never worked and we always lit the burners with a match. I do also remember mom trying to light the oven and it blew the door right off. she wasn't hurt but I remember an explosion , so maybe it's safer to keep the pilot light lit than to mess with lighting it all the time.

If you do shop for new gas stoves I think a valid question is wheather it depends on electronics, or if it can be operated without power should a board fail or in a power outage. New appliances are plagued with short lifespans because of proprietary and overpriced circuit boards and a lot of consumers get stung because they fail and a new appliance is cheaper than a new PCB. They know what they are doing.

[JacquieJet]

Yikes! Good thing your mom wasn't hurt!
I will keep that in mind, Phil. I hate how techie new appliances are. At my last house, I had to have my (then new) fridge repaired 3 times... twice because of the computer "smart board" or whatever it's called. Ludicrous. Your reasoning makes sense!
Thanks for all the advice!

[matchbookhouse]

I have a restored 1953 Wedgwood gas stove with a continuous pilot light for both the stovetop and the oven. The stovetop pilot lights are covered up really well and aren't visible at all - you have to take the covers underneath the burners off to even see them. Periodically I feel the stovetop just to check and make sure they're still on, especially if there's a strong breeze from the nearby window, but I've never had them go out. Actually the biggest danger they've presented is that they attract one of my cats to lie on the stovetop to warm her furry buns!