Old Appliances (was "When chatting with strangers...")

[Mick_VT]

Moved topic has as it ended up very appliance specific

[JacquieJet]

Dam it JJet, shoddy appliances construction back in 1963. Switch only lasted 56 years. Humph. Maybe a warranty claim is in order.

Heh heh heh. For sure. I'll send them a letter!!

[lovesickest]

JJ - look up Ed White Appliances in Port Hope. He is an old school guy and doesn't have a website. However he really knows his appliances and may be able to source the part for you ? I don't know if you could persuade him to make a housecall to you to fix your stove ?

There is also this place in Sherbrooke, Que., who does some fabulous restorations:

http://antiqueelectro.com/

From speaking with a friend with a vintage electric stove with troubles, sourcing the part is 50% of the battle, then finding a competent repair person who knows old appliances is the other 50%. She called numerous repair places and was given the run around, and flat out lied to by repair dudes who mangled her stove because they did NOT know what they were doing.

There is also the Old Appliance Club that may be able to assist with sourcing the part :

http://www.antiquestoves.com/toac/

p.s. Is it my eyes or is your amazing stove pink ?

[JacquieJet]

JJ - look up Ed White Appliances in Port Hope. He is an old school guy and doesn't have a website. However he really knows his appliances and may be able to source the part for you ? I don't know if you could persuade him to make a housecall to you to fix your stove ?

There is also this place in Sherbrooke, Que., who does some fabulous restorations:

http://antiqueelectro.com/

From speaking with a friend with a vintage electric stove with troubles, sourcing the part is 50% of the battle, then finding a competent repair person who knows old appliances is the other 50%. She called numerous repair places and was given the run around, and flat out lied to by repair dudes who mangled her stove because they did NOT know what they were doing.

There is also the Old Appliance Club that may be able to assist with sourcing the part :

http://www.antiquestoves.com/toac/

p.s. Is it my eyes or is your amazing stove pink ?

Thank you so much!! I will absolutely follow up on those leads! Port Hope isn't that far from here actually, so that's convenient! We are just in Oshawa. Perfect. Thanks!!!
I know that the Speed Heat switch can be a bit of a unicorn... but I'm sure I can figure out something. Love this stove.
So far, my father has been my "repairman"... he's handy and has tackled the odd thing here and there. But, this is probably a situation for an actual old appliance specialist

And yes, it is pink! The colour was called "Mayfair Pink", and it wasn't very popular at the time so there aren't many out there (same with the Turquoise colour in the same year- you can google it- it's FABULOUS). In person it's a bit more muted than a cotton candy pink... kind of like a toned down Pepto Bismol. Heh heh. My husband used to say "it's a great stove... but why did it have to be PINK?? We could always repaint it to white you know...".
Now he knows better!

[phil]

I have an old rex air vaccum like this one. you put about a quart of water int he bottom and use it then dump the water.. Nowadays I see Dyson bragging about their new and improved patented whirlwind technology *or whatever they call it nowadays*
anyway here is one just like it.
https://rainvac.global.ssl.fastly.net/i ... 00x500.jpg

[1918ColonialRevival]

I hear you, Eclectic! I came across a Western Holly on eBay about a year ago, it had circular glass in the oven doors and was stunning! Makes me want to start hoarding stoves LOL. My husband refers to it as my "stove porn", heh heh.
I haven't gotten much into the older refridgerators.... yet.... I love the look, but my family are big eaters and with the older ones I've seen, I would have to start grocery shopping every two days instead of weekly because of the minimal interior space. But, if that wasn't a factor, I would totally get a monitor top fridge. Gorgeous! Maybe one day

The GE combinations of the early '50s have just as much space as a modern over-under combination, excluding those double-door monstrosities that seem to be popular today. They're also very reliable, usually requiring only cosmetic work and a gasket replacement. Many have survived, so you should be able to find one with a few months' search.

One note about old refrigerators. If you lay one on its side to transport it, don't apply power to it until it has been sitting upright for about 24-36 hours. Those compressors were oil filled and the oil needs to run back down in them before they're powered up.

[JacquieJet]

The GE combinations of the early '50s have just as much space as a modern over-under combination, excluding those double-door monstrosities that seem to be popular today. They're also very reliable, usually requiring only cosmetic work and a gasket replacement. Many have survived, so you should be able to find one with a few months' search.

One note about old refrigerators. If you lay one on its side to transport it, don't apply power to it until it has been sitting upright for about 24-36 hours. Those compressors were oil filled and the oil needs to run back down in them before they're powered up.

Thanks, Colonial! I'll start keeping my eyes out for those!!

[Willa]

Jacquie Jet, how did that speed boil element work ? I am very curious ? I have not heard of one before.

[Lily left the valley]

Speaking of interesting features, apparently one of the burners on our new old stove has a temperature dial instead of the usual as the other three do. I had to wonder if maybe that one used to be a hot water bin. It's in a back burner position, which is where those often were.

[JacquieJet]

Jacquie Jet, how did that speed boil element work ? I am very curious ? I have not heard of one before.

Basically, the Flair Speed Heat burner is a 118 volt element, but with a switch that "flashes" it to 236 volts for a short period of time so it gets HOT in an instant. (Usually referred to as 120 v that switches to 240 v, for rounding's sake I guess).
Funny thing is about 3 days after I posted here about it not working anymore, it magically fixed itself... now works like a charm again. Go figure. I'm guessing the switch was just stuck. But, because people here are awesome (Lovesickest- I'm looking at you!), now I have some resources to explore when/if the element does officially bite the dust! Woohoo!
Because this stove isn't going anywhere