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Post by illsurveyor on Feb 1, 2008 21:58:04 GMT -5
s96.photobucket.com/albums/l174/killerjoe123/?action=view¤t=DSC01143.jpgI bought my house in october, including this interesting and fully functional electric skillet and 4 burner Chambers range and oven. it takes a lot longer to heat up than gas, but is quite amazing to me. I know my house was built in 1963 and the stacked ovens stamp tells me it was made in chicago. can anyone help me id what i've got here? -tim
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Post by oldsalt on Feb 1, 2008 23:25:11 GMT -5
I'll venture carefully into this with much qualification. (Earlier today I got my "know-it-all" handed to me.) Looks like a certifiable Chambers "Model D Electric." It was all that and eversomuchmoreso when new, and still should be a pretty decent system. Looks great! Welcome to the commune!
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Post by kschick on Feb 1, 2008 23:47:10 GMT -5
Welcome!
Normally, I would tend to agree with old salt, but it is not his day. I believe the Model Ds were stand alone range oven combos. This is a "In a Wall", or counter model. It looks very similar to the Model D's. Same design features.
If it says Chicago, it could it possibly one one the first to be made by "Range Air"? I recall reading somewhere Chambers was bought around that time by Range Air.
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Post by tux_sf on Feb 2, 2008 1:27:33 GMT -5
I'm not that familiar with the later built-ins, but I'd place this as late 60's - 70's. No idea of the model number, but they usually have names that are letters & numbers that look like any modern appliance model number. It is probably on your pieces somewhere. We don't have any manuals available on vintagechambers.com for these late models, but I believe the Old Stoveman (AKA Sam) might have reprints available. His website at www.oldstoveman.com doesn't have manuals for the later models listed, but if you email him he may very well have what you need. As a footnote, model D's are standalone ranges that basically look like a C except they have moldings along the outside edges that make them look oddly & sharply square (if that makes any sense!). The doors, at least on the early D's, are the same as the C series. Burners were the same as the C as well. They also have controls that look similar to the griddle controls on your cooktop, although the first ones might have been like a C model, but I'm not sure. I know that they were available in electric as well as gas, but I'm not sure if that was only near the end of production. The standalone ranges went out of production by the 70's I believe, while the builtins were made until some time in the (late) 80's. Sorry we can't answer you more clearly, but much of the later production is a mystery to most of us. By that time they changed hands at least twice & it is hard to get at much information about what they produced. I do know they also sold Chambers branded dishwashers by the 60's, in addition to the exhaust fans for stoves that seem to have appeared by the late 50's.
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Post by kschick on Feb 2, 2008 8:02:09 GMT -5
Tux made me think of something. It looks like you have a chambers fan/vent hood. I am not certain, we can just barely see the edge. Those seem to be coveted here. More pics please!
I also have a few pics of an earlier in a wall/counter model at the link below this post.
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Post by illsurveyor on Feb 2, 2008 8:42:42 GMT -5
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Post by kschick on Feb 2, 2008 9:59:04 GMT -5
Every now and then a stove on ebay or craigslist will pop up that you might be able to scavenge for parts. If not try don, he is a member of the gang. www.matterastoveworks.com/Great pics. Nice hood.
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Post by tux_sf on Feb 2, 2008 11:54:28 GMT -5
I forgot to mention in my earlier post. . .don't forget to download the cookbooks from the website. Your oven, though electric, was super insulated just like the gas models. This means that you too can Cook with the gas turned off!--or CWTGTO as we are fond of saying around here . I'm not sure if the timing is exactly the same but I suspect it is, so the oven charts would probably be useful as well. edited to add:Or, in your case, CWTETO! They seem to have dropped the CWTGTO bit of marketing fluff once they started to push the electrics more and switched to the clunkier sounding Retained Heat tag, perhaps because that tag could be applied to either fuel.
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Post by illsurveyor on Feb 2, 2008 12:08:16 GMT -5
Doing research, cant find anything on range air though, you wouldnt remember where you read it would you?
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Post by tux_sf on Feb 2, 2008 12:32:55 GMT -5
Doing research, cant find anything on range air though, you wouldnt remember where you read it would you? The company name was actually Rangaire. I have a copy of the last cookbook published by Chambers (at least I think it was the last one!). It is undated, but looks like it was done some time in the late 70's, or maybe as late as 1981. There is a number on the back cover--"C-RH1-81"--and I wonder if the 81 indicates the year. In any case, the back also states: Chambers Corporation/Oxford, MS 38655 Subsidiary of Rangaire CorporationBy the way, the cookbook in question is fully titled Recipes for Success, Chambers Retained Heat® Cookbook. Most of the recipes are of the 'throw in a can of condensed mushroom soup' or 'add an envelope of onion soup mix' variety. There is even at least one based on a can o' SPAM®! In other words, I'm not impressed ;D. These come up on eBay occasionally, so copies can be found there. I'm unclear as to whether this title is under copyright & who holds the rights to it if it is, so I've never pursued making scans of it available--especially given that it doesn't seem very useful as anything other than a curiousity.
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Post by tux_sf on Feb 2, 2008 12:48:28 GMT -5
I happened to find this history at the 'new' Chambers website: www.chambersrange.com/about/index.phpI'm not sure that the time line there is totally accurate, but it is probably roughly so. This website is kind of interesting, as you will see that the 'home' button takes you to an 'under update' page that has been up for months. Also, the 'products' link seems to be totally down. I suspect they aren't really selling these 'new Chambers' ranges, which is just as well. . . Oh, I should also mention that there is a picture of a D model there. It appears that this one might have controls that are dials like yours. As I mentioned above, I've also seen them with the handles like the broiler controls all across.
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Post by illsurveyor on Feb 2, 2008 17:12:45 GMT -5
thanks for the help guys, im still indecisive as to weather i want to use modern burner controls or try and scavage some. maybe ill come across some soon, but till then i still have half of my burners working as well as the griddle. if you come across anything that might be relivent be sure to look me up. ill check out those cook books thanks again!
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Post by oldsalt on Feb 2, 2008 22:16:58 GMT -5
You might open the panel and behind the knobs you'll find the rheostats that control the two burners in question. You could test them if you have a multimeter and a mind to do so. Out of the circuit, they should give you an even sweep as you turn the dial from zero ohms to infinite resistance. It sounds like they're dumping on all at once, which is a common way for them to fail. I've found these relatively common between electric ranges. They tend to have technical specifications stamped on their shells, and you could use these to see if you can find an exact replacement. Otherwise, a generic replacement "repair kit" from Home Depot may fix your problem. There are usually two sizes available, correlating to the sizes of the burners.
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Post by redrange on Feb 2, 2008 22:39:14 GMT -5
Your Chambers set is definitely interesting. Your rangehood is just like the one I have except mine needs a re-spray. Congratulations on getting a good one!
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Post by illsurveyor on Feb 3, 2008 14:37:55 GMT -5
old salt, yes i pulled off my panel and had tested them after i had first used the oven, and yes, they are "dumping all at once." the shells simply say INF 240-40. I assume them to be Infinity manufactured controls? Ill grab a picture maybe tomorrow night. i dont see a difference between the 6 inch and the 8 inch controls though. The controls for the griddle and broiler burner are diffrent, they have thermostats intergrated into them and i've allready sucessfully rebuilt them. Is this repair kit something i would find in the appliance section or the electrical section? Also is the correct language rheostat or control? thanks again salt. cook book has a lot of goodies im going to have to try. i guess ill be cooking with the electricty turned off... cwteto.
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Post by berlyn on Feb 3, 2008 17:21:56 GMT -5
Is this repair kit something i would find in the appliance section or the electrical section? Also is the correct language rheostat or control? First, welcome!! I would by-pass your big box stores and stay with the "Mom & Pop" appliance (and hardware) stores. If they have been around for years, they know what a Chambers is and can guide you more. And yes, Chambers rephrased their "CWTGTO" to "CWTETO". Starting with the model D's, correct tux?? As you guys have gathered, tux/Danny is quite knowledgable of the Chambers and fireless cooking history. Hence, why I call him our Chambers historian. ;D
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Post by oldsalt on Feb 3, 2008 23:51:18 GMT -5
old salt, yes i pulled off my panel and had tested them after i had first used the oven, and yes, they are "dumping all at once." the shells simply say INF 240-40. I assume them to be Infinity manufactured controls? Ill grab a picture maybe tomorrow night. i dont see a difference between the 6 inch and the 8 inch controls though. The controls for the griddle and broiler burner are diffrent, they have thermostats intergrated into them and i've allready sucessfully rebuilt them. Is this repair kit something i would find in the appliance section or the electrical section? Also is the correct language rheostat or control? thanks again salt. cook book has a lot of goodies im going to have to try. i guess ill be cooking with the electricty turned off... cwteto. A rheostat is a variable resister, usually wire-wound for high voltage/current applications. They are two-lead components, closely akin to potentiometers, which tend to be smaller and have three leads - two of which are often ganged to give the same variable voltage-divider effect as a rheostat for lower power applications. I'm not sure what the INF stands for (probably a manufacturer), but the "240-40" indicates 240Volts and 40Amps, which is common. Hanging on a board in the oven/range section of Home Depot are a number of generic replacement parts, including knobs, drip pans, heater elements, and rheostats. You'll find yours there. On newer stoves, they'll put a lower amperage rheostat on the smaller burners, giving equivalent knob-turn for the large and small burners (higher and lower current-draw, respectively). If you are not into teaching the kid working there about rheostats, you might take your used-up example along to your local "Mom-n-Pop" shop, like berlyn suggests. By the way, please be careful. Current kills. As little as 60mA can stop a beating heart. I've taken a 3KV shock from a RADAR, and received less damage than I got from a 1KV shock from a radio, because of lower amperage in the higher-voltage shock. 220-240VAC is relatively safe (though still not to be trifled-with), because it takes less current to get a given amount of power. 110VAC takes twice the current as 220 to achieve the same power output, and it is therefore more often a killer.
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Post by tux_sf on Feb 4, 2008 1:51:23 GMT -5
It is good to see practical advice about how to fix your electric as I see above. Excellent cautions, in particular, having had my own electricity encounters now & then I know that they are wise ones to follow. Now, on to my fun, below. . .for those interested in pedantic curiousity! Is this repair kit something i would find in the appliance section or the electrical section? Also is the correct language rheostat or control? First, welcome!! I would by-pass your big box stores and stay with the "Mom & Pop" appliance (and hardware) stores. If they have been around for years, they know what a Chambers is and can guide you more. And yes, Chambers rephrased their "CWTGTO" to "CWTETO". Starting with the model D's, correct tux?? As you guys have gathered, tux/Danny is quite knowledgable of the Chambers and fireless cooking history. Hence, why I call him our Chambers historian. ;D EEEEKKKKKKK!!!! Historian? Hmmm. . .better than librarian, I suppose! Don't mean to offend any card carrying MLS librarians who might be about, but I worked in libraries for many years as a paraprofessional & never wanted to go get the degree & be an 'official' librarian myself, so I don't want the title now--that said, some of my best friends are librarians. . .no, really, they are ;D. Now, my understanding of the electric console models is that, yes, they only appeared in the model D series (I could always be wrong about that, but I don't recall ever hearing of an electric model C--if someone knows otherwise please correct me). Further, I think that once the electric model D came along they were available in both gas & electric as long as they were produced, which was until somewhere around the mid-1970's. Built-in electrics were a bit earlier than the console model D, if I recall properly, and continued alongside gas versions until they all went out of production under Whirlpool sometime in the 80's. All Chambers ovens, no matter the fuel or when they were produced, were meant to use retained heat for cooking if you so desired. This means they were super insulated & have dampers, as necessary, etc. Would that some scholar would come along & do a proper history along the lines of the Lisk corporate history that we have talked of elsewhere. Now, fireless cookery as a general topic is also something I'm personally interested in. Given what little I've seen, it looks like it was something of a hot topic from around 1900 to at least the 1930's or 40's. It is not uncommon to see sections of general cookbooks devoted to fireless cookery. I've been collecting some of this material when I come across it since I became addicted to Chambers. Do people have an interest in this stuff as well? I've got tons of stuff I'd like to do with the website, if I ever get the time, but I've wondered now & again if there is a place for more of this general fireless cookery material there as well.
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Post by berlyn on Feb 4, 2008 11:13:51 GMT -5
First, welcome!! I would by-pass your big box stores and stay with the "Mom & Pop" appliance (and hardware) stores. If they have been around for years, they know what a Chambers is and can guide you more. And yes, Chambers rephrased their "CWTGTO" to "CWTETO". Starting with the model D's, correct tux?? As you guys have gathered, tux/Danny is quite knowledgable of the Chambers and fireless cooking history. Hence, why I call him our Chambers historian. ;D EEEEKKKKKKK!!!! Historian? Hmmm. . .better than librarian, I suppose! Don't mean to offend any card carrying MLS librarians who might be about, but I worked in libraries for many years as a paraprofessional & never wanted to go get the degree & be an 'official' librarian myself, so I don't want the title now--that said, some of my best friends are librarians. . .no, really, they are ;D. Now, fireless cookery as a general topic is also something I'm personally interested in. Given what little I've seen, it looks like it was something of a hot topic from around 1900 to at least the 1930's or 40's. It is not uncommon to see sections of general cookbooks devoted to fireless cookery. I've been collecting some of this material when I come across it since I became addicted to Chambers. Do people have an interest in this stuff as well? I've got tons of stuff I'd like to do with the website, if I ever get the time, but I've wondered now & again if there is a place for more of this general fireless cookery material there as well. Is there another title you would prefer other than "historian" I did know better than to call you a "librarian". You are indeed the most knowledgable of "fireless cookery" & the start of the Chambers line through the years. I guess we should think of a title more "meaningful" to you. Let me think now. ;D ;D
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Post by oldsalt on Feb 4, 2008 20:28:17 GMT -5
Is there another title you would prefer other than "historian" I did know better than to call you a "librarian". You are indeed the most knowledgable of "fireless cookery" & the start of the Chambers line through the years. I guess we should think of a title more "meaningful" to you. Let me think now. ;D ;D How 'bout DanWise TuxGee, Keeper of The Red Book of the Chambers-Farthing... nope... It just doesn't Ring.
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Post by illsurveyor on Feb 5, 2008 8:23:15 GMT -5
you guys are too much, thanks again.
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Post by Chuckie on Sept 28, 2016 21:14:23 GMT -5
Stumbled on to this today, cause I hit the ' view today's birthday' button by mistake, and it was this guy's b-day (HB by the way, WHOEVER the HELL you are!! LOL--someone will be saying that about US someday folks!!). Anybody ever SEEN anything like this range hood?!!! (pic is in the second link above) CHEERS! Chuckie p.s.-- FINALLY figured out how to post the actual pic, and it is above (hopefully)...
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