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Post by briansdad on Nov 14, 2020 19:02:28 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I'm trying to figure out what is going on in this picture, so I'm bringing it to the Chambers experts here.
There are 9 gas valves (I think) and two griddle-sized holes, but one broiler-lift handle (none on the side) I'm thinking this is a model A (the feet, the black handles, the black top, square thumb latches, etc.) but I'm unable to find any pictures of another like this. What goes on the far left? It's about 2 hours away from me, and the person I'm talking to doesn't know anything about it. I haven't found any catalogs from this era (late 30's?).
Anyway, I'm sure someone on here will know right away what's up with this. I'm hoping something really cool goes in that left-side hole! The second pic is of some parts, but I'm not even sure if they all belong to this stove.
I'll surely have more questions, but let's just start with, "what is this?"
PS, I am now certifiably obsessed with these stoves. Two weeks ago, I didn't know they existed...I must have spent 20 hours reading about them online since then. There is literally no way I am not going to end up restoring one of these.
Thanks everybody!
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Post by dwayner2 on Nov 14, 2020 22:11:33 GMT -5
Check my reply on the other site.
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Post by dwayner2 on Nov 14, 2020 22:11:54 GMT -5
Check my reply on the other site.
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Post by nana on Nov 15, 2020 10:30:27 GMT -5
“Certifiably obsessed,” Love it! Welcome to the club, Briansdad!
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Post by briansdad on Nov 15, 2020 18:41:55 GMT -5
Thanks you guys! I am new to this community and I posted very similar questions on both the Rangers and the Commune boards. I was a little worried that may be a social faux pas, but everyone seemed nice on both boards, so...
I definitely got great information, so now I'm EVEN MORE anxious to get my hands on one of these - now that I know there are great places to get help.
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Post by mach12 on Nov 16, 2020 3:06:35 GMT -5
Most of us are on both sites anymore, as well as the Facebook sites. While there's both technical and cooking info on both sites it seemed like the Rangers site leaned towards technical and the Commune site towards cooking. I'm always so happy to see new members on these sites, especially those who become more active, because these sites provide such a wealth of searchable info for others. When I first started on these sites I spent days just going through the posts and finding answers to most of my questions, plus to a lot that I wasn't even smart enough to wonder about. I still enjoy going through them and I find great hints on cooking with the gas turned off, tweaks to recipes and technical info that addresses things I've come across myself.
On the model to get, John Chambers was constantly improving them, so it comes down to personal choice and what's important to you. The A's are kind of the first of the line of console stoves with the configuration where the griddle and broiler were on the left and the three burners and Thermowell on the right. The first A's had the lift handle and the broiler adjustment on the left side of the stove and then they moved them to the front. When they came out with the B's they changed the valve handles so they rotated instead of rocking in and out because they were too easy to bump and turn down or off, changed the oven racks runners in the oven to improve heat flow and went from flat racks to basket style oven racks and there were small running changes throughout production in burners and so on. Then they built a transition stove in 1948, the BZ, where they added the heat shield between the broiler burner and the griddle, went to burners, grates and drip pans that were the same for all fuels (natural gas, propane and so on), added the pilot vent in the cooktop and went to the Robertshaw 2200S oven thermostat with adjustment dials that make it a lot easier to calibrate. The BZ was the last Chambers with the cast iron cooktop. The next stove was the first C series which includes all of the improvements over the years plus had a redesigned Thermowell that works as a second oven and has the stove back that allows the stove to sit directly against the wall. It also has a cooktop made from what they advertised as stamped battleship steel. John Chambers retired and sold the company when the C's were in production and later stoves mainly concentrated on design and adding options to compete in the market but there was little improvement over the C's, though the burners were redesigned to what they call the plane of flame burners and they appear to be an improvement. My BZ is modified to use C series burners and I'm playing with a set of them right now. That's a pretty rough overview that skips some info but it's a good primer.
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Post by dwayner2 on Nov 16, 2020 11:01:16 GMT -5
To add to Mach12’s comments about how close these stoves can be next to the wall. Going by Chuckie’s Imperial design there are large vents for the ovens that kinda stick out and so the A stoves usually stick out farther than the B thru D series stoves. Something to consider.
Going by the second picture you posted, those burners and drip pans look more like the B type burners and pans...which is possible. Are they sure those go with the stove? Mach12 can tell us if that’s normal for that model.
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Post by pooka on Nov 16, 2020 12:59:30 GMT -5
A quick note about the two sites. There was a big blow out about some political arguments some years ago. People got banned. Others deleted their posts & quit. Some started this site as a refuge. That's why we're called comrades here. We're all equal here. Todd, the webmaster at the other site branded the members here as villains out to destroy him, & allows no mention or reference to this sight, so keep that in mind when you post over there. I'm very careful about what I post over there. This all happened before I was a member on either site, but I got a very ugly email from Todd for linking to some info here.
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Post by mach12 on Nov 16, 2020 14:12:19 GMT -5
Going by the second picture you posted, those burners and drip pans look more like the B type burners and pans...which is possible. Are they sure those go with the stove? Mach12 can tell us if that’s normal for that model. Those are the style mine have (vs. the ring style used on the Imperials and many pre-A series). I'd be concerned about the rest of the parts for the incinerator firebox too. I don't know whether the parts in the second picture are spares or whether they're actual ones removed from the stove but I see one firebox liner end and there should be two sides and another end. Plus the top pieces are missing except for the two round lids as well and they're near impossible to find replacements for. My first stove was missing all of those parts but after a year of digging and searching I found one place in San Francisco who had them. For $1000 plus shipping and handling. I found my second standard heater soon after that and it was complete so I took the grates and liners to a stove restoration place near me (Homestead Stoves) that specializes in wood and coal burning stoves and we were able to match the liners and grates. No luck on the top pieces though, so I'm probably going to have those recast. My guess is that unless you like tinkering like I do, you'd probably be happier with a different stove. Especially if you don't really care about using the incinerator and could better use the kitchen space that stove would require. Chambers stoves seem to pop up for sale fairly often and you can almost match the availability of stoves to the spread of manufactured gas distribution, and natural gas. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, California, and parts of the Northeast are most common from what I've seen, though they're kind of like they say about gold, they're where you find them. Where I am in the Pacific Northwest they're very rare and priced accordingly so I tend to do road trips to California for mine. I was going to put a C series in our place until my wife looked over my shoulder one day and saw a red BZ I had on the screen. Now we have a red BZ in the kitchen and we love it.
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Post by briansdad on Nov 17, 2020 2:56:20 GMT -5
mach12, you had me at "tinkering!" my whole life is nothing but tinkering, in fact, when I first saw the thermowell, I thought, "whomever invented this is a hero of weird ideas!" I explained it to other people who couldn't understand why it was so cool to me. If I have to explain it, they are never going to get it. It's awesome because it means someone looked at every other stove and said, "if you guys are doing it THAT way, I'm going to do it THIS way..." Just the fact that someone was able to make something so different and that there were people who wanted to buy the one stove in the store that was weird, is deeply satisfying to me.
I guess I'm lucky to be in CA (especially as we enter our yearly period of NOT being on fire), if more of these stoves are here, but I've never seen on in person, and I've lived here a long time.
Does the incinerator come out as a unit? I'm thinking, at least for moving? 600+ lbs is a nightmare. I'm still considering the stove, because I have 5' of space (twin 30" stoves - 8 burners 2 ovens...works great and it was a legitimate, weird idea if I do say so myself) But now I'm going vintage. I'd prefer one of the big Imperials with more burners, but those seem like they'd be impossible to find, so I was thinking this "Standard Heater" was kind of a compromise.
I did almost get a 15B tonight though. I was second to respond to the add, and the first guy took it. It was free, and even had some well pots. How could I say, "no"?
I like the look of anything with a thermowell right up until the C. I just like that 30's and 40's aesthetic better. It's a bummer that the in-and-out, pre-B, handles are a worse design, but the B's and BZ's still have the look I'm after. Good to have options, I guess. Not ruling anything out yet.
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Post by nana on Nov 17, 2020 16:24:18 GMT -5
I do believe you have found your people then, Briansdad!
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Post by mach12 on Nov 17, 2020 18:44:17 GMT -5
I remember someone commenting on the styles and how the A's are Art Deco, the B/BZ's Modernist, and the C's the 57 Chevy's of stoves. I know what you mean on the handles of the A's, especially the thumb tabs. Those glass and inlaid thumb tabs are like jewelry. When I talk to people with A's I ask about how much of a problem it is and they all seem to say they've bumped them once or twice but then it became second nature to give the handles some space, so I don't think it's really that big of a deal. I used to watch Craigslist for Sacramento and the Bay area and then check other locations from time to time and it seemed like there were several stoves a month. I'm out of room for more stoves right now so quit looking as much, plus I'm in the middle of a longer than expected recovery from surgery and a lot is on hold, so I haven't really been looking lately. Pooka has posted some really good items that might answer some of your questions on John Chambers and his entry into the cookstove industry, like this local TV episode - www.wfyi.org/programs/across-indiana/television/episode-1603
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