Vintage Appliances

[Miss Neecerie]

Cooking with gas...

I finally found my stove!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Ooooh! Now you're cookin' with gas!

 

[MikeinMN]

I've restored a few old radios, and maintained a few inherited vintage appliances; I'm also a licensed amateur radio operator and electrical hobbyist. I personally would replace any vintage cloth-covered power cord on anything I bought, was given, inherited, or was going to use. The reason is that inside the cloth covering, the wires have rubber insulation, and it's entirely possible for the rubber insulation to have crumbled to bits - creating the perfect circumstances for a short - while the outer cloth remains pristine.

Old cloth telephone cords aren't a real danger, because of the voltage and amperages involved, but appliance cords can definately be. Even adding a fuse in the appliance isn't going to help if the cord shorts...

As far as radio cords, the biggest problem with replacements is on very early AM-FM sets, usually RCA ones of the late 1940s and early 1950s. They used a three-conductor cord - but the third conductor isn't ground, and isn't connected to anything at the outlet end - it's the FM antenna! Later AM-FM sets used regular two-conductor cords, with an inductor around it, attached to the antenna connector on the back. It can be really fun trying to replace a missing cord on one of these radios, for the obvious reasons...

 

[Rosie]

I finally found my stove!

AH!!!! Neecerie, that is GREAT! I'm so happy for you.

Here is my baby:

 

[pigeon toe]

I asked my grandma to hold onto her 1950's turquoise electric stove for me. So far she has promised to do just that! They use it everyday and haven't needed to replace it since they bought it. It's so perfect, can't wait to own it someday. She now says she wished she kept the matching fridge for me!

All this talk of electrical wires reminded me of when my boyfriend and I brought home a late 1950's television from a garage sale. It was gorgeous and while we were showing it to his dad, he just went ahead and plugged it in. Needless to say, my boyfriend freaked out when it started smoking! So lord only knows whats going on with the wiring in there now. We'll probably have to get rid of it anyway, since my boyfriend's uncle left cigarette burns all along the top of it. Such a shame how so many people don't respect vintage, let alone other's belongings.

 

[LizzieMaine]

All this talk of electrical wires reminded me of when my boyfriend and I brought home a late 1950's television from a garage sale. It was gorgeous and while we were showing it to his dad, he just went ahead and plugged it in. Needless to say, my boyfriend freaked out when it started smoking! So lord only knows whats going on with the wiring in there now. We'll probably have to get rid of it anyway, since my boyfriend's uncle left cigarette burns all along the top of it. Such a shame how so many people don't respect vintage, let alone other's belongings.

Old TV sets are just full of paper capacitors, just like old radios -- and they have an upsetting tendency to fail catastrophically, causing short circuits and burning up other components. That's why, even more so than with a radio, you should never plug in an old tube-type TV without having it checked over by a technician first.

Or, if you're brave and handy with a soldering iron, you can replace the paper caps yourself. It took me about a month with my old TV, but I managed to completely replace all the capacitors and now it works just fine. The important thing is to get rid of the dangerous components *before* they fail -- because if they short out and destroy a transformer or some other difficult-to-replace part, you're probably out of luck.

 

[pigeon toe]

Old TV sets are just full of paper capacitors, just like old radios -- and they have an upsetting tendency to fail catastrophically, causing short circuits and burning up other components. That's why, even more so than with a radio, you should never plug in an old tube-type TV without having it checked over by a technician first.

Or, if you're brave and handy with a soldering iron, you can replace the paper caps yourself. It took me about a month with my old TV, but I managed to completely replace all the capacitors and now it works just fine. The important thing is to get rid of the dangerous components *before* they fail -- because if they short out and destroy a transformer or some other difficult-to-replace part, you're probably out of luck.

Yup, we figured it was a disaster waiting to happen if we plugged it in. Unfortunately my boyfriend's dad got to it before an electrician could! Who knows if that thing will ever work now.

 

[CharlieH.]

Yup, we figured it was a disaster waiting to happen if we plugged it in. Unfortunately my boyfriend's dad got to it before an electrician could! Who knows if that thing will ever work now.

Here's a bit of information in case you want to bring it back to life:

http://www.antiqueradio.org/restoration.htm
(It's mostly about radios, but there's info on television sets - including the coveted Philco Predicta)
When I replaced the capacitors on my radio I learned that the hardest thing isn't the fixing, but getting the parts! Besides the capacitors, other failure prone items include potentiometers (used in tuning and volume controls) , resistors, and as it has been mentioned before, the wiring. And I'm pretty sure there's a way to fix the burns. What kind of set is it, by the way?

 

[Lady Day]

Ooooh! Now you're cookin' with gas!

Just dont gas around the cook

LD

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Because everyone needs to check their lipstick...

My new(old) stove came home on Saturday...and features the following truely feminine feature...

Why yes, thats a mirror, to make sure one is suitably unruffled looking before serving the Mr. his dinner! Pity there is no Mr.


Other cool things include the two circular info discs, one as seen below is cooking temp info, the other is a timer, that ticks down but doesn't ring, don't know if it ever did ring.....

and here it is in its new home

and yes...boring walls...I was waiting til I got the stove to hang the 1940's era Soviet food advertisement posters that are going to be the main kitchen decor.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Although not as amusing as Sam's way in Benny & Joon

Never saw that, but there was a recurring sketch on the Paul Hogan show...they were supposed to be some sort of numbskulled lifeguards or something, and they'd make toast by slapping slices of bread on nails on the wall and using a blowtorch!

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Anyone have any knowledge of vintage phones? As in, where can you find them and once you have them, are there any issues with using them?

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Anyone have any knowledge of vintage phones? As in, where can you find them and once you have them, are there any issues with using them?

This thread is fairly exaustive and if you still have any questions, they will better grab the attention of the 'phone folks' if you post them in there..

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=5982

 

[Flying Scotsman]

This thread is fairly exaustive and if you still have any questions, they will better grab the attention of the 'phone folks' if you post them in there..

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=5982

Thanks! The search feature on this site, well, kinda sucks (and using Google's advanced search is such a pain, having to bounce back forth between the results and this site, etc.).

 

[Lucky Strike]

Kitchen scales in Roman flat:

Also, Greco-Roman pizza guy:

 

[imoldfashioned]

That's a beauty Neecerie--love the mirror!

 

[GCHughes]

I have a vintage kitchen (1957). It came with the original cook top, oven and broiler, all butter yellow. I had a '57 Hotpoint fridge restored and painted yellow to match. I had it serviced by a man recommended by "The Old Appliance Club." (link below) I've been collecting vintage appliances for about 10 years and the only modern appliances I use are the food processors (sp?) I swear by my Sunbeam Mixmaster, it is a workhorse! (I burned out 3 hand mixers) My other vintage appliances are in daily use (Osterizer blender, Toastmaster, a table grill and a sandwich press.) I inheirited a hideous avacado green electric '60s frying pan from an elderly neighbor which is the best for latkes and fried chicken.


http://www.antiquestoves.biz/toac/about.htm

 

[goldwyn girl]

I am looking at this fridge, it needs a new seal. Does anyone know if they are easy to replace?

 

[imoldfashioned]

I am looking at this fridge, it needs a new seal. Does anyone know if they are easy to replace?

I'm sorry I can't help you with info on the seal--even if I knew the info would fly right out of my head looking at that fabulous blue/copper combination in that fridge! Stunning!

 

[NoirDame]

Vintage Stoves

I am really interested in 50s era stoves and fridges and while it's a distant day that I will be in my own home and need one I had a few questions.

How reliable are the cooking temperatures? Do they still get in the right neighborhood? We have a modern stove that is inaccurate and it drives us crazy.

How safe are they?

How reasonable are they to acquire (in a range of cost)? I'm sure they are less than the 3500 repro I was looking at from Elmira!

How easy and costly are they to maintain?

I know these are broad questions. I'm totally clueless about this!

Thanks!