Hunk of Burning Love - Vintage Gas Range

[Laneco]

I have dubbed this wonderful beast Elvis - for it is surely a hunk of burning love! I've been looking for a vintage gas range to go in a retro-type kitchen (metal cabinets, boomerang pulls, circa 40's to early 50's).

Lo and behold, the husband found this awesome thing for sale locally and I bought it. Everything works. Even the light, even the timer (slow, but it does work). Bought it from the original family who have had it in storage since 1973. Plumbed gas into it and everything lit up and burned surprisingly well. Obviously we'll do quite a bit of work to ensuring it works SAFELY before anything else... Everything on this is rebuildable. Looks like quite a few companies made their own stoves, but the valves were often just sourced.

Vintage ranges have a pretty enthusiastic following, more so for the big name Merrit O'Keefe, Chambers, etc. This is a Roper and I'm having a tough time figurine out the year. The model plate got aggressively "cleaned" and the model and/or year are not readable. There is a patent mark on it "1941" and the style is consistent with something in the 40's. Any idea on year?

I did find advertising memorabilia but the ad did not include a year. The knobs on this seem to be pretty unique - maybe only a couple of years. They are all there, but it's always good to know the year to source parts in the future.

Oh and this is going to suck to drag up the stairs - LOL!

angela

[pete3799]

Got to love those scientific charts.
No idea on the year of it but that's a very cool looking stove.

[craigster59]

Looks to be 1940's-early 50's. You just need the lower handle and the salt and pepper shaker. I had one similar in my 1920's cottage style house. Worked like a champ, the only thing to check are the door springs, helps with efficiency.

https://grapevinesally.com/original-roper-vintage-stove-top-clock-white-ceramic-salt-pepper-shakers/

[TimT]

Cool...

I love these old hunka hunkas...

I'm lucky in that I bought my house from my grandmothers estate...

And she was a German bookkeeper... so I have (had receipts) for everything....

Chambers Model B:









Thinking $184 was large coin in May 1941

[Tobra]

Very 1950's

[TimT]

BTW that thing is probably stuffed full of rock wool, insulation... or asbestos

[Evans, Marv]

I stood next to that style of stove for many hours as my mother cooked on it in the '50s. I don't remember what brand it was though. Most of the stoves then looked pretty much the same. Having lived through that time, I'm afraid you couldn't give me anything from the '50s style. I've moved on. Hope you enjoy it though. It's true that common things like the kitchen stove were built to last as opposed to what you get now.

[billybek]

Rock wool is ok.
Asbestos is ok too as long as it is not disturbed.

Very cool ranges!
$184 dollars in 1940 is like $4600 today! (Googled inflation calculator!)

[TimT]

$184 dollars in 1940 is like $4600 today! (Googled inflation calculator!)

Which has always struck me as odd? My grandparents were frugal... They experienced the Depression, Prohibition WWll...

Spending $184 on a stove back then.

[herr_oberst]

Nice stove, and I like that handy oven chart!

I haven't had angel food cake in as long as I can remember and now I want some...

[look 171]

Yep, there's a great following here as well. Clean ones are gone fast on the used market. We have lots of homes that are built back in the 20-30. I restored an old home for a young couple that wanted everything jsut like the way it was. I mean everything back to the good old 1940s. They bought the core and I had a company restore it. that damn thing cost me just about 7k. Chrome the whole nine. Crazy. looked nice though. Personally, I am not sure if I like that look.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by TimT

Which has always struck me as odd? My grandparents were frugal... They experienced the Depression, Prohibition WWll...

Spending $184 on a stove back then.

Ooops. I lied. It was only $3300. Still a lot of cash in those days.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by TimT

Which has always struck me as odd? My grandparents were frugal... They experienced the Depression, Prohibition WWll...

Spending $184 on a stove back then.

Double post

[Baz]

That unit is WAY COOL, Angela!

Thanks for sharing.

Some vintage cookbooks would be a great addition to the campaign......

[billybek]

Oh, the Betty Crocker cookbook has the best recipe for pancakes.... Just so you know.

[Superman]

Betty Crocker changes her recipes over time.

That's a COOL stove.

[tabs]

As much as i think those things are kool...i am more function over form cause i am gona be using it.

[Evans, Marv]

My mother's stove had circular burner plates over the burners. We lived in a little town at 4K+ ft. elevation and got snow during the winter. My "room" was a converted porch with only boards on the bottom outsides of the walls and a sort of clear plastic around it on the top half. During the winter, she would heat up the burner plates, wrap them in paper and put them in my bed to warm it up before I went to bed.

[PorscheGAL]

What a great find for you and Steve! I love those charts! Wish stoves came with those now.

[asphaltgambler]

Luv it! BTW - there is company currently making retro looking appliances, very, very cool but insanely expensive. Forget their name but a little googling will show you