Adjusting Top Burners

Quite a few folks have been asking for any info. available on adjusting the top burners. Here is the info. I have from an old late 1940's manual.  It will most likely apply to the Tappan Deluxe models. I'm not certain about other models.

If this information is helpful to you (especially those converting from gas to propane), please leave a comment to help others working on the same issue. 

I received the following email from Charlie. Any advice readers can offer him regarding restoring the burners would be appreciated.

"Attached are some photos of the stove.  We just purchased it off of Craigslist for $140.  The guy we bought it from put it together from 2 stoves that he got off of Craigslist - one in Ohio and one in Illinois.  Both of those had issues with dents and wear, so he used one for parts to fix the other.  He never finished getting it working though and his wife had a change of heart and decided for a more modern stove.  Now I have to get it working with no knowledge of how to go about doing it (I tried calling appliance repairmen in the area, but none knew anything about older stoves).   I'm going to start by getting the burners cleaned and as you can see, I have some parts missing on the right side burners, so I will try to figure out how to replace those.

Any advice that anyone can give to me on what to do or who to call or where to get parts, I will gladly take.
Thanks again,
Charlie"

My advice to Charlie was.....

It might be worth your while to look for complete replacement burner - it might be difficult to get a old replacement burner top that will tightly fit (i.e. no gas leaks) your existing burner. You have the "contro-lo-eat burner" in front.

You might contact this seller on Ebay:  I have purchased parts from him in the past, as have some of Tappan Talk readers and his prices have been reasonable.

This is another resource (I purchase insulation and an oven light socket from them)

A New York Tappan Deluxe

Sara in NY sent me the following email:

"Hi, Stuccohouse.

Here are the Craigslist pictures of my new beauty.  She's a CP, model AV 667 9E, and seems, to my untrained eye, to be in pretty good shape. I think now you can see why I believe she resembles Ron and Aiden's stove, but may be a tad newer because our respective stoves have different model numbers and because their stovetop light has a chain pull, which mine doesn't. I don't know where to find information regarding her actual age.

I'm only doing cleaning and other minor aesthetic tasks at present, but one thing I cannot do is figure out whether or not I can remove the chrome Logo/Clock/Timer/Roasting Temp. plaque (for lack of a better description) on the backsplash. It is very, very pitted and decidedly unattractive and if I could safely take it off someone somewhere might be able to restore it. Does anyone know if the thing is actually removable?"

Sara and I exchanged a few emails on starting to restore a "new to you" stove.  My advice: The easiest place to start is cleaning, if course.  The burners pull out. There are also drip drawers that are directly under the burners that pull out. Most people don't notice these, so they were rarely cleaned over the years. They are at the top of the side storage areas and just slide out for cleaning. Mine were disgusting, but cleaned up to look like new. I find those cleaning "miracle erasers" work really well for cleaning. Also, the bottom plates in the oven lift out for cleaning.

Can anyone answer Sara's question about removing the back splash trim? What do you think the model year is?









Sara, thanks for sharing pictures of your new purchase!

A Southern Tappan Deluxe

Yesterday I posted photos of an early 1940's stove sent to me by Dionne. As it turns out, Dionne has two Tappan stoves.  Here is the email Dionne sent to me with the photo of his Tappan Deluxe.

One thing that caught my eye it that the previous owner said the stove was purchase in 1958. The model number on the Tappan Deluxe is TV62-28 with a (perfectly working) Robert shaw thermostat.  If you look at the burner grates, they match those of the later PHADV stoves we have seen from other readers (burner grates). The burner knobs are either replacements or a newer version for the later Deluxe stoves. This stove has a Telechron clock. It would be fun to see a Tappan stove in a custom color. The Chambers stove owners currently have a corner on the colored vintage stove market.

I also obtained a Tappan Deluxe range so now I have the 2 stoves.  The Deluxe came from a house in New Orleans where the owner stated that his parents bought the stove in 1958.  It is in great condition and I can't believe how clean it is for it's age.  I brought the burners, burner valves, and the clock to a place about 30 miles from me that restores antique stoves.  I also bought replacement knobs from them.  The place is called "Hugh's", and they have a website.  I am thinking of restoring the older one also and put it in my outdoor kitchen.  I would like to know if you have ever had experience with having an old stove reporcelained by those people who refinish bathtubs.  I spoke with someone who gave me a quote of $250.00 and guaranteed the finish for 5 years.  I am thinking of doin that to the older one, and changing the color from white to apple green or poppy red.  Maybe even thinking of purple and gold LSU colors since this is an LSU crazy town.  That would be the one for the outdoor kitchen.  I just think that I need to really coat the finish inside and out with something durable if it is going to be exposed to heavy humidity.

Tilley Tappan

What are the chances that two readers would send me photos of their PHADV stoves on the same day?! In my last post I showed an unusual ADV-668-7 stove.

Here's the email I received from Rudiedog about their PHADV-664-5 stove:

"Just wanted to send you some pictures of our stove, 'Tilley Tappan'. She is a Philgas Tappan. She has a Robertshaw knob for the thermostat on the oven. I read somewhere on this site that that is kinda rare that Robertshaw is mentioned on a Tappan.

I bake a lot...and this oven is by far the best oven I have ever used. Thing come out evenly browned and cakes rise level and not lopsided from one side hotter then the other. The inside is all chrome and it seems to reflect the heat nicely.

Here is question for all of you, have you ever seen another Tappan with the front burners like ours? The outside is a big ring of fire but the center is a small ring for gentlely melting chocolate or making cheese sauces that you don't want to scorch?

Also, when we bought this cooking marvel from the Goodwill store, it had a cracked front grate. I need another. Anybody got one?

It's fun to receive notes from people that do serious baking & cooking with their stoves.  This is probably the #1 question I received about the stoves....how do they bake?

This is another one of these stoves with a combination of interesting features: chrome knob rings, stove top knobs say front and rear (I haven't seen this before, but went back to check Michale B's PHADV stove and his also has these knobs), chrome trim around the oven window, and Time Control clock for the automatic oven. Philgas Tappan appears on the oven door, a nice touch I also have not seen before.  It's a Super 60 stove. Also, notice the cute Tappan Doughboy salt & pepper shakers.

As first I didn't pay a lot of attention to the question about the burner. I thought it referred to a "giant" burner that has a ring of flames on the outside & inside, but then I took a closer look.  No, this burner was not like that at all. It has a mini-burner inside the large burners. And take a look at the interesting burner grates - with a small circle in the center. This topic inspired a lot of email exchange.....and I'm going to save some of it for another post devoted solely to this type of burner.

Also, take a look at the clock. Compare it to some of the older Tappan Deluxe stoves with the Telechrome and Timer Control clocks. More on this in a future post too.....

Rudiedog also tells us that in replacing the safety, she noticed the date 1955 on the part. This starts lending some credence to the theory that on these PHADV stoves, the final "-#" may indicate the manufacture year. Although, I suppose we have to be careful here as parts can be created before the entire stove. However, 1955 is later than most Tappan Deluxe stoves. So, more research on these PHADV stoves is needed.....

Rudiedog, thanks for sharing photos of Tilley Tappan.  Does your Owner's Manual have a date on the inside cover or on the back? And, I just noticed the switch on the upper right hand corner of the back splash....is this for the oven light??

Pyrogrates

Tappan created these pyrogrates for their Tappan Deluxe stoves. They claimed that they supported small utensils without tipping and evenly distributed heat. I believe them. These grates typically sat on the back two burners, but can be arranged in any way to be convenient.

The burner grates also came in a version with a glass insert called Pyroglas that were produced by the makers of Pyrex ware. More on these in another post. If any readers have photos of their Pyrolgas to share, we'd love to see them.

A big thanks to Ron & Aiden for sharing photos of their pyrogrates.

Keeping it in the Family

Photos of another reader's Tappan Deluxe AV-669 model for you.

"Max" was discovered in blog reader Charles' grandmother's basement. It had been untouched for many years since his grandfather passed away. His grandfather had taken apart the thermostat and parts but never got around to replacing them.  Charles was able to replace the thermostat with a Robertshaw 2200 and get the stove hooked up in order to use it for Thanksgiving.

The Robertshaw 2200 is a non-CP thermostat, so Charles is now on the hunt for a Robershaw 2200-s that has both manual and automatic operation.

Max also has a replaced light fixture inside the oven, reconnected wiring to make the light on the top operable, and has newly functioning illuminated burner knobs (thanks to some creative soldering).

On the "to do" list is rewiring the clock. If anyone has tips on rewiring the clock, please comment.

This Tappan Deluxe will eventually be the focal point in a retro/modern kitchen in an renovated apartment in an old sweater factory that was a speakeasy during prohibition  (1931-33).

Charles - thanks for sharing your photos!

Katy's Tappan Deluxe Stove

I have another set of blog reader's photos to share today. This time photos are of Katy's Tappan Deluxe stove.  She currently has it installed and in use in her kitchen - check out Thanksgiving dinner.  We "met" when she emailed me about her stove's oven pilot light (she's also the one who supplied me with the parts I was missing for my stove).

The stove is an AV 669-16 model, similar to Joe's stove in yesterdays post. After a long search, Katy managed to track down vintage red glass burner knob backs to replace those missing on her stove. A few of the pictures below show the burner lights on...with the red glass glowing.

There is a very nice close-up of her Time Control Clock. You can see the three knobs - one of which controls the timer that can be set to turn the oven on and off automatically.

Her stove is also a CP model. It has the gold package medallion on chrome oven and broiler handles....and the chrome base. Her back splash light turns on with a switch. She also has the chrome crisper drawers on the left side storage and the pull out drawer/towel rack on the right side storage.

Again, thanks for share your photos!