A New Tappan Deluxe Discovery

I received the following email from Jon in Illinois regarding his V665-9 Tappan Deluxe....

"I’ve been reading your Tappan blog site for about 2 hours now. Incredibly interesting.

Well, my wife and I bought a house on auction, and this stove was in the basement (gas still hooked up). Based on the model number, I don’t see reference to it anywhere. A lot of people on your blog reference similar numbers, but not this exact one; nor can I find anything on this exact model number anywhere else on the web. I can send a picture of the model number and serial number if it will help.

I’m wondering what is it’s value. After looking at your blog I now want to restore it and keep it (although it’s still in really good shape)."

Jon's stove is a CP model (meaning the oven has a standing pilot). It has a Telechron clock with an interesting twist of having the 3 1/2 Interval Timer. I've added a some info. about how this clock works at the end of the post.  His stove looks a lot like mine, but I notice the backsplash light is operated by a knob and not a pull chain which most likely would put it later than 1948. Jon's stove also looks like it has the "gold package" on the backsplash metal.

I spotted one other very interesting thing in  Jon's photos that we have not seen in any previous reader's stoves.  If you take a look at the photos showing the main control panel & thermostat knob, you will see a little white knob on the left side.  I *think* this is a pin for a removable oven door feature.  If this knob is what I think it is...there is another one on the other side in the same spot in the storage area.  When these are pulled out, the oven door supposedly lifts out for easy cleaning.  Hopefully, Jon will let us know.

To address Jon's comment about model numbers.  I have yet to figure out how the model numbers work on the Tappan Deluxe.  When looking for information about your stove, the only way I have been able to determine model year is to actually look at the features of the stove.  There are probably 100 reader's stoves featured on this blog, and I have yet to see identical model numbers between two Deluxe stoves.

A Different Kind of Pilot Light

I have a treat for you today.  I am going to share string of emails I exchanged with Jeff, a Tappan Talk reader.  Jeff also shared some great pictures of his new stove and some of his restoration activity.  Take a look at the very unusual standing pilot system. Also, notice the nice shot of the foot pedal on the base of the stove that opens the broiler.

"Hi, I love your wonderful blog on the old Tappan stoves.

I found a Tappan Deluxe in [Iowa]. Last Saturday I rented a van and drove from [Wisconsin] to [Iowa] and picked it up. It was in a 1950's brick, ranch style house. It was being sold by the daughter of the original owners. She thought it was a 1952 model.
I spent all day Sunday cleaning it. I have to say, after working on old cars, radios and outboard motors looking under the hood of an old stove is very depressing. Lots of rust and grease. But no matter the stove is hooked up and working.

A few interesting details. The tag on the back of the stove has a date of July 8, 1954 and was apparently sold by The Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company in Chicago. This stove is a CP model but there is no standing pilot in the oven. Instead the oven uses the top right burner pilot and is described a single point ignition on the oven control panel. It has amber burner rings, gold details, simmer burners and pyro-grates. It does not have the chrome window trim however. It has one last test to pass. I need to see if the oven thermostat is working. Cross your fingers!"

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"Wow, that stove is excellent. I'm curious if the tag on the back is indicating that the gas company sold the stove....or the date they hooked it up & inspected it.  Very interesting. Also, the standing pilot configuration is something I have never seen before. Just when we think we have seen everything, I get en email with something new :) I was amazed at how much of the "rust" actually washed away on the parts under the top of my stove. Pull out the burners & wash them and it will give you an idea if the rest if surface or not. Also, anything that does not touch a flame, can be touched up with black high heat paint - looks good and also keeps the rust in check. Well, worth the drive to pick her up!!! Tappan Talk"

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"Hello, Thanks for all the work you do to post reader's stories and pics. Your site is very informative and helpful. Now that you mention it, I believe you are right that the tag was probably from the gas company that hooked up the stove. The house that the stove was in is for sale and I looked up the info about the house. It was built in 1957 so I think the daughter's parents must have either bought the stove used or lived someplace near Chicago when it was purchased new. I wrote her today and asked for more details so maybe the date can be nailed down with more certainty. Thanks! Jeff"

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"Well I crossed my fingers but the oven on my Tappan Deluxe from [Iowa] was not happy. My oven has a very complicated safety/ignitor called a Bryant Type JSP Range-Lyter. It controls gas through 6 connections and there are 3 pilots involved in running the oven!! I wish my stove had the simple "push the red button" type safety. I had to remove the safety and send it off [for] a rebuild at $195. I included a pic of the part. Jeff"

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"Too bad that your safety needs to be rebuilt, but I suppose we are lucky that there are still folks available to do it. Tappan Talk"

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"Hello again, Here are some before and after pics of my Tappan Deluxe from [Iowa]. The oven safety was rebuilt [and] the safety is working ok and the oven is baking pizza! I took the top off and cleaned up all the grease and dirt, removed the surface rust, treated it with Rust Reformer and painted it with high heat black paint. I did the same to the front brackets that hold down the top. I'm really glad to know that things are clean and the rust is under control! I removed the oven burner, burner spud and holder and cleaned out the oven. I repainted the spud holder and cleaned up the gas lines. Gallons and gallons of black water have gone down the drain. I ordered some teflon insulated wire from www.bulkwire.com and some ceramic wire nuts from McMaster Carr and my last project is to rewire the burner control back-lighting.

Wow what a project! As you might be able to tell from the pics, the stove just fits into the space. There are only fractions of an inch of wiggle room. I live in an apartment building built in 1916 [Wisconsin]. The counter tops and cupboards in my kitchen are pretty horrible but the stove is working!

I took the Visiminder works to a clock shop to be reassembled after I got in over my head LOL. I will give you an update on that soon."

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"Thanks for the update! I'm anxious to get to your stove, as the pilot arrangement is so unusual. I do have instructions on adjusting the oven burner spud, if you ever need them. TT"

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Jeff, thanks for sharing your great photos & restoration info!

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!

Tina's Tappan Deluxe Stove

I have been really enjoying receiving emails with pictures of blog reader's stoves.  A couple of days ago, I received this email from Tina about her Tappan Deluxe (model #AV 669-24 serial # 415105)

It was in my husband's grandmothers house and although some relatives were ready to throw the thing away because it was so filthy, an uncle lifted the door knob and the side door popped open seamlessly.

Grandma wasn't a cook so for all those years it really hadn't been used much. It just needed a thorough cleaning. We've been using it since 1993.

It's now beginning to fail. The oven is burning everything and we suspect it's the thermostat. It cooks everything as if we have set the oven to 500 degrees. We've muddled through all the other issues - like the electrical system shorting out. The clock was buzzing constantly. The oven light popped and went out. However, we can't use the oven if we need to control the heat by leaving the door open! Sigh.

Been thinking about getting it restored but am terrified of the potential cost. On the plus side - replacing it with a stove of the same size might cost the same. It might be a no-brainer. We love this stove and it's had only 2 owners. Grandma and us!

The control panel at the top includes a scrolling menu of cooking times. It struck me as rather funny the first time I saw it. Grandma also left the air freshener canisters that are included in the top of the control panel. Those were a bit nasty looking. The stove has been wonderful these past 17 years and is now in need of some TLC.

It took me a second after reading her email to realize....she had an air freshener on her stove! I had read about these....I had seen a really crappy picture of one when I first became interested in Tappans.....but had not seen one again and NEVER in detail close-up. They are VERY rare. Tina was kind enough to send photos to share (click on photo to enlarge). She has them arrange from left to right to show the entire air freshener unit removed, the inside "freshener" and then the unit in its little compartment above the clock on the back splash. Cool (and notice her blue & yellow Tappan salt & pepper shakers).



Tina also added the following info. in her email that may be helpful to others. Keep in mind, you use suggestions/info. here at your own risk. Shut off your gas! When In doubt, call in a pro.

I don't know if this is useful but a few years ago, the oven kept going out. What we discovered is that the thermo-coupler was having trouble. [We] live in a dusty neighborhood and the gas delivery line was getting clogged. We took it apart, blew it out with canned air and put it back. Running like a champ since.

The photo below shows the pilot light gas line inside the oven where it sits next to the thermocouple (keep in mind that this is a CP stove)

Ron and Aiden's 1948 Tappan Deluxe Stove

This afternoon I received an email from Ron and Aiden regarding their 1948 Tappan Deluxe Model AV667-12 named "Mighty Whitey".

Their Deluxe stove has the red burner knob backs (I love that the Kitchenaid mixer matches), a pair of the Tappan Chef salt and pepper shakers (which match their burner covers), the Time Control Clock has a chrome center knob (which I haven't seen before) and their back splash light has a pull chain.

They also have a great story.....

Greetings:

 We encountered this on a CraigsList ad in St. Louis. It was a one-owner: a war bride who had a veteran husband, a G.I. loan bungalow and this as the stove she learned to cook on. We grabbed it for thirty bucks, hooked it up and it works flawlessly, even to the Telechron clock and the set-it-and-forget-it timer mechanism, used almost daily for the oven or for the "clock" plug - such as for the slowcooker.

 Attached are pictures of the beast. It IS a CP model. The only "addition" we've made was to locate the burner covers, which apparently came with the stove but disappeared many years ago - we located a perfectly pristine set on e-bay.

 This thing is built like an aircraft carrier and NEVER lets us down. It came with THREE oven racks, so batches of cookies in perfect condition come out every time! And the owner's manual is entirely right: the oven is so heavily insulated, we often have the clock (or manually) turn off the oven and let the residual heat finish baking for us.

 When we bought the house, it had a two-year-old "cooktop" electric stove, which Ron (who cooks constantly) hated, so we disconnected it, gave it to Aiden's mother for Christmas (she's scared of gas) and hooked up the Tappan. It LITERALLY cut our energy bills by a full one-third.

 Just thought we'd chime in!

Thanks for sharing both the pictures and the story!

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!

Watch it Happen in a ...Tappan.

In 1950, Tappan introduced the Deluxe Model AV 669. This model was "CP", so it had a standing pilot light in the oven.  In reading the ad, we learn that this was the first model that contained the Crisp-Chest in the left hand storage area.....a nice clue when trying to figure out the date of your stove. This model also has the medallion insert on a chrome oven/broiler handle. It also appears to have a chrome interior oven.

Thanks to blog reader Joe M for providing the ad....and tips on model year.