Details of a Tappan Deluxe Restoration

Jerry sent me the following email with great information on how he restored his Tappan Deluxe:

"I just finished restoring a 1948 TV 65-16.    I purchased this stove for $100 in Butler, PA just north of Pittsburgh.   I also purchased a TV 662-26 in Pittsburgh that was in poorer condition as a parts stove for $125.  I actually combined the elements of both to make one I like.  The TV 65-16 was missing one of the white bezels and a knob.  The 662-26 lost some screws, the chrome bezels, the chrome handles with the back painted centers, a drip pan, a hinge from the broiler oven, a knob for the oven light switch and the wire rack shelf in the left drawer.   I was able to adjust the pilots and burners on the stove top to work.  I also adjusted the oven and measured the temperature with my electronic bi metal thermometer.

The oven doesn't have a pilot light but is match lit.   The thermostat works but was way off and out of adjustment.  I suspect this is why this stove was taken out of service, the thermostat was off and it was burning way too hot..  I adjusted the thermostat and adjusted the flame height during the 'hold' position and was able to get the old girl to hold 350-349 degrees for 30 minutes.  The flame height on the burner "hold" position was way too high and of course the oven would heat far beyond the thermostat heating.

The back splash and all components were cleaned.  The clock took some work, but 60+ years of kitchen grease had jammed up the works.  Some spray solvent dissolved the mess after I disassembled the Telechron and then lubricated the gears and turning points with some light oil.  It's keeping perfect time now.  The Visitimer works great and the Visiminder cleaned up nicely.   New light bulbs in all. 

The "OVEN ON" light was not working on the stove.  I figured the heat switch was bad.   I cut the wires off the switch and touched them together.  Sure enough the "OVEN ON" light lit up.  I was able to purchase a normally open bi-metal thermal switch on eBay for $1.49.  The switch stays open, no current, until it reaches 140 degrees then it closes thus lighting the oven on light.  I placed it in the hole where the old switch was up against the back wall of the oven.  Now when the oven begins to heat, the light comes on.   When it cools off, the light goes off.   The TV 65-16 looks brand new now.

What I thought was corrosion was usually old food and grease.   I had to strip and repaint the center pieces of the oven and broiler handles.  I also repainted the back of the clock face to cover up some scratches and bare spots.  This stove was restored to use in the new house I purchased, a 2700 sq. ft. 1909 Foursquare that I'm lovingly going to restore.  The kitchen, of course, is going to have a late 40's theme.  This old girl should last another 63 years now.  I think she's beautiful."

And here are photos of Jerry's beautifully restored stove. I only hope mine looks that good when I am *finally* done with my restoration work!

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!

Burner Valves

I purchased burner valve cream from The Old Appliance Club.  The cream comes with some pretty easy to follow general instructions. They aren't specific to a Tappan Deluxe, but it's not brain surgery.  I was a little intimidated to start this project, but once I had the valves apart it...I had an ah-ha moment when I realized how simply they work.

I used a mild degreaser to clean the parts. You just need to pay attention as you disassemble, so you can reassemable the relubricated parts the same way. My valves turned out well and now turn pretty effortlessly with a satisfying little click. I plan to have them professionally reviewed before I put them into action.

Of course, I started working on the valves themselves a while ago.  They were covered in grease and the brass was a total surprise.

Insulation

I've had the high heat stove insulation sitting around for a couple of months now. Today I finally got around to installing two layers of replacement insulation to the top of my stove. One under the manifold pipe and one above it.  If you compare the old photo with this one, you can also see where I treated the surface rust on the tops of the oven walls. The stove top is now ready to be reinstalled.

I still need to replace the insulation in the broiler door.

Restoring the Stove

Laura wrote to me about the Tappan stove that was in the kitchen of the house she bought in Tucson, Arizona. It's a Tappan Deluxe model # HAV 668 15G, Serial 206418. She described it as being in fair shape and working, but very dirty inside.  She is now in the process of cleaning the stove and replacing some of the missing parts.

She has pryrogrates in the back burners, a nice chrome oven interior, Time Control clock, a foot pedal to open the broiler, a nice set of crisper drawers, both of the burner covers stored in the side doors, a pull out storage drawer and a pull out cutlery drawer.  It's a cute stove that should clean up very well.









Thanks, Laura!

Adjusting the Burner Flames

I received a question on how to adjust the Tappan Deluxe top burner flames.  I think there is a two part answer for this.

First, you need to clean the burner itself. They get dirty and I suspect very few people realized over the years that they could be removed and cleaned.

Secondly, you will want to adjust the actual burner.

Care of Oven

I was surprised at how easy it was to clean the oven. Following the diagram, you can lift out the oven bottom and oven baffle for cleaning.  This also makes it pretty easy to clean both the oven and broiler interiors.

Care of Porcelain

Removing The Manifold