A Warning Label

When I posted photos of Colby's pre-Tappan Deluxe stove, I noticed what looked like a little metal plate on the right side of the oven door and asked about it.

Colby sent me a close up picture of what turned out to be a metallic, bilingual warning sticker that says "...no pilot in the oven."  We assume it is not original to the stove (although some stoves do have a warning on the metal control plate in the right storage area).

Has anyone seen a sticker like this before?  We had the idea that it might have been added by a previous owner when the house was sold.....or when the stove was worked on/restored....or by the gas company.

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)

Replacing Light Bulbs

Here's some handy information on the wattage of light bulbs to use in your Tappan Deluxe.

The bottom section includes instructions on replacing the burner lights, if you are lucky enough to have burner indication lights. The text in parenthesis says it applies only to 669 series, but in reality it also applies to 67, 667 and any earlier model that includes those lights.

Removing the manifold (the little section covering the burner knob areas) is easy.

Mike's Mid-Century Kitchen

Mike wrote to me asking if I might have any information on where he could find an Owner's Manual or model # information for his 1959 stainless steel Tappan wall oven and cook top.

It *may* be an EOV series.

I'm just starting to learn about the mid-century Tappan models, so I wasn't much help. But, I'd told him that I'd post pictures of his stove in the hopes that a reader may be able to provide some info. or leads

As with most vintage items, the 1950-60 stoves seems to have magically moved from the "That's an old stove we need to replace" phase to the "Wow, that's a mid-century stove that would be perfect in our mid-century house" mode.

 Although, I have to admit that I don't think there is any way that Mike's stainless steel wall oven and cooktop were *ever* out of style. Look at the control panel on the oven....does it get any better?!

The bottom photo is of a stainless steel Revco refrigerator/freezer that are also built in the kitchen (catch that woodwork too!)

Any info. for Mike?

Thanks Mike, for sharing your pictures.

Out In The Wild

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about an American Express television ad that appeared to feature a Tappan Deluxe storage door. The other day, I received an email from Ron and Aiden that mentioned a few more places that they had seen a vintage Tappan Deluxe stove "out in the wild."

I got to thinking that it might be fun to start a thread of  vintage Tappan "sightings." If you have a "sighting," I'd love to get a note from you and I'll try to feature it in a blog post.

So, our second official "sightings" post is brought to us courtesy of a tip from Ron and Aiden.

Born to Be Bad is described as a melodrama starring Joan Fontaine as a conniving woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants (which evidently is a rich husband and an artsy boyfriend).  The movie was directed by Nicholas Ray (of Rebel Without a Cause fame) and released by RKO Radio Pictures (headed by Howard Hughes). It was in production the summer of 1949 and released the summer of 1950 (obviously dating the stove).

A few Tappan fanatic notes: There is a point in the movie where the actor asks the main character to hand him the salt. I watched that shot a bunch of times trying to see if the salt shaker was one of the Tappan shakers we know (I don't think so). There is a shot of that scene below. I was also curious about the cabinet above the stove. It looks like it might have a vent. I also stopped the scene a few times to try to figure out if the clock was a Timer or Telechron (I couldn't tell). The last two photos are of another kitchen in the movie & I included them just because I love vintage kitchen cabinetry.

Without further ado...

Colby's Pre-Deluxe Tappan Stove

Colby emailed me photos of his stove and asked if I was able to tell him how old his Tappan stove is.  The stove was purchased with his 1930's bungalow and has the model # W-55.

The stove is obviously pre-Tappan Deluxe...but has essentially the same body as the Deluxe (it's 38" wide). Whenever I see pictures of these earlier stoves, I pull out the Sales Manuals I have for 1940 and 1941 Tappan Philgas stoves. Sure enough, I was able to find an almost identical stove in the 1941 Ads.  Colby's stove is not a Philgas, but it narrows down the year of his stove to the early 1940's.

One item, Colby's stove has that the Philgas (model # 541) stove does not have is a timer on the back splash. Tappan also made a Philgas model #741 that included a back splash timer, but had a window in the oven door that Colby's does not.

The Philgas Tappan model 541 sold for $118.50 in 1941.

Colby, what do you think? Make sense? Also, I'm curious...what does that patch on the oven door say?

Amy's Mid-Century Modern Stove

Amy emailed me a few weeks ago to see if I had any information about her stove as she was planning on selling it.  She was able to find the model number under the right burners - DCV-5776 13 with the serial # K08 1418.

Her house was built in 1948 and the stove was included when she bought it. She described the stove as a gas, four burner stove, white, 36 inches wide. The oven in on the right, with a broiler underneath. On the left is a storage area. There's a large clock on the top front.

I haven't been able to discover too much yet about the Tappan models that followed the Deluxe, but in looking at the back splash and clock, we came to the conclusion that this stove was most likely late 1950's.

My favorite feature of the entire stove is the back splash....especially the clock.

(Amy just sent me an update - she was able to sell her stove to a theater group that is going to use it in one of their productions.) Thanks, Amy!