Porcelain

Another Twin Cities vintage stove owner sent me photos if their Tappan.  Cheri sent me this email:

"Hello - I just came upon your website. We have a Tappan Range, Model No. GVD 57 6.  We bought our 1947 home in 1980 (which came with the 1947 Tappan).  We have been using it ever since and love it!

I was wondering if you knew of anyone/any place in the Twin Cities area that repainted or restored outsides of stoves. The enamel is looking a little shabby and could use a little restoration." 

I sent Cheri the following links for reporcelaining.  I know these places all have worked on vintage stoves, but have not used them myself. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone that has used them.

Gigi's Hollydale Appliances

Independence Porcelain Enamel

Custom Ceramic Coatings, Inc.











Thanks Cheri for the photos!

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.

The Opal Glass Light

A fellow Twin Cities bungalow owner sent me this email about her Tappan stove...

"Good Morning! We have so much in common!  My husband and i live in S. Mpls in a little stucco house too :) This oven was in the basement and we really like it, but it's in rough shape.  Do you know anybody who does restoration who we could talk to about getting it restored to usability?  Also, I am having a tough time finding this particular tappan model online at all.  It's 2622 wv271  Have you heard anything about this particular model? Thanks, really enjoy your site!"

I think this stove is most likely from the late 1930's - early 1940's. We have seen similar stoves from other readers with that great Opal Glass Light. It seems like the oven door handle holds the clue to they year....the more rounded handles, like this one, appear to be later and the longer more squared off handles appear to be earlier. As these stoves moved into the 1940's, the opening mechanism for the side storage cabinets moved from a turn knob to the lift release buttons that we see as standard on the Tappan Deluxe models.

Another Twin Cities reader sent me an email a while back with a recommendation of a local guy that worked on her vintage stove. I have not used him. If you do, I'd love to hear about your experience. His name is Al Ligons, and his company is Absolutely Guaranteed Appliance Service.

Sars, thanks for sharing your photos!