The Tappan With Red Handles

I received these photos from Keith of a Tappan stove that has been in his parent's summer cottage since the 1950's.  His grandfather bought it from an older lady in the mid 1950's who had purchased it new. The woman had only used two of the burners, so it was a great deal.  The black knobs are replacement. The charming red knobs are original, but on their last leg (any suggestions on where to buy replacements of this style?). Serial# C8729 Style WF-11-3

Keith was wondering how old the stove is.  My guess based on the raised feet and door handles, is the  mid-1930's.  Also, note the unusual Robert Shaw thermostat knob...and the burner covers that swing down to the sides of the stove.





Thanks for sharing the photos, Keith!

Tappan Deluxe in a Craftsman Bungalow

Tappan Talk reader Jack sent me the following great email (excerpts) and photos.  How perfect is the Tappan Deluxe for his wonderful craftsman bungalow?!

"First of all, I moved in to a 1916 craftsman style house about a year ago.  Two ranges came with the house — a GE Electric circa 1970 with push button controls, which was in the kitchen, and a tappan deluxe that was in the basement.  I was in the house for several months before I realized that the gas stove in the basement was hooked up.

About three weeks ago, the GE went out on me, so I decided to move the Tappan to the kitchen.  The plumber disconnected the Tappan in the basement and ran a gas line to the kitchen. I had my electrician replace the cord in the back with a grounded cord, so now all the electrics work.  Well, mostly work.  The oven light is a little idiosyncratic.  Sometimes it goes off when I close the door and sometimes it does not.  The “peek light” knob works fine, but the catch for the oven door-closed shutoff does not always turn off the oven light.  I love the “oven on” light behind the far right “philgas”   951-X18 is my model number with serial number 3504.  It was made for LP gas, but I think that the nozzles must have been switched at some point.  Anything you can tell me about the age of the stove or how to research based on the model and serial numbers would be helpful.  

But my biggest question is how to work the auto plug, or where to get a manual for the stove.  The clock works fine, as does the timer, and I have plugged in a little night light in the auto plug to see when it comes on or turns off.  It was on for a while, is now off, but I cannot figure out for the life of me how it regulates.

I doubt whether the Tappan has seen active service since the 1960s or so, but an oven thermometer shows that the temperature is spot on, so I am pretty confident that things are mostly working correctly. 

The Tappan is not only a great conversation piece but cooks like a dream and fits in well to my home. "

Thanks, Jack for the great pictures!

Electric Tappan

Leah sent me a photo of an unusual Tappan she was thinking about buying. It's an electric model with a coveted griddle in the center. Leah was hoping for advice on how difficult it is to find an element for an electric stove if the original goes bad.  I've never owned an electric stove, so I don't have any advice to offer on that issue. Readers?

My guess based on the back splash and the oven door handles is late 1950's or early 1960's. What do you think.



Thanks, Leah!

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!

Up At The Lake

I received these photos from Jim a while ago (sorry Jim for the delay in posting them!).  He and his wife bought a cottage on a small lake in northern PA five or six years ago. The cottage was built in the late forties. It was in rough shape so they fixed it up on weekends and vacations over several years. One of the few things they kept from the cottage was this old Tappan gas stove. They have been trying to learn the age of the stove but so far have had no luck. There is no serial # only W-A-7 stamped on the plate at the oven control.







I took a look through my 1940's sales manuals and wasn't able to find any stove that looked like this one...or had features like it. By the 1940's the Tappans all seemed to be on a base rather that on feet. I would guess this stove would be from the early to mid 1930's (the charming feet look Deco to me).

Readers.....any observations?

I especially love the chrome top - that is very special. I forgot to ask Jim if the center to the top of the stove works as a griddle.

Thanks for the photos Jim!

Clean, Fast, Economical and Modern

Anne sent me a photo of her model WX15-2-B2429 Tappan stove. She says that it works great but the clock and glass covers over that and the timer have broken. It has the oven on one side and a broiler on the other. It was purchased about 20 years ago in San Luis Obispo CA and is not original her house.

She has no idea of the age and said she has never seen another one like it. When purchased, it was very dirty but otherwise pretty much as can be seen in the pictures. The only restoration it needed was a little cosmetic touch. The little pieces around the timer and clock were re-chromed, as was the tiny "Tappan" plate. They had been cleaned too many times that the metal was worn off and discolored. The oven temperature knob says "Robert Shaw".

Anne says "It's a very practical stove with some features I really like. Being able to cover the burners is a nice touch. The space between the burners is so handy too, especially for canning. Big pots are no problem. You can also remove the lower trays to clean- no more ugly spills. The back light doubles as a nite lite."

I have a little surprise for Anne if you scroll down to the last picture. This comes from a 1940 Sales Manual....which I believe would put Anne's stove in the late 1930's.















Thanks for the email and photos Anne!

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.