Our Chambers Stove is Finally Here!

My "new" old stove is here!   Oh, my goodness.   We picked her out last September and she was loaded onto a transport truck a couple of weeks ago.   The transport company specializes in deliveries of antiques and specialty items and they wait until they have a full load of deliveries before they head out on the road.   We got the call that our stove would be delivered on Tuesday, and sure enough, two strong men wheeled her into my kitchen and put her down in her designated place of honor.

 She was all wrapped up and her finish protected with layers of blankets and foam.

 Then we had to call a plumber to hook her up to the propane.    Joel and I went over the manual to be certain we knew what we were doing before taking her for a test run.   I was really excited to start cooking on her but had to wait another day for the plumber....so I just sat and looked at her!

Isn't she pretty?   She is a 1952 Chambers Model "C".   She comes complete with 3 gas burners and something called a deep well.  More on that later.   There is also a griddle and special broiler and oven.   The beauty of an old Chambers lies in her construction.  Much like the Buicks and Cadillacs of her era, she is all metal....heavy metal.....and weighs in at 450lbs.   And she is so well insulated that the ads of her day bragged that you could set the oven temperature, put your food in to cook and turn the heat off and the oven would maintain it's temperature for 90 minutes....without any power!   You know the saying, "They don't make them like that anymore."

The top of the stove is beautiful, shiny stainless steel.   All her burners have been refurbished and work like a charm.   And I get high BTU's from her so that water boils quickly.

The upper right area of the stove is unique.  It's actually called the deep well and is a precursor to our modern day crock pot.   How about that?     There is a pilot light under the  large pot you see here and you use it much like a crock pot.....letting soup simmer all day in the heavily insulated well.    No burning, no stirring.   I'm going to have to experiment with this one, that's for sure!

 On the left side of the stove is the removable griddle which is heated with a flame from underneath.

The same flame that heats the griddle also acts as a broiler flame for the broiler pan seen here.   We've heard that steaks done in this manner sear beautifully.    I'll let you know how that turns out.

She has an oven on the left and storage for pots and pans on the right.   All the enamel and refurbishing of the stove has been redone by Antique Appliances in Clayton,Georgia and she looks brand new.   They did a beautiful job restoring her and we really appreciate all their insight and help as we made our stove choice.

Even her handles are pretty!   They are solid and are the first child proof handles made for stoves.  You need to depress the small knob above the handle before the handle will turn to light the burners.

At Joel's request, we took her for a spin around the block and initiated her by making pancakes on the griddle.   There is not a single electronic component in this baby....so, if the power goes out we will still be able to cook our meals without any concerns.

Next on the kitchen agenda.....order the proper sized hood for her.   Oh, yeah, and maybe get some kitchen cabinets?   Eventually.    All in good time.   We're one huge step closer to a completed kitchen.

Gettin' my apron on,
Debbie