How did you find out about chambers stoves

[lkeriegrl]

I am so glad to be here. Reading over the previous posts I see so may things in common with my own search. My stove hunt began the day my neighbor/home inspector clicked on his little tape recorder and began , "What we have here is a 1910 American Craftsman bungalow. . . "

I fell in love with the neighborhood, the house (charming, but the worst on the street) and the street (which dead-ends at the lake) in that order. With those 3 little words, american craftsman bungalow, i suddenly had a design philosophy to guide our homemaking efforts. We had a recycled house which was originally built with many salvaged materials, and happily the kitchen is still pretty much original.

Why did I want an old stove? My mother brought me "Bungalow Kitchens" by Jane Powell, and I just loved the way they look. Actually, I saw/cut out and article from country home or something like that two years ago that had an article about a woman who had found pink W&H appliances on a treelawn and had eventually done the whole kitchen in pink and chrome. O MY GOD it was beautiful. (Sometimes I cry over good deals because that deal has already been gotten, and not by me. Not jealousy, just appreciation and like a sense of loss. So I was very sad over this article. Once we got the house, I reasoned to my dear husband that there is no space for a countertop next to the stove, so hadn't we better get a nice wide old stove that would have room for a little prep? Wheedling,sure, but I didn't want him to go hiding my Jane Powell books again if I cited instead her arguments in her article "Avoiding Cognitive Dissonance: Kitchen Design.") Did I mention I was preganant and preparing to move at this time? Right, so I was seriously into "virtual nesting" and started my stove hunt on ebay. I'm in Ohio, there's not much of a market here for older stoves?so said every yellow pages listing I rang up. Also, this is a practical matter of having a functioning stove to feed my family on, so the california auctions of okeefe and merrits were out of the question. Now that we can almost move into our house, it's getting urgent and I scanned the classifieds for a lead, still just looking for an older stove. I had ruled out the high-leg styles for dh's sake, and I actually had decided against the chambers based (ignorance!) on the aesthetics, that I wanted something more streamlined, classically deco than this funny one i'd see on ebay sometimes with the teardrop-shaped handles. Somewhere in here too I watched rachel ray with my granny-who watches food network all day long though she hsn't prepared a meal in >5 years, and finally took notice of the in-a-top broiler feature.

But it wasn't until I sought Sam's advice last week about the wisdom of purchasing a grimy Universal of uncertain functionality (no pun intended) that I went back and looked again at some closed chambers auctions. that's when I saw the reference to this website, in one of Todd's consciousness-raising "questions". I had laughed before seeing a seller's surly "not everyones a stove expert" (sic) to what MUST have been one of his comments. So then I came here, stayed up all night, maxed out work deadlines, neglected my 2 year old all in an effort to solidify my decision that this is definitely the stove for us. the thumb-latches and the conservation philosophy alone would do it! But now i am so eager to start calling around anew to try and rustle one up, becaue I am pretty confident that I can fix whatever might be wrong now that I have you (boo hoo, sniff, hooray!) Plus, this ha sall the markings of a life-quest about it. i will never run out of reasons to go to flea markets, and neither will my mother--though her threshhold is far lower than mine. Even if I were to find and posess every possible chambers accoutrement, i could continue to troll local venues for you fine people.

It's been very nice to read the posts in this thred especially. Except I'm getting that anxious, missed-a-deal feeling reading posts from people within a half-days' drive of here. Not to mention the B model complete with the original spice jars that I passed on in cincinnati. That's just horrible. I think they auctioned it 3 times before it went. O well. I used to post quite a bit to my crunchy mamas yahooo group, so I hope I can adapt to the post style here and be a good community member. But right now I need ADVICE so I'm off to post a new topic. Happy to be here!!

[To Die For]

What a great topic!! I am new here and I would love to share my Chambers story with all of you.
My grandmother had this beautiful big stove in her kitchen. She was known for her cooking and loved her stove. As a small child of 4 or 5, I remember this gleaming white stove with the shinny pretty handles. This has always been my most vivid memory of my grandmother's house. I am 60 years old and all my life never saw a stove like it anywere. I had no idea what it was. A few years ago when we remodeled the kitchen, I looked at atique stoves online hopeing to find one that looked like my grandmothers. No luck! The mystery continued. Then one day while watching PBS, I saw a local show where they were touring one of Austin's older homes. In the kitchen was a stove just like my grandmothers. I about fell off the sofa. Luckly they talked breifly about the stove so I was able to get the name Chambers. Since then I read about them and wanted one till now. Just last week I saw an ad on Craig's list. I was lucky enough to get a Chambers Model B for free and it looks exactly like the one in Grandma's kitchen. Except for one thing. When I saw the stove in person, it looked so small. Because I was 5 years old in my memory, Grandma's stove was very big!!! Thanks for reading my story!

[Pokey Roberts]

I, too, discovered Chambers ranges by accident. A friend of mine's mother had a red Chambers high back and it was stored in the shop. I really liked the looks of that stove. I tried to buy it but it had too much sintimental value for him to even think of parting with it. This was maybe 10 years ago.

Leaping forward to a couple of months ago -

I was shopping for a good used stove for my fish camp. My wife lets me make my own decisions, as long as I spend my own money. I was looking for a stove to fill a 36" opening (I know the chambers is wider) and remembered the red stove. I saw an ad for a Chambers in the local shopping guide for $250. That was too expensive for me, but I called the lady and she told me where it was on the front porch. Wife and I were visiting friends in the Ozarks and I kind of detoured by the stove to take a look. It was a low back white, but it was a Chambers. I told her I was thinking about buying it and she was not impressed but she didn't fuss too much. I could not get the stove out of my mind. I thought it looked really good and sturdy.

After the weekend trip I thought about the Chambers, and by then there was a new issue out and it was still listed. I called the lady and she still had it. I made an appointment to check it out. I knew nothing. I checked out the stove the oven door handle was broken off, it had a grill but it didn't look like it fit very well I could see the broiler burner but there was nothing under it. I knew enough to know that parts were missing. I was rapidly becoming disappointed. I wanted to look in the oven, but I could not get it open. I finally realized if I could force the pin down the oven would open.

Finally, got in the oven and saw that the thermostat capilliary bulb was hanging loose on the inside. I knew that was expensive - that was what was wrong with my 1963 Magic Chef, and that one was obsolete.

I started to leave and she said if I would give a hundred for it I could have it. I realized it was heavy and said I would get back with her and she said she would get some help to load it and would check to see what she had to go with it. I was a sucker and took it.

I got home and hauled it around in my truck for two days until one of my sons came in from off shore and got one of his buddys to help. I then started doing research and realized how expensive the thermostat was.

The only thing I knew was to start cleaning. I knew how to clean grease. I ordered a service manual, waited and cleaned. Went to see my friend with the red chambers to see what it was supposed to look like - what was missing. I tried to buy his red stove.

He told me that his grandfather had bought a yellow one and he thought that his uncle had put it in storage in the barn. He was going to check with uncle when he had a chance Uncle is kind of hard to get along with. His reputation is not good.

Then I bought a grill pan on ebay.

And cleaned out more grease.

I drove by the Uncle's house - he was mowing the yard, so I stopped in because he looked like he was ready for a break. Yes, he said, he had the stove, and, yes he would sell it. It was working when he took it out and used his tractor with the big hay forks on the front to pick the stove up and moved it, dropping it managing to bend, chip, or break every panel on it except the back and oven door of a YELLOW Chambers!.

I gave him $50.00 for it.

I now had the parts I needed to get mine going, everything except a timer.

I can appreciate how well it is built, and look forward to getting her painted and operating and cooking on her.

She will be called "Aunt Essie" my mothers oldest sister the oldest of ten kids, and did the cooking for the whole bunch. She had one daughter that died when she was eleven. So she was every one in the family's adopted mother, and cooked for all comers every Sunday. She could cook for one or fifty and make it look easy. She would have died for a stove like the Chambers.

So, In honor of Aunt Essie, I hope I can make her proud - that lady could cook! My mother was a good cook, but she could not hold a candle to Aunt Essie.

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ June 15, 2006 09:32 PM: Message edited by: Todd W. White ]</font>

[JodieCarlson]

First off, I guess I need to name my stove!

It was my grandmother's. She always loved red, and my grandfather special ordered her C model sometime in the 50s. I never thought much of the stove growing up in the 70s and 80s, but got nostalgic when we headed up to Tulsa to move her to a retirement home. Something told me I had to keep this red stove with so much history in the family.

We rented a Uhaul to bring it down to San Antonio. It stayed in my kitchen without being hooked up for a couple of years. I had to move cabinets to make room for the full 37" (and get that checkerboard tile put in so it was just like Grandma's house.

I haven't utilized my Chambers as much as I should have. Finding this message board has inspired me to really learn how to "cook with the gas turned off." When we moved my grandmother to my mom's house in Plano, I mentioned baking potatoes in the deep well. She got really nostalgic about HER red stove--I'm glad I was able to keep it in the family. It will stay a part of my life as long as I can keep it going. No kids here, but maybe I can get my niece to show an interest in 30 years or so.

I can't wait to get my service manual and cookbook soon! Here's to many wonderful Chambers memories for me AND all of you!

[tux_sf]

Like many of you on here, I had never seen or heard of Chambers ranges. They aren't too common here in California, certainly not as common as Wedgewood or O'Keefe & Merrit stoves (or even Occidental, DeVille or Spark brands).

Anyway, our nasty modern stove that came with the house was [b]finally[/b] too dead to use. I had been waiting for that day practically since we bought the place more than 10 years ago. Since I love old things I was thinking of something along the lines of the 50's O'Keefe & Merrit that my mother had when I was growing up in the 60's. It was a beautiful stove with a fold down top, chromed cast iron griddle in the middle, salt & pepper shakers on either side of the clock, etc. My mother wiped that stove down with white vinegar every night & it shined. After my father died she decided she couldn't keep up the house by herself, so we moved to a rented house. She also decided that the stove was too big to haul with us & so one of my older brothers hauled it to the dump (no one wanted them back in '68!). As a side note, Mom still regrets the loss of that stove. I couldn't tell you how many new stoves she has had since then, but none of them have lasted well or worked as well as that old OKM. Sorry to be so long winded. . .you are probably wondering how the Chambers gets in to the picture!

Well, I started looking on Craigslist for a 'new old' stove in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lots & lots of choices along the lines of what I was looking for, at lots & lots of different prices from free to outrageous. My partner wasn't too thrilled with the idea of an old stove--"what will we do if it breaks? Where will we get parts?"--etc, etc. As I kept an eye on Craigslist I noticed a couple of these strange looking stoves called Chambers. Most of the ads I saw mentioned the 'soup well' & that they are HEAVY. I was intrigued by the way they looked enough to get on google & try to find more information about them. Google brought me to Todd's chamberstoves.net site , which answered lots of my questions and [b]made me want one of my very own.[/b]

Back to Craigslist. . .where, eventually, I saw a nice high back B listed. The owner had listed it for $250.00 or best offer. I emailed her, we exchanged numbers. Eventually, I convinced my still resistant better half to have a look at it on a rainy March Sunday. It turned out that the range originally belonged to the listers Grandparents. Her Grandmother wasn't much of a cook, but had purchased this B new back in the 40's. She lived in Pittsburgh & when she passed away her Granddaughter decided she wanted the range. Her parents arranged to have it shipped out to her. Unfortunately she was never able to get it hooked up. After having stored it in a couple of garages in San Francisco for the last 3 years she decided she couldn't keep it any longer as she was moving to Los Angeles & didn't want to move it yet again. When we went to see it, outside of some grime from sitting in the garage it looked to be in very good shape. The only obvious problems were a broken service door spring, broken timer & a missing 'leg' on the percolator grate & wear to the chrome on the ridges of the top. The enamel on the body was in great shape, it had the large pot with the top insert & double boiler insert (I don't think the top insert or little double boiler have ever been used, either!) & even the lights worked (though they need to be rewired). The owner made it very clear she was open to offers. She was clearly pretty attached to her Grandma's range & was more concerned that it go to a good home than anything else. I wanted it, my partner was another story. We left telling the owner we would talk about it & get back to her.

Well. . .after some back & forth I had to write & tell her we weren't taking her Chambers. She wrote back & asked if we would reconsider if the price was FREE. That was enough to convince my partner, so I quickly wrote back & told her we would be taking it.

Since as we all know, these are heavy babies & our kitchen is on the 2nd floor I had to start calling around for movers. At least the range was in the same city so it was a local move. Luckily, when I described it to the movers none of the companies flinched too much. When the day arrived we met the movers & removed what we could to lighten the range for the trip. I ended up with 4 guys & they were all needed to pick it up & carefully carry it up the stairs. They did a great job & didn't damage anything, including the mahogany bannister that I spent MONTHS refinishing. I had a set of furniture sliders & asked the movers to put them under the legs of the stove so I could move it away from the wall by myself to work on it. Once they were paid & gone I started working on a quick clean of my new Chambers.

Luckily, the range is in good shape & I was able to get it hooked up that very day. After a run to the hardware store to get an additional fitting for the gas I hooked him up & tested for leaks. Everything was looking good. And it was. Outside of some little things that still need 'improving' we have been happily cooking on my 1947 15-B since that day. I don't think I could go back to cooking on anything else without feeling I was taking a big step down.

I decided to name my range Elmer after my father. Unlike most men of his generation (he was born in 1918), he didn't think cooking was 'woman's work' and loved to cook when the weekend came along. He was also very good at it. He even did all the grocery shopping, something my mother was glad to give up to him. While he died when I was only 6, I can still remember his cooking & I think that was why I have loved to cook since I was a kid. It must be in the genes since of their 6 children--5 boys & 1 girl--5 of us like to cook & 3 of us are quite accomplished at it.

--Danny

[kathie1k]

My Granny had a 1927 high leg chambers, cream and green. IT was beautiful. It got a small hole in the oven floor in 1990 and she sold it cause she didnt cook any more.
My Momma had a white deluxe back 195o c model.Both my Aunts that lived in town near us had c models all gas. And my Grandmother in law had a 40s electric she traded up for SOMETHING MODERN in 1980 and regreted it till she died !!!!
When i left home my husband wouldnt let me have one ,we were moving army those years. When my Moma died our baby sister got the range and Moma didnt raise us to fight lol.
Today I went to look at what I was told was a c white like Moms itwas NOT. It is a beautiful
BZ snow white perfect condition Not a mark on her. It is a her . Her tall back made her look more slender then moms c with the lower back. Anyway it is a one family range and came with a nice fold down cover which will protect her and give ME three more feet of counter. there is a nice triplet pan set in the well. lol
We took 4 large men and a highgrade dolly and wrapped her in a memoryfom mattress. She is in my kitchen now all we need is to find out how to adjust from natural gas to propane. I paid 550 dallors i have know idea if that is a fair price or not, when the man gave me the price and my new husband who did not grow up with these raised his eyebrow i circled a stove add for a no good gas range at Lowes for 798 and left it next to His Plate.You cant can on those skinny skinny grates and he loves a griddle!! I dont expect this range to wear out. I alredy told my son, the cook, it is his when i am threw with it. thats my storey and im sticking too it. There just isnt any excuse to buy anything else. so did i pay too much ?

[Todd W. White]

You need the following pieces of literature, as a minumum:

1. BZ Service Manual - tells you how to set it up & calibrate it.

2. The "Idle Hour" Cookbook - teaches you how to care for your "new" CHAMBERS and how to cook with the gas turned OFF.

Either I or Sam the Stoveman have these for sale.

Let us know how we can help.

[dumdum]

I am an avid cook and always dreamed of buyng a vintage stove due to the look, quality and mainly burner output and consistent oven temp. My 12 year old piece of junk which we bougth new started going bad, oven thermostat shot, front burner not ignighting (electronic ignition) only to finally ignight and poof what a flame! Anyways, living in an old, old house (1700's) my husband said pick the stove you will die using because I am not moving another one in this house! He then promptly bid on a Roper on e-bay. Gorgreous stove but it didn't feel "right". Being an info junky I started doing research and lo and behold I am a Chambers fan. Luckily we were outbid on the Roper and our quest began. We picked one up in NewYork and another in our own State PA. I was going to part them together but the 2cnd one being almost mint there was no need. We converted our good friends and they now own the one from NewYork. I am assimilated. By the way, we haven't gotten pretty girl in yet. My husband is threatening to rename it after we pull off this feat. I cannot post the name on this board!

[mthibert]

I bought a house built in 1939, and it had a 90C in it. I had never heard of a Chambers before. It's interesting--ANYONE coming into my house from the kitchen door comments on the range. Men seem fascinated by it--guess it's all that chrome, as in the John Prine song.

[dumdum]

Tell me about it! I could not figure out which stove to keep, both being in great shape. Do I keep the black top or the chrome top? Well, being a mother of two teen boys our house is overrun with young men. Every single one of them cam in the back door, my front door, walking past the two stoves on the covered back porch. Each one of them, and I mean each one, said "chrome wow!". Must be the car thing! Instinctual.(I thought companies marketed towards the women, huh.)