Thermobaker

I am not sure I am willing to pluck down over $100 for a thermobaker, but I would like to use the t-well for baking. If you have improvised without one, could you please provide more details?

I second that request. I thought I read on this forum that some people put a stainless steel bowl upside down in the well and then place the pan on top of that and bake. I tried some biscuits in there tonight and burned the bottoms. They were a lovely brown on top, though. I thought my cookbook said to keep the flame on until they start to cook and then turn off the heat and the retained heat should finish cooking them. Absolute charcoal on the bottom!
Back to experimenting, I guess.
Linda

I used the inverted stainless bowl with a plate or baking pan on top and had good results. It is really easy to scorch the bottoms....you need to adjust the heat from the beginning. A full flame is way too much try about two thirds flame and you should be better.

Thanks. I will give that a try tomorrow.
Linda

Hi folks:

I've got a thermobaker and have a thought on the scorching without a TB. Your inverted stainless steel bowl may be trapping too much of the heat from below and "focusing" it at the top of the bowl, and thus on the bottom of the busquit pan.

The TB is concave, like an upright bowl , which may be intended to have the heat from below be mostly deflected and channeled up the side of the thermowell. Try to set the stainless steel bowl to mimic the position of the TB "bowl": right side up, instead of upside down, and see what happens.

Joe

Oh, and I also agree that the thermowell flames must be observed and kept to about 3/8", as the instructions say. My flames at full throttle are much taller than 3/8": probably 1".

Joe

Adjusting the thermowell flame?. Are you supposed to do this by looking at the hole in the grate? I guess that is where the mica strip pays off, but I don't even see where that is on the well inside of my service cabinet. But so far, I just use the thermobaker and am doing ok...V

Can someone please tell me what a thermobaker looks like? I just got my stove and it came with some parts for the well but I don't know if I have a Thermobaker or not. I hope so. If I don't, can you buy these?? I have a Chambers B.

One came w/ my stove. I also snagged a triple pot for free with a junker parts stove I rescued. :-)

Nope! I did not get anything that looks like that. Thanks for the picture. It really helps to visualize what everyone is talking about. And thanks for the source to find one. This is like treasure hunting. I love it!!

If you like treasure hunting, you'll love geocaching. www.geocaching.com. Austin has one of the most active and fun communities of treasure hunters on the planet. check 'em out at groups.yahoo.com/group/centraltexasgeocachers. BTW getting back on topic, I got a thermobaker and a set of triple pots with my 1949 chambers. Later fleshed out the whole set on eBay.

Judy,

Welcome. Where did you get your stove? What is the name? We would love to see pictures. It's great to have another Texan.

Lori G.

If you don't have a thermobaker, use an 8 inch round cake pan with a round wire rack that you use for cooling cookies and cakes on top of it. Place your biscuits in another round cake pan and place on top of the rack. It should give you good results. You'll just have to lift out the pan with tongs.

Treatmaker

Thanks for the welcome. I just got my old girl (Chambers B) two days ago here in Austin Texas. I found her on Craigslist and when I went to see the stove, the man gave her to me for FREE!! Can you believe it! The stove was in his house when he bought it many years ago and they just used it till his wife decided she wanted a new 'modern' stove. I don't understand that part at all! LOL The stove has been sitting outside with a tarp over it for a couple of years so the top has a little rust on the front. Other than that, it is in pretty good shape on the outside. Porcelain looks perfect and the knobs are bright and shinny. She came with a set of triple pots and a big pot with lid that fits into the well. It also has a piece that is flat with three big circle holes in it. Looks like it might be for canning??? I have not seen any mention of anything like this so far on the board. I will take a picture and post it soon.

My grandmother had a Chambers that I have vivid memories of when I was a small child around 1948 or 1950. She was known for her cooking and housekeeping so her stove was a gleaming treasure to her. I remember loving the way it looked, especially the shinny handles. I remember how they felt, so smooth. Her stove was huge in my memory. When I saw my stove sitting in the backyard of my benefactor, it looked so small but is identical to my grandmothers. She must have gotten hers in the early 1940's, I am guessing. In honor of her and my memories of her stove and her cooking, I am naming my stove after her. Lula Bell!

Great story! We are very glad to have both you and Lula Bell join us, especially since you are both Texans. [img]wink.gif[/img]

Thanks so much! Is it me or are there a lot of Chambers in Texas? Maybe it is because Texans are such good cooks? LOL Thanks for the warm welcome and great information. What part of this vast state are you living?

By any chance did you buy it from Pepper Morris? Is this her?

http://static.flickr.com/49/139829373_84758bae1b.jpg

I only ask because I was emailing Mrs. Morris about a stove she had kept under a tarp for many years.

Lori G.

I recently purchased one from Hughes Place in Louisiana for $140, not sure if they have anymore. A very steep price, but I am glad to have it! Here is a photo.

http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/56399b107d.jpg

There should be a metal plate on the outside of the thermowell, below the stove top. Remove the right front grate & drip pan. Tilt your head and look carefully for a small metal plate about 1" x 2 1/2".

On one line is the model # (look for more info in your owner's manual, available from either Todd White, or Sam the Uncertain Stoveman)

The following post explains the serial # relative to the age of your stove: http://www.hostboard.com/cgi-bin/ult...ic&f=7954&t=74

Judy, Glad youre here. Besides your free stove you received over $200. worth of pans. I just paid $142 for a set of double pans on e-bay.

We are in the Hill Country north of Austin, near Burnet just of off Lake Buchanan. Look up the oatmeal recipe for McCains steel cut Oatmeal...breakfast is ready.! Check out the pancake hints on the griddle (especially seasoning with Crisco) works like a charm....my little nameless charmer sits on a piano dolly and that makes her a queen...v

No, it was not here. The ladies name was Lynn and I don't remember his name. My stove is different than the one in your picture. Lula Bell has the high back with the spice shelf on each side with a timer in the center and little night light looking lights on each side. Other than that, they look the same. I am not sure what model she is. I think she is a B and the man said he thought she was a 1948 or 1949 model. I think is is a bit older since my Grandmother's had to be older than that. I will have to go see if I can find the model number somewhere on her. Where should I look to find this info?

Oh, Thank you so much for the link to the Serial Number mystery!! I found the little 'tag' inside the burner and had to remove it and clean it to see the 'style no.' which is 15-B-4. It is VERY hard to read as it is stamped into the tin and looks like the top part of the stamp made an empression but the bottom did not. So I really can only make out the top part of the numbers and letter. The Serial number starts with a 7- so I am going to say Lula Bell is a 1947 B. I am going to borrow my son's digital camera and take a picture of the tag and Lula Bell tonight. I need to document the 'before' as I will get started on her this weekend. YIPEE!! I feel like I am really getting somewhere. Thank you all so much for all your help. I can't wait to try the oatmeal recipe and all the rest. Just thinking about all the things I can cook soooo much easier and soooo much better really motivates me to work on her.

Welcome to the clan of the B! You have been assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Great story, and I love the connection to your Grandmother. I really enjoy my B, and always am aware of my mother's story of how her mother admired and hoped to own a Chambers, but never did.

I am sure you will enjoy restoring and using yours.

Joe P