Sponsored by J.E.S. Enterprises, Inc. for The Old Appliance Club

The Antique Stove Communiqué

 Issue #2

 SAFETY VALVES for Antique Stoves

  Oven and Broilers

 The Safety System In Your Stove Can Save Your Life

 One of the most important devices your antique stove can have is an oven or broiler safety valve. If the burner flame goes out this valve will automatically shut off the main gas flow to the oven or broiler compartment. In some antique ranges there will be one or more depending on the amount of ovens and broilers your stove was made with.

 Early Gas Stoves - Up though the early 1930s

 Early gas stoves were manufactured without safety valves. The ovens were match lighted. The ignition method used was to turn on the oven gas supply valve, scratch a match and quickly ignite the oven burner. When you were finished cooking you simply shut the gas supply off.

Sounds easy enough, but is it really safe?

 *Stoves owners that have ranges without safety valves must be extra cautious since there is no safety backup to a range like this.

The main problem that drew great attention to early gas stoves was the looming possibility of a gas explosion....and they did happen!

 Problems Arise in Early Gas Ranges Without Safety Valves

 Once gas stoves for indoor cooking spread across the nation thousands of ranges were being sold each year. At one time there were so many stove companies you could practically throw a rock and hit one.

The early ranges were still very much in the experimental mode though. People had to get used to using gas rather than stoking wood fired stoves. This would take a lot of homework and without a teacher you pretty much had to learn from the seat of your pants.

 One Wrong Step Could Cost a Life

 One especially nasty problem occurred when folks would forget they turned on the oven gas valve and walk away from the stove. Even worse was having young children play with the gas valves on the stove when no elder was in the kitchen. Raw gas is unforgiving.

 *True Story - A childhood friend of mine turned on the oven when his mother was not at home. After he used a match to light the oven the flame gust took his eyebrows right off.

 Ovens are Like a Six-Sided Safe

 You see, the oven shell (with the door closed) is like a box. If there is no burner ignition raw gas continues to fill the oven until it finds its first point of ignition. Any spark, a flame of any kind, someone smoking etc. etc. would ignite the oven causing the compressed gas to behave like a bomb. Not good....

You can just imagine what happened when an explosion like this occurred. For sure it had to be the quickest way to attain an instant address change even if you had no interest in moving. The serious side of this is that many folks died, got injured or had their homes ruined or burned down to the ground.

 Although progress was made overnight, stove companies started making great modifications. In our opinion, the most important feature was the oven and broiler safety valves. *It is interesting to note that up until the early 1950s you could still order a stove with or without a safety valve. The lower or less expensive models would have no safety valves.

 How To Tell If Your Stove Has an Oven or Broiler Safety System

 Generally speaking, from the mid - 1930s forward, safety valves started showing up on the more of the deluxe gas ranges.

 Not all, but most major manufacturers placed an embossed "CP" in a circle on the front of the control panel. This meant your stove was manufactured with an oven safety system and was considered deluxe for a number of reasons.

 Detour: There is a most informative and well researched article about CP ranges in a back issue of The Old Road Home vintage appliance magazine. If you are curious about learning how this monumental change in stove history came about we suggest you order this issue of The Old Road Home. It is still available at this time.

  You will read all CP range designation and about the 22 requirements and 10 optional requirements.  Here is the link: http://www.antiquestoves.com/toac/theoldroadhome10thyear.htm  Just scroll down to: Spring 2001 Issue Featuring - UNIVERSAL Stove Line of 1940.

 Another True Story - Christmas and the Chambers Stove

 A few years back a Chambers stove owner had a really shocking Christmas. Her stove was made in the early 50s and did not have an oven safety system. As they were preparing the Christmas dinner they opened the door to the kitchen as it was getting hot. The stove was next to the kitchen door and after they opened it a gust of wind actually blew out the oven burner without the folks knowing about it.

 Several minutes went by and the daughter said she smelled gas. Her mother instantly said to open the window in the kitchen to let fresh air in. After a few minutes they thought all was o.k. however since the stove did not have a safety system, the gas was still pumping into the oven. Her daughter then went to relight the oven. Within a few seconds there was a blast. It blew out all of the windows in the kitchen and actually knocked the socks off her mom’s feet! There is more…..the gals said they saw the stove lift up from the floor and almost pull apart. Can you imagine how scary that must have been? Thankfully no one was hurt, but it doesn’t always happen this way as most of you well know.

 It’s always a good thing to have a safety system for your stove but even stoves that have a safety system can be in trouble. Why is this so? If the safety system is broken or not working it’s like having a stove without a safety system.

 Bad Safety Valve or Thermostat – General Rule

 Here is a general rule of thumb for stove owners to use.  This is a general rule which is true 95% of the time. If your oven’s temperature is too hot or doesn’t heat properly that is typically an issue with the thermostat.

If your oven does not come on at all this will generally be a safety valve issue.

*Note: There are other things that can cause problems with heating and there are thermostats that have safety systems built into them. Due to room, we won’t be getting into this right now, but the general rule provided here is applicable almost all of the time.

 Can You Rebuild a Faulty Safety Valve at Home?

 Safety valves like thermostats are not something you would want to play around with. Remember you are dealing with raw gas and this is always to be greatly respected. Safety valves cannot be rebuilt at home. The parts and knowledge required to rebuild, replace or modify a valve is not available to the general public.

Another issue is that there may be a better upgrade for your stove than was originally issued. Over the years we have made significant improvements with safety valves and safety system which can benefit your stove without a doubt.

 If you could see what some of the old safety valves look like you would be shocked to see how useless they can become. Sometimes people override a safety system when it is broken to force the oven to work. This is super dangerous. New old stove owners are not delighted once they have been told they effectively have no safety system from the Gas Company. That’s normally when your stove will be “red-tagged” so you cannot use it until it is repaired properly.

 The Solution to Having a Good Working SAFE Stove

 There is no price you can put on safety. Can you imagine what driving your car without brakes would be like? It’s really no different with owning a gas range.  Who doesn’t want safety? The cost is low in comparison with the safety it provides too.

 If you are having a safety valve issue with your stove, normally you can have the Gas Co., plumber or service tech check your stove to be sure. With old ranges, parts will be hard to find. You need to make sure you are going in the right direction so you don’t waste any money and get exactly what you need.

 Detour: The TS-7 "Pickle" Safety Valve

 Many 1940s -1950s gas ranges employ the TS-7 Safety Valve. The TS-7 is a family group of safety valves. There are different styles in this grouping. If you are not sure if you have a safety valve problem or would like to know a great deal more about this unit, we have a guide at this link - http://www.antiquestoves.com/toac/SafetyValveGuideTS7.html. Please check it out to see all of the information that this covers. If you want to understand how to troubleshoot a problem with the TS-7 you will be walked through all the steps to take so you will know if your valve is bad and the cause.

 Where to get Service for the Antique Stove Valves in your Range

 If you are in need of specialized repair service for your antique stove safety valves don’t fail to contact our company at toac@sbcglobal.net or call 805-643-3532. We can help you get these issues resolved fast. With over 45 years in the antique stove field we have seen just about everything there is to see about gas stove safety valves. Propane and Gas Companies throughout America as well as service companies send their valves to us for repair and we also serve the individual stove owners as well. All of our services are guaranteed and turnaround time is fast.

Types of Safety Valves that Can Be Rebuilt

 J.E.S. Enterprises can rebuild almost every Robertshaw, Grayson, Bryant Igniter, General Controls and other safety valves for your stove. We rebuild the complete MR2 series of valves, the TS7 through TS11 and TS15 valves and many more.

 Just email us a few digital pictures of your safety valve AND a picture of the pilot in the oven or broiler so we can see what setup you have. Let us know the length of the thermcoupling too. This is very important. Let us know the exact problem you are experiencing so we can help get back to you as fast as possible.

 Warranty:

 On just about every safety valve we rebuild, replace or sell we give a good long warranty. If you could purchase a new safety valve you might receive a 90 warranty which would be o.k., however we offer a long 2 year warranty plus something else. When you receive valve restoration from our company you will also receive important set up instructions too so you can get the very best performance from the valve. Like antique cars, antique stoves  must be adjusted correctly to work at top level performance. We share this help with all of our safety valve customers.

Magnetizing

J.E.S. Enterprises, Inc. owns the only magnetizing machine for safety valves in the U.S.A. It was custom built in house to serve one purpose alone. That purpose is to make every valve work like brand new, no matter how old it is.

This machine is used on every single safety valve that we restore. That is precisely why we can offer a 2 year warranty to you on antique stove safety valves. We check and double check every single part before it is shipped so you will have a care free installation and good use from your valve.

 DANGER:  Why Buying a "Used" Safety Valve is a Poor Idea

 If you are in the market to purchase the same problem you already have then buying a used safety valve is the fastest way to get there.

Used safety valves are just as old inside as they are on the outside.

Leaking valves, rotted safety seals etc., are the norm for safety valves 50, 60 or more years old. When you consider that leaking raw gas is deadly do you want to take that big of a risk?

Even worse is you could be buying a valve that someone has "tinkered" with and is broken inside or worn out. How would you know? There are some people on the internet that will sell you anything for a buck. They may not know what they are doing or might not even care!  Trying to save a few dollars extra just isn't worth it.

Why pay twice? Get it done right the first time and enjoy great performance from your stove as well as great safety! You'll rest easy knowing your valve was expertly restored and guaranteed.

 Here's How to Get Started Right Away!

 Now that you have a good idea about safety valves and the vital service they provide we invite you to contact us.

 Most orders can be finished within 48 – 72 hours and if you need Rush Services we offer Overnight Rush.

Just email us at toac@sbcglobal.net or call 805-643-3532 and we will be glad to

"get you back up to baking speed in no time at all."

 We hope this second edition of the Antique Stove Communique has explained why the safety valves in your stove are so important.

 We’ll see you next time for another issue of

the Antique Stove Communiqué!

 Next Issue > Antique Stove Thermostats

Happy Cooking Stove Pilots!

Jack n' Erika Santoro

J.E.S. Enterprises, Inc. /The Old Appliance Club

Ventura, California - www.theoldapplianceclub.net

toac@sbcglobal.net /805-643-3532

P.S. - Why not send us a clear large picture of yourself in front of your range? We will try and post it in one of our upcoming communiqué. If you love your old range now is the time to show it off including yourself at command center. Pictures of your favorite dish are also welcome. Just don't forget we need YOU in the picture as well!

(Alana E'Dahlia having fun at the O'Keefe & Merritt Aristocrat range making up a batch of fresh whipped cream. Yummo!)

 Happy Cooking Stove Pilots!

Contact us at:  toac@sbcglobal.net or  805-643-3532

Visit us at:  The Old Appliance Club Shop

Alana E'Dahlia at the O'Keefe & Merritt Aristocrat range.

P.S. Email a picture of yourself in front of your antique stove and we will try and publish it in the upcoming issues!