Thread Number: 50194
Keeping my 1966 GE range, thanks to this site! |
[Down to Last] |
Post# 724230   1/1/2014 at 03:42 (3,739 days old) by robinsondm (Upstate NY)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
10    
Hi all,
I’m the proud owner of a 1966 GE J486 40-inch range. We’ve recently been upgrading our kitchen appliances to stainless, and I was thinking of replacing the old GE with a new Frigidaire Professional stainless electric range. The cost of the Frigidaire (~$2000, discounted) made me hesitate. Then, I found this site, and realized my range is a classic! So, rather than replace it, I got out the baking soda and cleaned it up! It could still use some spot cleaning, and I’m thinking of repairing a few pits in the porcelain -- does Porc-A-Filler/Fix work well? -- but I think it’s looking pretty good! This 2-oven range has many features -- Sensi-Temp burner, griddle, meat thermometer, rotisserie. I’ve done a few repairs over the years, and everything works, though I’ve never tried using the rotisserie. I've attached a photo. Thank you to this site for convincing me to keep this classic range! Dean R. This post was last edited 01/01/2014 at 04:37 |
|
Post# 724239 , Reply# 1   1/1/2014 at 04:48 (3,739 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
6    
|
Post# 724248 , Reply# 2   1/1/2014 at 06:29 (3,739 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
A classic automotive style control panel. Does this range have the P7 oven? |
Post# 724250 , Reply# 3   1/1/2014 at 06:33 (3,739 days old) by robinsondm (Upstate NY)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
|
Post# 724257 , Reply# 4   1/1/2014 at 08:10 (3,739 days old) by wringingwet (Walterboro South Carolina)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 724273 , Reply# 5   1/1/2014 at 09:44 (3,739 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
2    
Welcome to AW.org. What an entrance you've made!
Your range is my own "dream GE" range, if only I had space for a 40-inch model. I grew up with 40-inch ranges, and I miss having the elbow room such a model can give you. I currently have a 30-inch GE range from 1972; it's a J 370. Like your range, it has Sensi-Temp and a P*7 oven. Unlike yours, it has rotary controls instead of pushbutton controls. A photo is below. I am very happy to hear that you decided in favor of solid, lasting quality over today's thin metal and "lowest Chinese bidder" electronics. Your range has the potential to last many more years. In case anyone you know tries to give you a hard time about energy efficiency, tell them that your oven is insulated about three times more heavily than new ranges' are. You can also tell them about the coil-size feature on your Sensi-Temp burner, meaning that if you have a small pot to boil, you use only a small part of the burner. New ranges seldom have anything like that. As you use and enjoy your range, please know that any and all potential problems can be fixed, no matter what local service people or parts places try to tell you. They're in business to meet average needs, and you're not an average customer. Members here at AW can help you get your timer repaired or replaced, furnish Sensi-Temp parts and pushbutton controls. There is no reason you can't enjoy that range for many years to come, fully functional. In case you do not have the material, the exact owner's manual and Sensi-Temp guide for your range are available from Automatic Ephemera, a "sister" site to this one furnishing immaculately-scanned copies of vintage appliance reference material in Adobe PDF format. There is a modest charge to download. Go to www.automatice.org... and look for "General Electric" in the list of publishers. Then look for these two titles in the "Owner's Manuals/Operating Instructions" listings: Use and Care instructions for General Electric Ranges with P7 Self-Cleaning Ovens - Price $1.99 Know Your Sensi-Temp - Price $1.99 Both these items came with your range when it was new. You will be amazed how many little details you'll learn from the manuals, even though I'm sure you've figured out basic operation of the range without help. Again, welcome! Oh - and thanks for the largest, clearest photo of this model I've seen. A copy will be in my reference folder from now on. Much appreciated. |
Post# 724274 , Reply# 6   1/1/2014 at 09:55 (3,739 days old) by NYCWriter ()   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
2    
So sad, though, that in so many things -- washers, dryers, stoves, ranges, vacuums -- what's new is so mediocre compared to what's old. |
Post# 724282 , Reply# 7   1/1/2014 at 10:49 (3,739 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
4    
My research into this range has found that the suggested retail price in 1966 was $699.95.
Adjusted for inflation, that comes to $4885.69 in today's puny currency. So - if you thought the Frigidaire Professional range was expensive, your GE was really high-priced. And the quality is far, far superior. |
Post# 724285 , Reply# 9   1/1/2014 at 11:03 (3,739 days old) by xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania )   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 724292 , Reply# 10   1/1/2014 at 11:38 (3,739 days old) by robinsondm (Upstate NY)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
All,
Thanks for your notes, and for your support of my decision to keep the range! Danemodsandy, I especially appreciate your informative note and warm welcome. FYI, I have repaired my range a few times over the years. From memory, I've repaired the clock (twice), the Sensi-Temp burner, and the main oven thermostat. I'm glad to have found this site, which may prove quite useful if/when I need to make future repairs. Also, I have the original "Use and Care" owner's manual, but NOT the "Know Your Sensi-Temp" booklet. I'll probably buy that one. Thanks again! Dean This post was last edited 01/01/2014 at 11:55 |
Post# 724301 , Reply# 11   1/1/2014 at 12:31 (3,739 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 724302 , Reply# 12   1/1/2014 at 12:32 (3,739 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
2    
What a Beautiful Range.
You will never find anything that well made anymore. I have been reading that so many people are getting over the Stainless Thing (Uggghhh so mundane) Great Decision to keep that beauty. And AW is here with a enormous wealth of knowledge to keep that beauty tip top. I've been waiting for a 30" Dream GE with Pushbuttons to come into my life but until then... my 1966 Fridgedaire is a slice of heaven. Bakes like a dream, and my Grandmother taught me how to understand Radiant Tube Coils. My Best to you and enjoy that GE. |
Post# 724304 , Reply# 13   1/1/2014 at 12:36 (3,739 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
The Kmow Your Sensi-Temp booklet has a lot of the same basic information found in the Use & Care Guide, but it also has a lot of tips and some good information on optimal cookware. You'll enjoy it.
If you ever have a clock/timer problem again, the source is General Time Repair, in Carroll, Iowa. This company purchased GE's timer division inventory when GE exited the timer business in favor of outsourced electronic units in 1998. They can both repair and furnish rebuilt units; all rebuilding is done with new, factory parts. A link is below; average cost is around $100. That sounds like a lot, but electronic boards are more, and boards that are much, much newer than your range's timer are often no longer available: www.generaltimerepairs.com/... |
Post# 724313 , Reply# 14   1/1/2014 at 13:34 (3,739 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 724323 , Reply# 15   1/1/2014 at 15:12 (3,739 days old) by firedome (Binghamton NY & Lake Champlain VT)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
and you asked about Porc-A-Fix... yes it works pretty well, if applied exactly according to the instructions. It is enamel, not the original porcelain finish, which is essentially a melted glass finish applied to the metal at very high temperatures. PAF works OK if used not too close to the burner coils or very hot spots on doors, as it will crack off or discolor if it gets too hot. Of course you can always re-touch if or when that occurs. If you are a real perfectionist the damaged panel can also be removed and sent out for re-porcelainizing, the last time I looked an oven door ran about $150 and a 40" oven top about $300, not terrible when considering what is involved. The Chambers range website has more info on this... some folks have even changed the color of their entire range by sending out all of their panels!
|
Post# 724429 , Reply# 16   1/2/2014 at 00:41 (3,739 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
Now THAT'S a stove! Glad for you. Outperforms ALL 'home appliance' class today. You have to go to restaurant class ($4000) to equal it.
One would think--I did--an oven is just a box with a door and a heater. As Jorgen said in Fairly Oddparents, "not exactly". All my ovens worked well. But they were all built more than 20 years ago. This rental unit is 15yo and the GE stove dramatically demonstrates what happened to appliances in those intervening 5 years. I made a tray of yeast rolls for thxgvg. They came out everything from rare to welldone on the tops and overdone on the bottoms. I've been cooking since 1964 and never experienced such a sorryass excuse for a range. The $2000 Frigidaire might not have been that bad, but then again it might. Your GE is a sure thing. |
Post# 724440 , Reply# 17   1/2/2014 at 02:12 (3,738 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 724449 , Reply# 18   1/2/2014 at 04:34 (3,738 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
I've said it tons of times before, but our 1969 P7 double oven was one of the best ovens we really had. It held temperatures perfectly (once the thermostat was adjusted) and the self clean feature was the best we ever used. Food would always come out nice and evenly done. |
Post# 724617 , Reply# 19   1/2/2014 at 21:03 (3,738 days old) by vintagekitchen ()   |   | |
This post has been removed by the member who posted it. |
Post# 724650 , Reply# 21   1/3/2014 at 00:04 (3,738 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 724670 , Reply# 22   1/3/2014 at 05:22 (3,737 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 726251 , Reply# 24   1/8/2014 at 20:08 (3,732 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 726349 , Reply# 26   1/9/2014 at 05:06 (3,731 days old) by robinsondm (Upstate NY)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
|
Post# 726353 , Reply# 27   1/9/2014 at 05:40 (3,731 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
|
Post# 726401 , Reply# 29   1/9/2014 at 09:43 (3,731 days old) by abcomatic (Bradford, Illinois)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Glad to have you as a member. How did you fix the clock on your stove? Mine isn't working so I can't use the self cleaning feature. Thanks, Gary |
Post# 726404 , Reply# 30   1/9/2014 at 10:19 (3,731 days old) by robinsondm (Upstate NY)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Gary,
Thanks for the welcome. As I understand it, the most common clock problem on these ranges is the "Telechron rotor". My clock had begun to make noise and run slowly, so I bought a used rotor on eBay and put it in my clock. It ran fine for 5-7 years, and then began to display similar symptoms (noise & slowness). Somewhere, I read that these rotors can often be "fixed" by SLOWLY adding 3-in-1 oil through the hole under the external gear. I had done this to my original rotor after I removed it. So, when the replacement rotor began to act up, I put the original rotor back in, and it has run fine for several years now. I've since oiled the replacement rotor, so it's ready as a backup if I need it. If you order a replacement rotor, you want to be sure it matches the one in your clock. Fortunately, there are codes stamped on the side of the rotor that make this matching relatively easy to do. If you'd rather not mess with all this, there are companies that will fix your clock if you send it to them. Sandy posted the name of one such company earlier in this thread. Good luck! Dean |
Post# 770574 , Reply# 32   7/13/2014 at 15:16 (3,546 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
1    
|
Post# 770780 , Reply# 34   7/14/2014 at 10:22 (3,545 days old) by bevbren ()   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Tom, Thanks so much for the information. This is exactly what I need. You are a big help. I appreciate it. Bev |
Post# 787812 , Reply# 37   10/7/2014 at 10:55 (3,460 days old) by bethp ()   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Does anyone know what kind of insulation is used in these stoves? |
Post# 787815 , Reply# 38   10/7/2014 at 11:16 (3,460 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
If you mean the thermal insulation around the oven, it's fiberglass. |
Post# 846887 , Reply# 40   10/21/2015 at 06:04 (3,081 days old) by robinsondm (Upstate NY)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Hi Tom,
I finally saw this post after more than a month of not logging into the site. I also replied to your posts in my "1969" stove thread. You actually don't want the oven or Sensi-Temp knobs from my former 1966 model, as they were completely different. Fortunately, it appears -- from your later post in my "1969" thread -- that you found the correct replacements for your oven and burner knobs. Again, please see my note in that other thread. Congratulations on your find! Dean |
Post# 1168944 , Reply# 43   1/9/2023 at 18:25 (444 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
2    
It could be difficult to find information specifically for this range. What you can know is it's a 1967 model; "J487C" is all that's usually used to designate the model (the "C" indicates the year in this case). Keep your eyes out for a 'Use and Care Book' for the range; Ebay is a good place to monitor for the book.
lawrence |
Post# 1169073 , Reply# 44   1/10/2023 at 18:33 (443 days old) by mslayden (Winfield)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Lawrence, thanks so much for the info! |