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You know what really grinds my gears? (Cheap Maytag Oven!)

squerly

Supported Ben Carson
GOLD Site Supporter
I’m building a new house but in the meantime I’m living in a 40 year old cabin built by my predecessor. There was an old oven here (called a Waste King) when I moved in and although it’s a million years old it has operated well. It had a few quirks but I got used to them. The temp dial wiggled anywhere between 25 degrees one way or the other of the chosen temp, it smelled funny sometimes and the timer had a sense of humor. But given the age of the unit I wasn’t going to be critical.

But all things die and Mr. Waste King is no exception. Actually, had the unit not been so old the fix would have been simple as it was only an element that failed. But back in Waste King’s heyday elements were hard wired into the oven, and replacing this one was no easy chore. I tried to fix him but the bolts holding the element in were rusted and decayed to such a degree that it wasn’t possible.

The search for a new oven wasn’t as easy as one would think as the replacement had to fit in a 25”X28” space. We found one but the price was outrageous. You see, when a manufacture learns there are limited options, the price is increased in direct proportion to the limitations you face. In this case, the unit was just south of $800.00! And for what? This unit has a total of 2 knobs, a light switch and a cheap digital clock. A total of about $6.00 worth of parts. WTF?

The lack of quality is underscored with sharp edges everywhere. I was contemplating holding off on the install until tomorrow as the roads are closed and a fellow could bleed out in the time it took to get to the hospital. But I had promised to watch the miracle of Kirk’s magical coconut pie crust so I forged forward and completed the install.

So here it is folks, a cheap Chinese box that I’m sure has the MayTag man turning in his grave.
 

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muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
That is what happens when you move the oven off the floor.:hammer: They were put on the floor so you can watch HER ass to see if she is eating too much of the cooking.:whistling: When they are on the wall it will get bigger without you noticing.:brows:
 
At least you found one that fit. I'm converting from electric to LPG, and the "drop in" stove is 27" wide. (It's not a slide in, and definitely not free standing - there's a built in drawer under the oven.) If I don't find one that fits, then I'll be hacking apart a bunch of custom built cabinetry. 27 inch, drop in, gas. Not General Electric - I hate GE. I went to Bizrate, simple. When I select "gas" and "drop in" I get my choice of 2 GE backsplash kits. I think I'm screwered. Figuring I can hack out the the underdrawer, I look for gas slide in. Nothing under 30". Seriously? I'm getting tempted to go find a donor gas stove of any size and pull pieces out of it for transplantation purposes. I'll convert the electric to gas the hard way before I'm gonna go hacking apart a bunch of really nice (IMHO) wood. Oh, I'm sure somebody somewhere makes what I need/want, and I'm equally sure that with enough time and brown liquor I'll find it for 3X what it's worth (which will be 2X what I'll be willing to pay at that point), just like yours.

But glad you found something that fits and works, squerly. Count yer blessings that something you needed actually existed.

DiNCA
 

JEV

Mr. Congeniality
GOLD Site Supporter
DW wanted a double oven in the wall when we built this house 21 years ago. I said I would not have a baby oven (much less two of them) in my kitchen, so we have a 30" GE free standing gas stove/oven combo that you can easily slide out to clean under & around, not to mention to be able to put a 16"x22" sheet pan on the rack to bake four loaves of bread at one time. I also have another one in the basement that is the same size but made by Whirlpool. Cooking is too important to have undersized or poorly built equipment. JMHO
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
GOLD Site Supporter
We seem to be running in paralell Squerly. Our Jenn Aire, which my wife and son bought 15 years ago died Tuesday nite. That goodness. It ws a piece of crap from the day they bought it.

I have twice replaced the control panel and the LED screen never works for more than 6 monthsafter install. It has drop in surfaceunits that fortunately are easy to replace. Several of those have failed over the years. I have always hated the thing because they paid like $2,000 for this state of the art Island stove. (we do not have an island in the kitchen). It came with all kinds of fancy crap that doesn't work and in the end,,,,,,,I am the one who cooks.

So when it died I thanked the good Lord and we went to Lowes. I got the stove I wanted, simple and reasonbly priced with knobs instead of keypad controls, a large oven and I do not have to add a special blower to get convection. Just enough stainless/black to match our 1977 Montgomery Wards Microwave.

It's a Frigidare, not a high end machine. But,they are all made in China, in the same town, in the same MFG plants.

Not exactly what the wife wanted but 1/2 the price of what she pciked out,,,,, and as I said,,,,I am the one who does the cooking.
To your point, despite a wide range of prices on the show room floor, everything looked cheap.

Bought it last nite, it comes Thursday afternoon and hopefully, we will still be married. If so, I'll cook her a nice dinner on it.
 

Danang Sailor

nullius in verba
GOLD Site Supporter
The person that does most of the cooking is the one who should decide what goes in the kitchen. Dragonfly Lady used to be
that person but for the last year or so I have taken over. Strangely, we seem to have more cast iron stuff than we used to! :whistling: :yum::yum:
 

JEV

Mr. Congeniality
GOLD Site Supporter
The person that does most of the cooking is the one who should decide what goes in the kitchen. Dragonfly Lady used to be
that person but for the last year or so I have taken over. Strangely, we seem to have more cast iron stuff than we used to! :whistling: :yum::yum:
I absolutely LOVE my cast iron...dutch oven, four sizes of skillets, raise ribbed grill pan, aebelskiver pan and even a bread pan. Saute on the stove top then right into the oven to finish. Never need to scape or scrub either, cuz I wash them with hot water and a brush as soon as the content is plated. Did I say I LOVE my cast iron??:clap:
 

Leni

Active member
I love mine also. I've never counted but I've got at least 8 or 9 skillets including a grill skillet, two dutch ovens, and a griddle.
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
Dan, you should be able to find an apartment size stove to fit that opening. They have a ton of them in the big cities.
 
I know, you'd think so, eh? I guess though that the 27" electric was a special deal made by GE in the 60s and 70s, and they keep making them today as replacements, but for gas it's either 24" or 30". I could live with a slide-in and take out the under-drawer, but those are 30" units.

And I guess if I had to, I'd start chopping up the cabinets and counter top to fit a 30" in there, since the 27" is small at times. It's just that the wood is all real, actual wood, and the counter is hand fitted 4x4 squares in checkerboard, with the same treatment for the back splash. I can make the cabinets smaller, cut down the doors, rebuild drawers, more projects, right. I'm lazy, but quasi-competent with wood. It's just going to take time, that's all. I'ze always looking for a favorable time/effort/money solution. What's the contractor's triangle? Cheap/Fast/Good - you get to pick two and it won't be the third.

DiNCA
 

300 H and H

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I know, you'd think so, eh? I guess though that the 27" electric was a special deal made by GE in the 60s and 70s, and they keep making them today as replacements, but for gas it's either 24" or 30". I could live with a slide-in and take out the under-drawer, but those are 30" units.

And I guess if I had to, I'd start chopping up the cabinets and counter top to fit a 30" in there, since the 27" is small at times. It's just that the wood is all real, actual wood, and the counter is hand fitted 4x4 squares in checkerboard, with the same treatment for the back splash. I can make the cabinets smaller, cut down the doors, rebuild drawers, more projects, right. I'm lazy, but quasi-competent with wood. It's just going to take time, that's all. I'ze always looking for a favorable time/effort/money solution. What's the contractor's triangle? Cheap/Fast/Good - you get to pick two and it won't be the third.

DiNCA

SO you don't want to cut the wood. Is there any chance you can trim the sides of the stove top to fit? Metal can be cut if you have some tools, and would be considered here if it is possible.The edge that is trimmed could maybe be concealed with a wood trim piece? I suppose the warranty would be cancelled if you did....But hey if you can make it fit...

Regards, Kirk
 
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