Chambers stove: Difference between revisions
Restored Mr. Schimmel's excellent citation verifying the date of the sale of the Chambers Corporation to the KitchenAid Division of Hobart in 1983. |
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Sold by the tens of thousands{{Fact|date=March 2007}}, thousands are still in use today{{Unverifiable}}, mostly due to their extremely rugged and high-quality of manufacture, along with their superior performance over modern stoves{{Lopsided}}. A recent uptick in popularity of the Chambers stoves is due in large part to the exposure of the stove in the popular media, most notably on the televised cooking show of [[Rachael Ray]]. |
Sold by the tens of thousands{{Fact|date=March 2007}}, thousands are still in use today{{Unverifiable}}, mostly due to their extremely rugged and high-quality of manufacture, along with their superior performance over modern stoves{{Lopsided}}. A recent uptick in popularity of the Chambers stoves is due in large part to the exposure of the stove in the popular media, most notably on the televised cooking show of [[Rachael Ray]]. |
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Websites for fans of vintage Chambers products have been developed in order to provide general information about them to those on the internet. Links to service and operational literature may also be found there. Also helpful are the pictorial documentaries on the restoration of Chambers ranges by their owners. In addition to websites such as these, at least two [[Internet Forums]] exist for those interested in older Chambers products. There, people can find recipes, repair tips, cooking techniques, and restoration advice |
Websites for fans of vintage Chambers products have been developed in order to provide general information about them to those on the internet. Links to service and operational literature may also be found there. Also helpful are the pictorial documentaries on the restoration of Chambers ranges by their owners. In addition to websites such as these, at least two [[Internet Forums]] exist for those interested in older Chambers products. There, people can find recipes, repair tips, cooking techniques, and restoration advice. |
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==Notes and references== |
==Notes and references== |
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Revision as of 16:27, 25 April 2007
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History
The Chambers Fireless Gas Range was a gas cook stove created by John E. Chambers in 1910,[1] Two years after inventing the fireless cooker, John Chambers organized the Chambers Company in 1912.[2] His patented method of manufacture used thick rock wool insulation to insulate the oven on all sides. This made it possible for the heat inside the oven to build up over a short period of time. The gas was turned off, and a series of dampers closed, isolating the oven compartment from the outside air. The food would continue to cook on retained heat, conserving fuel and reducing food shrinkage. This method of cooking also increased the food value of the cooked items[citation needed].
The Chambers Corporation manufactured successive versions of this design in Shelbyville, Indiana from 1912 through January, 1955. [3] In 1950, the company was sold to the Flato Brothers of Houston, Texas, who operated a large appliance business there, and were Chambers dealers at the time. [4]
 | This article possibly contains original research. |
Corporate offices for the Chambers Corporation were moved to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1952, then to Chicago, Illinois in 1957. The Chambers family continued to be involved in the promotion of the Chambers products during these years. [5]
Due to the increased demand for built-in cooking appliances, sales of free-standing ranges began to drop in the middle-1950's. Chambers met the problem head-on with a new series of built-in ovens and cooktops, which gained wide popularity. By 1962, it became obvious to the Flato's that a new location, where the corporate headquarters and manufacturing of all the different products Chambers was building, was needed. At the same time, the State of Mississippi was promoting itself as a good place for companies to locate to, and Chambers was moved to Oxford, Mississippi. They began manufacturing there in the early summer of 1963, finally able to build everything in-house. During this time the famous C-series of free-standing ranges were cosmetically revised to become the D-series (which didn't sell too well), and several additions to the built-in line were added. The Flato brothers sold Chambers to the Rangaire Corporation a year later. [6]
Rangaire owned and operated Chambers until 1983 when they sold it to the KitchenAid Division of the Hobart Corporation.[7] During their ownership, manufacture of the famous insulated range continued into the 1970's. KitchenAid was sold to Whirlpool in 1985. By the early 1990's, Chambers-branded appliances were no longer in manufacture.
In 2007, the Thor Corporation of Los Angeles resurrected the Chambers brand name.
The earliest Chambers ranges were small, but all were sturdily built and well insulated, and all were designed to cook on retained heat. To assist their owners in learning how to use this unique feature, Chambers had a large "Home Economics Department" in their Shelbyville, Indiana factory, where recipes and cooking times were carefully tested and perfected. These tests resulted in charts which indicated the amount of time - and at what temperature - the gas was to be burned in the oven (and later the Thermodome, which was succeeded by the Thermowell) before it was to be turned off completely while the food continued to cook on retained heat. By 1927, Chambers published a Cookbook for the homemaker to not only learn how to care for and operate her appliance, but also to assist her in menu planning, proper table setting, etc. This publication later became known as The "Idle Hour" Cookbook, and went through several revisions until it was replaced in the late 1960's by Rangaire with an actual Operation Manual.
Improvements over the original design were continuously developed over the years, but all built on the foundation of a super-insulated oven originally designed by John Chambers. The most refined version of these was the C-series, which was produced from 1949-1963, followed closely by the B-series (1939-1949). Chambers also built large, industrial-sized units, called the Imperial line, for use in hotels, restaurants, dormitory kitchens, tea rooms, road houses, etc.
All Chambers ranges beginning with the "A" (circa 1934) series had a top-mounted griddle/broiler, along with a recessed ThermoWell (descendant of the earlier ThermoDome) for cooking soups, stews, etc., using special aluminum kettles designed and built for Chambers by the Wearever Corporation.
Features
Notable features of the Chambers Range include:
- Child-protective locking thumb-latches on all gas valves.
- Full porcelain finishes - guaranteed by the factory for 25 years.
- Chrome cooktops.
- Patented "daisy" burners - efficient and uniform in their distribution of heat.
- Traveling "Cooking Shows" - which pre-dated even television - were big hits. John Chambers' daughter Alma Chambers, traveled coast-to-coast for over 20 years conducting large cooking shows to promote the Chambers Range[citation needed].
- The use of "ThermalEye" (1950's) - developed by Robertshaw and marketed by Chambers as "The Burner With A Brain", this device made it possible to set the desired cooking temperature of a pot that had been placed on the special burner on the top of the range, and the heat would be regulated automatically[citation needed].
- Some of the first built-in ovens and cooktops (early 1950s) made in America.
- Automatic Oven Safety Systems - to shut off the oven gas should the pilot light go out.
Popularity
Famous owners of Chambers ranges included Lee DeForest and Mrs. Harvey W. Wiley, well-known American housewife in the 1920s.[citation needed]
The Chambers Range was awarded the Good Housekeeping Institute's Seal of Approval in 1925, and was featured at the World's Fair Exposition of 1939 in New York City.
Sold by the tens of thousands[citation needed], thousands are still in use today[not specific enough to verify], mostly due to their extremely rugged and high-quality of manufacture, along with their superior performance over modern stoves[unbalanced opinion?]. A recent uptick in popularity of the Chambers stoves is due in large part to the exposure of the stove in the popular media, most notably on the televised cooking show of Rachael Ray.
Websites for fans of vintage Chambers products have been developed in order to provide general information about them to those on the internet. Links to service and operational literature may also be found there. Also helpful are the pictorial documentaries on the restoration of Chambers ranges by their owners. In addition to websites such as these, at least two Internet Forums exist for those interested in older Chambers products. There, people can find recipes, repair tips, cooking techniques, and restoration advice.
Notes and references
- ^ Oliver, Beverly (1996). Shelbyville, A Pictoral History. p. 98.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help),McFadden, Marian (1968). Biography of a Town Shelbyville, IN. Shelbyville, Indiana: TIPPECANOE PRESS INC. p. 257.{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Oliver, Beverly (1996). Shelbyville, A Pictoral History. p. 98.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Oliver, Beverly (1996). Shelbyville, A Pictoral History. p. 98.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help),McFadden, Marian (1968). Biography of a Town Shelbyville, IN. Shelbyville, Indiana: TIPPECANOE PRESS INC. p. 257.{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Personal letter from Mr. Paul Parson, son of Kit Parson, Chambers Advertising Manager, 1950-1964, to Todd W. White, 10/24/2005.
- ^ ibid
- ^ ibid
- ^ LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY
Energy & Environment Division
Technology and Market Assessment Group
Berkeley, CA 94720 (SEPTEMBER 1997). "TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENT FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION STANDARDS FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONERS" (PDF). LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help); line feed character in|author=at position 38 (help); line feed character in|title=at position 61 (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Pp. 56.