Found this article in the Tuesday Oregonian:
“A Burning Passion for Vintage Stoves”
It focuses a lot on the stoves from the 40s and 50s, but the vintage 60s stoves are my passion! We have acquired a vintage Jenn Air stove (with aluminum cover and built in fan and cook light!) and matching oven. It’s been sitting in our garage for months awaiting the new “vintage” kitchen we have planned.
We’ll post more details on the stove when we start the kitchen project… but here’s a peek at some of the original literature that came with our stove:
I am new to blogging–never done this before–I have a JennAir downdraft cook top exactly like yours. Looking for replacement knobs. I squired degreaser on them and have ruined them. Can't figure out where my exhaust is going–house is on a slab and blower motor is under cabinet, connects to a round exhaust pipe. Could this be transitioning to a rectangular duct in the stud space and going thru the roof? No evidence of an in slab duct and outlet anywhere. I also messed up the finish on the ribbed aluminum interior by trying to clean with steel wool. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
John Lavender
Clarksdale, Mississppi
Hey John!
Welcome and thanks for your comment. The JennAir in this post is sitting in our garage waiting for a friend to stop by with a truck and a check. We wound up finding a mint condition Thermadore cooktop and two matching built-in ovens on Craigslist. They have been installed and look/perform great!
A few pics after installation:
http://greshamrummerfun.blogspot.com/2010/01/let-there-be-light.html
As for finding replacement knobs, I would suggest checking in with our pal Pam over at retrorenovation. I searched real quickly and found this link you might be interested in.
http://retrorenovation.com/2010/01/02/where-to-turn-to-get-your-vintage-appliances-fixed/
I haven't seen them, but you might be able to re-paint the numbers on the knobs with some thinned down enamel paint (Just get the paint down in the recessed areas, then wipe off the excess with a Q-tip dipped in a little thinner or mineral spirits. Give it a try!)
Your exhaust situation is a little trickier. If you have an attic– check there. I bet it goes up in between the studs and ends up there, or maybe has been covered with insulation or during a previous roofing repair. You could just light a smoke bomb, toss it in there and use a fan to push the air through. I bet you would find out real quick if there's an exit!
BUT it's possible that a previous owner decided that it would be just fine to have the pipe stop under the cabinet and be done with it. You find some pretty weird illogical stuff in these old houses!
For the steel wool scarred aluminum, go to an auto parts store and get some aluminum wheel polish. Remember aluminum is soft (as you proved by using steel wool) but it's possible to work out the scratches with some determined rubbing. It will turn black and you'll think you're just messing it up more, but I bet it will buff out nicely (try a small area first… just in case!)
Send me a pic or two! I'm more than happy to help if I can!
GOOD LUCK!
Very Cool! I just picked up this same cooktop today at a local 'Habitat for Humanity' second hand store. I too am looking at remodeling our existing kitchen or building it into our next new house. But when I saw this cooktop I just had to have it!…even without a place to put it for now. When I showed the pictures of it to my local appliance repair guy, his eyes just about popped out of his head. he said he's heard of these cooktops, but has never seen one.
One question. what year(s) were these produced?
Thanks,
Jim
Does anyone know of anyone interested in in the stove that looks just like the one in this picture that still works? Might be purchasing a house that still has one in it. Looking to update when I purchase the house.
Does anyone know anyone interested in this exact same stove that is in this blogger's photos? I am interested in purchasing a house with one of these in it. It is a Jenn Air, but I would like to update the kitchen to something newer.
Thanks
I just came across this blog because I have this same cooktop and we are now trying to get it fixed. Does anyone know the model number? I'm searching for parts so if someone has a working stove I would consider a purchase. Thanks.