Well, you're about 30 days or so late.

To find a vendor you'll probably need to post in the appliance forum and/or contact a historical society for references.

Because of environmental pressure, most municipalities will require that they will no longer be provided with standing pilots.

But then, it's the aesthetics, right.

I'm not sure what snoonyb means by being too late and checking with historical societies, but they're readily available on ebay, craigslist, and a good number of restoration places, primarily in California. I've linked to a partial list. We were all set to bite the bullet and buy one from a California shop and pay for shipping when I found one on Craigslist a couple of miles from us.

We talked with another restorer in California who assured us that most of the work was easy and she'd happily help via phone, and we could have the top rechromed at an autobody place, etc. but ultimately we decided to ship it down to her for a full restoration. Even with the shipping in both directions, the final cost was lots less than we'd been ready to pay for the fully restored one. It has safety valves to shut off the gas if there's a problem and even if a burner takes a couple of seconds to light (one of them is a bit balky) you can clearly smell the gas so I'm not too concerned about a surprise leak.

We've since had a gas shut-off installed under the top (don't want to have to mess with pulling it away from the wall if we need work done once it's wedged into cabinets) and an oven thermostat replaced, as the restorer must have checked that the oven burners were working, etc., without doing a full temperature calibration. I was able to adjust one of the ovens, but the other was hopeless so we got a rebuilt thermostat. The adjustment is easy, as is adjusting the pilot lights, and there are lots of online resources for parts and advice--some of which I'd link if I knew how to put more than one link in a reply.

As for oven size and burner BTUs, I figured that people have been baking big things and getting food hot all along, so these vintage ranges would probably be just fine for our lifestyle. While it's a matter of personal taste, I think these stoves have wonderful character and add a great note of warmth and history to a kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vintage Stove List

Yes, prices on craigslist will usually be a lot less than on ebay, at least for most areas of the country. The safety adaptation needed to make the old ranges fit with current code is not a big deal, just a part you must install.

There are several people here who have done their own restoration work; there are plenty of threads about if you search around.

Well, if you've got the cash, I think these kinda look old fashioned...and cook like a dream! They come in a lot of different widths and configurations.

" AvatarWalt
I'm not sure what snoonyb means by being too late and checking with historical societies, but they're readily available on ebay, craigslist, and a good number of restoration places, primarily in California."

And, how long did your process take?

The point is that not all pertinent regulations are universal and I am on the truly left coast and used to restore these "old faithful" appliances.

The valve you installed, "as a convenience" requires you to reach thru a flame to shut off the gas.

It's the reason that code requires the gas valve to be disassociated sufficiently from the appliance.

Most of my kitchen remodels are completed in 5 to 6 weeks, start to finish. Thats demo, plumbing, elec., wall removal, patching, custom cab., stained and finished, counters, flooring, appliance set and painting.

Waiting for an appliance to be "correctly" refurbished, when it should have been taken care of prior too is just plain inconsiderate and a waste of time.

snoonyb--Now I see what you mean: OP already has her remodel underway so finding a stove and getting it ready may well throw a wrench into the kitchen renovation schedule. Hypothetically speaking, couldn't she pick a stove, have the code-required elements built into the kitchen, and then install the stove whenever it became available?

We haven't started on our kitchen remodel yet, but the architect knows of our stove so I presume that he'll design to the code requirements. Do all kitchens with gas stoves require a "disassociated sufficiently from the appliance" gas valve? Would that be in the back of a neighboring cabinet, or in another room? Curious as to what that means.

Sorry, snoonyb, I am not quite following you. Are you saying I am inconsiderate for thinking about this now? I'm just trying to figure out if an antique stove would even be feasible for me. That's why I am asking about it.

We currently have a gas stove, are you saying that the antique stoves require something different than our current set-up? Sorry if my questions seem ignorant, I am really just trying to understand.

OOTM-mom, that is a really great stove! Who makes it? If it is new, and looks like that, I am thinking it is out of our price range.

AvatarWalt, your red stove is GORGEOUS! Thank you for the link also :)

Lacanche, yes you can buy them new, and they also come up on craigslist occaisionally.
Frenchranges.com

I agree with OOTM_Mom, you can find a nice vintage looking range which will be all modernized and have the new safety features that your husband will appreciate. IMO 30 year old range isn't quite "vintage" yet. I replaced my old roughly 30 year old Jenn-Air rangetop and haven't been happier.

LaCanache makes a beautiful range for sure. I think you would drop 8,000? on a new one though. They aren't cheap but they sure are gorgeous and have that true vintage look. Not sure if AGA still makes new ranges, but I've seen them in kitchens and they are also vintage looking.

Good luck with everything!

Already ordered the cabinets is way too late to be considering this now. 30'' or 36'' are unusual sizes for older ranges. 40'' to 62'' is more ''usual'', although you can't predict that either, because there weren't standardized sized developed at that time. With the design completed, youv'e already locked yourself out of using vintage. And in many ways, that's a good thing. Not just because of mldern safety features and non asbestos insulation used in modern ranges. Yes the oldies are tanks, but tanks with low BTU's and small ovens. They were suited to the life of a 40's housewife who stayed home and cooked all day. They are less suited to modern cooking styles like stir fry and baking 3 casserole dishes at once.

This is on sale now on my local craigslist. Look locally for vintage stoves and you may very well find one that has been completely refurbished. I wouldn't concern myself too much about being late; find what you want and you can make it work. I have an old O'K&M and I absolutely loved it. I put it in storage in favor of a new 30" that couldn't hold a candle to it. They're terrific stoves.

Here is a link that might be useful: vintage O'Keefe & Merritt

Thanks for all the help!

As I said, I have some wiggle room, so the size isn't so much a concern.

I was looking at older stoves because I think all the new ones are going to be out of our price range, unfortunately.

I did find this GE model, and it's only $600 but I am not feeling the love. It doesn't look that different from the one I already have.

Here is a link that might be useful: GE Artistry Range

I'm a former antique gas stove owner. We inherited a 1930s Magic Chef when we bought our house in 2007. When we started our current kitchen renovation in December 2013, I sold it to a very grateful old-stove enthusiast from Michigan who drove down in ONE DAY from the Upper Peninsula to NYC.

My experience: the prior owners of our house, the purchasers of the stove, bought a fixer-upper stove. They corresponded with one of the old stove places online and did some rudimentary repairs themselves, but there were things that needed a real restorer: the insulation at the back was nonexistent and the temperature regulators for both ovens were broken. I tried the restoration places, and the two that seemed capable of handling the work were on opposite coasts, California and Maine. We got tentative quotes of $5-6K for restoration, PLUS the cost of shipping a 600-pound stove...it was going to be prohibitive, and pretty much the cost of a fancy new range.

Cooking on the old gal: mixed bag. Fine for heating soup, boiling pasta or doing a frozen pizza, but the flame on the burners could not be adjusted as finely as those on a modern range. It was more like having a choice of low, medium or kind of high. High-temperature cooking, like wok or searing, was not an option. My baking experience was warped by the fact that the temperature gauges were broken on my ovens. One held at about 450, whatever the setting was; the other was more consistent but became unusable when there was a crack in the gas line feeding it. On thing that really annoyed me about the range was the burner setup. I had six burners but they were in a 30" space, so big pots and pans didn't work, and it was a constant geometry game to get the pan handles where they weren't interfering with each other. I had a bank of stoves on the right which limited the size of pans that could be used on the rightmost burners.

Cleaning: the burners had more exposed cast-iron than most, so spillovers were messy. But it wasn't much more of a problem to clean than any range.

Overall, it was a beautiful piece but not so good to cook on. I'm a cook and needed more burner space, burner power and more reliable oven temps than that range could provide. I was happy to sell it to someone who was going to appreciate it and whose style of cooking was better suited.

I linked a pic of the model I owned.

Here is a link that might be useful:

" AvatarWalt
couldn't she pick a stove, have the code-required elements built into the kitchen, and then install the stove whenever it became available?"

Absolutely, as long as the variables of that decision are understood.

There are folks who will sell you your own apron back to you, and claim you are mistaken.

Nothing beats knowledge of what you are seeing, and purchasing some "photo-edited" product is at best a crap-shoot.

"We haven't started on our kitchen remodel yet,"

The key to a timely completion is "prior proper planning."

"but the architect knows of our stove so I presume that he'll design to the code requirements."

While architects are "generally" cognizant of structural compliance, few are fully aware of specific trade codes which do not affect the structure, especially residential.

"Do all kitchens with gas stoves require a "disassociated sufficiently from the appliance" gas valve?"

That depends upon the area of the country you live in. You will see posts on these forums where there are no/limited active codes or compliance.

"Would that be in the back of a neighboring cabinet"

Yes, I place them just below the drawer and above the top shelf support drilling.
Since the building codes were established to protect you, from you (and yes it's an intrusion, delay and revenue source, (did I cover it all). It was in response to grease fires and incorrect maintenance, where, by the time you found a wrench and made your way to the gas shut-off, your dwelling could be substantially involved.

" lydiasmomma"

"Are you saying I am inconsiderate for thinking about this now?"

Absolutely not.

My point is make up you mind, have all your planning and decisions affecting major space takers made before you start.

I mean week 24 and your kitchen remodel is still going on.

In my practice, you don't need to empty a cabinet and I don't lift a hammer, until you have been apprised of all the alternatives and have completely thought this through.

Zeebee, that was super helpful, thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.

Snoonyb, I thought I had completely thought things through ;) All along I had planned on keeping my current stove. It's only in the past week that I got this bee in my bonnet.

I think, however, that I may try to make some alterations to my current appliances to make them look a bit more vintage and unique, and then maybe someday when my current stove croaks we'd be in a better position to purchase one of the new vintage-look ranges. I am throwing around the idea of using chrome spray paint on the handles of the oven and fridge, and trying to source some vintage looking knobs for the stove, or even painting them as well. My other idea was finding chrome towel bars to use as handles. Don't know how feasible that is yet.

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed your thoughts, it's much appreciated!

Renee

'' Don't know how feasible that is yet.''

It's less than feasable without some budget and resources in the grungier side of town. Paint isn't going to adhere well to often used surfaces without some serious etching, priming, and better quality paint than out of a can. A local powder coating shop could do it, but not cheaply. Creating custom handles for appliances that use the same attachment method and sizing can be done by a local machine shop, but won't be cheap either.

hollysprings, asbestos is still used for oven insulation. It is also in oven gloves. Legal, and effective. Crumbly plastered asbestos on pipes is what you need to worry about.