[Retro Tech] 1952 Chambers 90C Gas Range

This is the second 'artifact' post I've written, the first of which was the Doomsday Shitter -- a civil defense relic from the University of Maine. The old/neat things that one can find here are not limited to concrete and wooden corpses of what used to be; something doesn't need to have held nuclear capsules to be interesting, sometimes pots and pans will suffice.

I got the ingredients, for your experience

Wintertime in Maine is one long gray rainy day. I've been trying to 'save' content for it all summer, but it's wearing as thin as my tolerance for snow. I was house sitting over the weekend bemoaning the dearth of things to check out this time of year when I realized I had a bit of a window into a different era just a couple of rooms away. Now, wintertime in Maine is a wonderful time to have access to a gas stove. Not only does it not require electricity to function, but it also provides you with a handy one way ticket to somewhere else. As a fan of all things retro I was thrilled to have the opportunity to house-sit for a friend who had an original Chambers model 90-C Gas range from 1952 in good condition.

After using it to (perhaps drunkenly) cook a meal or two, I realized what I'd been missing by using electric ranges all of my life. Having grown up in a trailer the late 1980s/early 1990s, suffice it to say that this device appeared near completely alien to me. No dials, no digital readouts, no holodeck inspired parallel lines that do nothing but scream "THE BEST 1993 HAS TO OFFER" No plastic, no numbers and no electricity. No safeties, no timers and no fucking around. Everything about this device is evocative of riding around in a car of the era, complete with the sense that if something goes wrong you can really hurt yourself.  Oh, and fire, did I mention all the fire?

Chambers with griddle up and broiler open.

Intimidating? Definitely.

Worth it? Absolutely.

First -- it's apparently impossible to heat a pan unevenly if you're using fire. Second, This device has features that I've never seen in an appliance before: the broiler/griddle combo with an adjustable bottom rack, and the heated (stock) pot well that takes the place of a fourth burner. The dimensions of the pot well are pretty narrow -- either stock pots were thinner back then (like Americans) or Chambers sold this unit with a 'built in' stock pot. Either way nothing fits, so it effectively adds one pound to the (proverbial) list of things that I won't do...

As I got over my inborn fear of losing my eyebrows or gassing myself to death, I had begun to realize the plastic trimmed, glass faced digital lies I'd bought my whole life. I found a handful of ways in which this half century old relic is indeed better than the black glass topped Ikea inspired, soulless hunks of steel and glass that you can buy at a department store. Plus, how could you not love these controls?

Here are the reasons why the Chambers 90C is awesome:

• You can hide in it in the event of a nuclear attack because it's heavier than Kelly Clarkson on a cheap swing set.
• You have a built in griddle and broiler in the exact same mechanism. And best of all, that mechanism is mechanical -- very mechanical. You get a nice satisfying "clunk" whenever you use it. It reminds me of the gearbox of a Mini Cooper S. 
• The knobs have crimped foil inlays. This (above) is how you do bling tastefully. 
• In stead of a fourth burner, you get a sort of little heated cylindrical cubbie in which you can place a stock pot. I'm going to guess this is because the crock pot wouldn't gain popularity until the 1970s. 
• Having one in your home would be like living at Nicky's.  
• The broiler has a depth adjustment, apparently. I didn't try it out because the handle for the adjustment felt pretty fixed in place, and I try not to break things that use gas and fire to function. 
• The oven part is pretty small, but the gas/flame shuts off when it's preheated. Once its heated, you stop using gas. This feature is pretty Priusey because it's green but makes you think that your machine is broken. 
• There's a huge online community for people who have/appreciate these appliances. More fan sites than you could shake a stick at provided you've got the diet and exercise regimen of a drag queen (adderall, lettuce, rinse, repeat.) But no joke -- even though there are only a handful of sites dedicated to these machines, there's some seriously useful information floating around out there.
• There is ample storage for things in a hole that might also be an oven. It's an oven with a cupboard in it.

 Here are some reasons why you might not want to own a Chambers:

• Rachael Ray has one. Not a 90C, but still a Chambers. Close enough. 

Just in case you wanted content that doesn't require you to read through the pithy ramblings of someone who can't even make a room full of stoned drunkards laugh, here's a photo of the whole unit...If I had one of these in any of my previous apartments perhaps I'd not be such a shitty cook.

The whole unit.