FAQ About Chambers Rescue

My workshop is located in Clifton, NJ. That’s close to Newark, 12 miles outside Manhattan and conveniently located near Interstate 80, the Garden State Parkway and Routes 46, 21 & 3.

Because my time on the phone is very limited, let’s get you all the answers you need in writing first, and then we can talk through the details after setting up an appointment.

No, I work on pretty much all gas stove brands made before 1956: Magic Chef, O’Keefe and Merritt, Wedgewood, Welbilt, Caloric, Western Holly, Quality, Glenwood. Detroit Vapor, Roper, and many, many others.

You can see it all spelled out in detail on my Process & Options page.

About 40% of my clients send me their stoves and the rest buy one from me. The choice is all yours!

No, I only restore gas stoves.

Sometimes – if you’re nearby to me and you really need the help, I can come to you. But time out of the shop is precious, so I try to help you remotely first (and you’d be surprised how often the problem can be solved that way).

It depends on the stove and the scope of the restoration. Currently, a model C that is just getting The Basics has a turnaround time of 4 to 6 months, but the same stove getting a Prestige level restoration can take 3 years. You can read more about your options here. Then contact me and we can discuss when you can get your stove into your kitchen.

Yes, we can set up an appointment for you to come by. I tell everyone it’s a workshop, not a store, so if you’re up for an adventure and are prepared to be overwhelmed by unrestored stoves, we can make you an appointment to come by.

Yes, that is usually no problem. There are some stoves that are more complex than others, though.

Yes. I work with a mover I can recommend to deliver a restored stove to you anywhere in the United States. I will also work with a mover you hire if you prefer, but the mover I trust is the one who I know will get your stove to you in the same condition it left the shop.

Yes. The process is pretty straightforward. In general the series of events is restoration, crating, selecting a freight bid and then delivery.

My mover will crate the stove for travel. That cost is $1500.

I advise people to use a site like Shiply Shipa Freight, Sonix Express or DHL to solicit bids for international freight. You enter the dimensions and weight and can upload a picture of the stove you want from my site. Use the dimensions on the page of the stove you’re interested in and add 5 inches (13 cm) to the length and width and 9 inches (23 cm) to the height to get the dimensions of the crate. For a model C, use the weight as 500 lbs.

Those bids come to you and you select the one that you like best. What I particularly like about those sites is that you get places that will ship by air and sea, so you can see which one is the most cost effective for you.

Then the freight company you hired through the site picks it up and delivers it to you. The only part that I don’t know is what your customs or taxes will be, but that (like the rest of it) is just a matter of budget.

It can be done without a lot of hassle, it just takes exploring those sites I recommend and seeing if the bids that come in are prices you want to pay.

Yes. All Chambers Rescue work is covered by liability insurance.

Absolutely. I’ve worked with a number of museums and set designers to get something that looks right for where it needs to be.

I do not sell parts. There are two parts suppliers I highly recommend, though:

Steve Sansone

Grapevine Sally

Both have more parts than they could ever list online, though, so it’s worth writing them directly to ask if they have what you need.

They are located and kept up to date here: https://chambersrescue.com/terms-and-conditions/

FAQ About Vintage Stoves

If you’re buying from me, the work has been done and your stove will get everything it needs to be ready for your home.

But if you’re buying a stove online or locally, then definitely check out my “how to inspect a stove” video. It’s easy to fall in love with a vintage stove, so you need to know what to look for.

Here are a few details from it:

Check for rust. Every unrestored stove has some and, if it’s just on the surface it’s no big deal. But if the oven floor is rusted through or the metal has been weakened, you have a lot of work ahead of you.

Specifically, check the oven floor, around the oven door and below the burners. If it’s a Chambers, check around the top of the broiler box, too.

Check that it is complete. I can’t emphasize enough how difficult it can be to track down the exact knobs or burner grates a vintage stove came with. For some brands, there are plenty of parts. For others, the hunt can be long. So the more complete the stove is, the better.

Yes. Chips can be touched up or a panel can be completely reporcelained. The decision is both an aesthetic one and a matter of budget.

If a vintage stove has had a proper mechanical restoration, then yes, they are safe. If a stove has sat unused for years, though, there could be all kinds of issues – especially if it’s been sitting in a garage or a damp basement. Once a stove has been dismantled and rebuilt, it can continue to cook safely for decades to come.

As with any gas appliance, new or old, proper ventilation is important – you should either have a range hood, a window or another proper way to exhaust the stove – just like you have for your boiler, dryer or water heater.

It depends on the brand, but if you compare a Chambers, for example, to anything else, the Chambers will win the efficiency contest every time.

Chambers stoves retain heat better, use less gas and can even cook when the gas is turned off in the oven and Thermowell (or Thermodome).

Modern stoves with electric starters may seem like they use less gas over time, but they are very wasteful when it comes to actual cooking. Your vintage stove is a much more efficient choice.

They are smaller than modern stoves, but that’s because they diffuse heat more evenly than modern stoves, so they don’t have to hold your food as far away from the burner.

For example, a Chambers stove can cook a 25lb turkey or 40lbs of ribs without any problem. For bakers, you may need a smaller baking sheet, but it’s a small price to pay for better tasting cookies!

FAQ About Selling Your Vintage Stove

Sometimes. Truth be told, the number of stoves I have is overwhelming, so I have to be very choosy (and very careful) about bringing in new stoves.

But my selling advice should help you find a new home for your stove.

I have a page of up-to-date advice for selling your stove here.

I will be honest with you: most unrestored vintage stoves are difficult to sell. There are a lot of them, they’re heavy and only a few people service them. These things keep unrestored prices very low.

As a general rule of thumb, an unrestored, medium size stove can be worth up to $500.

Very large or rare and desirable stoves may be worth more, but most are worth less than $500.

Ultimately, the market value depends on many factors, including brand, model, exact condition and location.

But an unrestored stove is worth a very small fraction of the prices you see for a restored stove.