Chambers stove

Chambers Corporation
Type	Defunct
Founded	1912
Headquarters	Shelbyville, Indiana, United States
Industry	Appliances
Products	gas ranges, electric ranges, built-in gas cooktops and ovens, built-in electric cooktops and ovens, vent hoods, dishwashers

The Chambers stove is a generic name for several different kitchen cooking appliances sold under the Chambers brand name from 1912 to approximately 1988. They were known for their patented insulation methods, which enabled them to cook on retained heat with the fuel turned off.

History

The Chambers Fireless Gas Range was a gas cook stove created by John E. Chambers in 1910,^[1][2] Two years after inventing his fireless cooker, John Chambers organized the Chambers Company in 1912.^[1] Chambers' patented method of manufacture^[3] 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, thus conserving fuel and reducing food shrinkage. This method of cooking also increased the food value of the cooked items^{[citation needed]}.

Chambers Fireless Model

The Chambers Corporation manufactured successive versions of this design in Shelbyville, Indiana from 1912 through January, 1955.^[1][2]

The company was sold by the Chambers family in 1950 to the Flato brothers, who were the Chambers distributors in Houston, Texas. Rangaire purchased Chambers in 1964, and operated it out of the Oxford, Mississippi plant built by the Flato brother in 1963 until 1983, when they sold it to the KitchenAid Division of the Hobart Corporation.^[4] During their ownership, manufacture of the famous insulated range continued into the 1970s. KitchenAid was sold to Whirlpool in 1986.^[5] By the early 1990's, Chambers-branded appliances were no longer in manufacture.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, the Thor Corporation of Los Angeles resurrected the Chambers brand name.^[6]

The earliest Chambers ranges were small, but all were constructed of heavy gauge steel and porcelain enamel. All models had thickly insulated ovens, designed to cook on retained heat. To assist their owners in learning how to use this feature, Chambers had a large Home Economics Department in their Shelbyville, Indiana factory, where recipes and cooking times using the insulated properties of their products 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 the Thermodome^[7] (which was succeeded by the Thermowell), before it was to be turned off completely while the food continued to cook on retained heat^{[citation needed]}. 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. The Idle Hour Cookbook was revised until it was replaced in the late 1960's by Rangaire with an actual Operation Manual^{[citation needed]}. Chambers promoted the ranges using traveling cooking shows which pre-dated television. John Chambers' daughter Alma Chambers, traveled coast-to-coast for over twenty years conducting large cooking shows to promote the Chambers Range^{[citation needed]}.

Improvements over the original design were continuously developed over the years, but all were constructed around the concept of a heavily insulated oven, as originally designed by John Chambers^{[citation needed]}. The most refined^{[opinion needs balancing]} version of these was the C-series ^{[8] [9] [10]}, which was produced from 1949-1963^{[citation needed]}, followed closely by the B-series (1939-1949)^{[citation needed]}. Chambers also built large, industrial-sized units, called the Imperial line, for use in hotels, restaurants, dormitory kitchens, tea rooms, road houses, large homes, etc^{[citation needed]}.

All residential Chambers ranges beginning with what is now referred to as the A-series (circa 1934) had a top-mounted griddle/broiler^[11]. Some models came 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

While not all models had all the following features, most of the more commonly sold Chambers ranges included:

• Chrome-Plated cooktop, which Chambers called "Duracrome".
• Child-protective locking thumb-latches on all gas valves.^[12]
• Full porcelain finishes - guaranteed by the factory for 25 years.
• Patented "daisy" burners - efficient and uniform in their distribution of heat.^[13]
• 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.
• Heat from Range vented out through the backsplash, enabling it to be set flush to the wall.
• Basket-style oven racks.
• Built-in Lamps.
• Top Burner Pilot - could be used as a warming burner.
• Wide grates designed to accommodate any size cooking utensil.
• Mechanical Timer, which Chambers called a "Minute Minder".
• Utility (Service) Cabinet - designed for access to the inner mechanisms and gas pipes of the range, and for storage of pots, pans, and Thermowell kettles. Misunderstood by some to be a warming oven.
• Teardrop design gas handles.
• Multi-fuel design - able to operate on natural gas, propane, butane.
• Thermobaker insert for the Thermowell - enabled baking of small items in the Thermowell.

Popularity

Famous owners of Chambers ranges included Lee DeForest^[14] and Mrs. Harvey W. Wiley,^[15] well-known American housewife in the 1920s. A Chambers oven can also be found in the home of the late Sam Rayburn^{[citation needed]}.

The Chambers Range was awarded the Good Housekeeping Institute's Seal of Approval in 1925,^[16] and was featured at the World's Fair Exposition of 1939 in New York City.^{[citation needed]}

Demand for refurbished Chambers stoves remains high - some of the Imperial models have been restored and sold for prices up to US$17,000,^[17] though selling prices of unrestored residential models is far less. Increased interest in the Chambers Range may be due to its exposure on the televised cooking show of Rachael Ray.^[18][19]

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 technicians and sources for repair 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 active 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

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