Vintage Stoves
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
| Questions | Related Pages |
Selling a Wedgewood Stove
April 2012Curious about experiences selling a working Wedgewood Stove. While it's been good to us, we're exploring getting something smaller. Wonder whether it's better to keep (because things were built much better back in the day) or we can get a good enough price to justify getting a new stove. Stacy
Stacy, Like you I had an old Wedgwood I really loved. It had the griddle in the center. I lost mine in a house fire and was determined to replace it with an identical one from the place that restores them on Gilman Street (maybe you can sell yours to them). Somebody wiser pulled me aside and pointed out the advantages of a newer cook-top with a solid top/sealed burners for easy spill clean-up and electronic ignition for child safety and to save the gas wasted by pilots plus the fire hazard. I got a gas Dacor stainless steel cook-top and a separate convection oven and have never looked back. The cook-top especially is just fantastic, all the grilles and burner caps go in the dishwasher and it is easy to clean and keep looking and smelling new. My mom has a glass-top unit with convection oven below and loves that as well. go new
My former neighbor who bought a house that had an original Wedgewood stove and replaced it with a new sleek industrial one, thought that it would be easy to sell - but that was not the case. She had tried to sell it for about $200+ (I can't remember the actual figure) because it needed some restoration work. Restored, these stoves can fetch a lot of money $1000+ - but the stove restorer that she spoke with to get a price from or sell to, said that in this economy its hard to find interest. He also did not buy it from her. She ended up, after several weeks and hopeful tries, leaving it out on the street for free. Of course, someone picked it up then! But good luck to you, maybe it will be different since this was about two years ago now. - anon
Someone to service/refurbish OKeefe & Merrit Stove?
June 2011Hi We have an old OKeefe and Merritt stove and are looking for someone who can service it and refurbish it. Is there an individual or store out there that I could hire to do this? Carrie
Apple Stoves. http://applestoves.com/ I believe it is two guys who run the business. The one who came took great care of the Okeefe where I rented and was very nice. Even replaced a missing dial on the front of the stove for free because he happened to have an extra in his bag. happier cook
Reliance Antiques at 830 Gilman Street sells O'Keefe & Merritt stoves and I bet that they do repairs. They buy classic stoves like yours, refurbish them and then sell them. Their phone number is 510-525-5921. bqnd390
There is a great place that does just that on 830 Gilman Street just about across from Berkeley Yamaha. It is called Reliance Appliance. anon
How to Sell an Old Wedgewood Stove?
Sept 2009
I am hoping to find a buyer for our old Wedgewood Stove. Anyone know of how to sell (other than Reliance Appliance) such a stove? It still works, is beautiful, and I would hate to see it end up in a landfill. many thanks! sarah
APPLE STOVES - these folks are a great resource for vintage stoves. Check with them about your options. (510) 985-1867 www.applestoves.com
We just got rid of our Wedgewood stove, and had it picked up by Urban Ore in W Berkeley. They seem to be open to taking almost anything, but have similar criteria to Reliance in that it should be in good physical and working condition--especially if there's damage to the porcelain, it hurts the resale value. They didn't pay us anything, but sometimes I think you can negotiate at least some store credit. If you want to look at other options, both the Berkeley and Oakland waste management websites provide links to appliance resale/disposal facilities. Tanya
Nov 2008
We have a white Wedgewood stove (right side oven and left side broiler with four burners on top and a large griddle in the middle) that we use now but need to sell because it's not properly ventilated out of our home and therefore, not safe, ultimately. Any ideas on how to sell this nice antique stove? I tried Craigslist and calling a local antique shop--to no avail. Thank you for any ideas or expertise. Michelle
I sold our vintage stove a few years back, but it took a lot of work, as you're discovering. I tried eBay, CraigsList, local antique stores...I think it finally sold through a classified I posted on www.antiquestoves.com. If you google ''antique appliances'' you'll find a number of places that have forums and classifieds where you can post a listing. Ours actually went to someone in Georgia, so don't limit yourself locally -- just be up front about buyer-pays-shipping-costs. And watch out for scams -- I had one ''buyer'' who wanted to send me a cashier's check and have it shipped to Nigeria, yadda, yadda, yadda. Enjoying My Modern Stove
Wedgewood stove repair
June 2009We have a Wedgewood stove and the stove's the reset button is not working. Do you know what to do or know of someone that can fix it? BTW- also the temperature gauge on our refridgerator (an LG?) is not adjusting. There is a button on the front of the door that when you push shows lit up bars to indicate the level of cold. They wont adjust now and my freezer is now more like fridge temp! thankyou Heather
There's really only one option to consider - he's the best and he has the best price: Henry at http://oldstoverepair.com/ Stove works flawlessly now
Good person to repair old Wedgewood stove?
Dec 2004Can anyone recommend a good person to repair an old Wedgewood stove? Perhaps even for a reasonable price? PG has adjusted the oven pilots several times, but it looks like the problem is more serious this time. Thanks. Joan
In answer to the person seeking repair for the antique stove, I recommend the following business, located in Berkeley: www.antiquestoves.com/toac/stoveparts.htm
WRP
Mackall's in Palo Alto, (650) 858-0515, did repairs on a 1940s Wedgewood I had when I lived in that area. They seem to specialize in old stoves. They even gave me very useful info. by phone. If they're too far away, maybe they can recommend an old stove specialist in the East Bay. Mary
I had an old Wedgewood fixed up (pilots, loose oven door, etc.) by a co. called G.S. Refrigeration. The repair man came out in the evening as requested and did a great job for under $100. Their number is (Oakland) 763-2611 or (SF) 362-5600. Lisa
I highly recommend Raynard (not sure if that's his first name or his last). He was recommended by an appliance parts supplier on San Pablo in Berkeley and he is very good. The pilots stopped working on our vintage O'Keefe and Merrit and he came out and diagnosed & repair the problem (thermo coupling was shot)in less than 2 hours. He also does small heating and plumbing jobs. 510-309-6095 (pager) 510-233-8677 (phone) 162 24th Street Richmond
Fran
Wedgewood stove needs to be re-chromed and re-enameled
May 2002We have a Wedgewood stove that needs to be re-chromed and re-enameled. Who does this work? And how much can I expect to pay? Thanks! Jodi
Apple Appliance on Sacramento (just north of Ashby) is great for restoring old Wedgewood and O'Keefe and Merritt stoves. We bought a fully restored O'K stove from them about four years ago. They had the stove rechromed before they showed us the stove (the other work was done after we committed to buy it), so I don't know how much it cost to do because it was part of the total price. It looks great (still). They also sent the burners out to be re-enameled. They repair and restore stoves as well as selling reconditioned old stoves. The owner is named John. They are pretty idiosyncratic - they often don't answer the phone and take a while to return calls and the store hours are unpredictable, but they really know their stuff, so it's worth putting up with the weird behavior. Karen
I just had my 50-year old Wedgewood Stove serviced by Henry Rutgers. I don't know if he'll do chrome or enamel repairs, but he might be able to refer you to someone who does. His website, with link to email: http://oldstoverepair.com. Lorraine
Reliance Appliance (formerly of West Berkeley) no longer operates a storefront, but I believe Matt (son of the owners) still services vintage stoves. He did our O'Keefe and Merritt refresh back in 2010 and was great to work with and knowledgeable about the stove. If you Google Reliance Appliance, you'll find his website and contact info (no idea if it's still current, though). There is also Apple Stoves in West Oakland, but we had a bad experience with them before moving to Reliance so I can't recommend them.
We also used Reliance Appliance within the last year to fix a broken hinge on our O'Keefe & Merritt oven door; they also got a couple of burners working again on the stove and recalibrated the oven temperature. Basically a mini tune-up. They were prompt and professional. reliance appliance.com .
Call Henry Rutgers, 510-420-1245. He worked on my ancient Spark stove and on my friends O’Keefe
We had an O'Keefe and Merritt stove that was in terrible shape when we bought our home. Buckeye Appliance repaired and re-chromed it and did a fantastic job. However, they are far away, and had a long wait list, at the time. But they were great! http://www.buckeyeappliance.com/stoves.htm
If there are any recommendations in the archives, I'll bet mine is one of them, and for the same vintage stove repair guru: Henry Rutgers. He's done work on my vintage (1940s) Wedgewood. He's quick to respond and very reasonable in his prices. He prefers first contact via email: HENRU99 [at] yahoo.com.