O'Keefe and Merritt Appliances

The years in between the development of electric and gas stoves in the last half of the 1800s and earlier when food was cooked over open fires, cooking stoves were either fueled by coal or wood. It is possible today to convert and restore these cooking stoves into stoves that can be used in the kitchen which are either fueled by electric or gas.

Electric Stoves

It was in 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair that the electric stove was introduced to the general public as part of an electrified model kitchen. The electric stove was not too popular at first. This was due to the unstable technology of the time and the fact that most cities and towns did not have electricity yet. Over the next two decades the electric stoves became more popular and found their place in the kitchens of many homes as electrical power became available throughout the nation and technology matured.

If you have an O'Keefe & Merritt appliance the needs repair call Orange County O'Keefe & Merritt Appliance Repair for fast service.

Gas Stoves

In the 1820s scientists first started experimentation on the first stoves that were fueled by gas. However, it was the 1880s before gas stoves became popular with the public. Part of the delay was due to the need for the installation of the gas pipe network.

The first gas kitchen stoves were very bulky and large as compared against the rest of the kitchen appliances. The manufacturers were able to reduce the size of the stoves and began integrating oven bases and started enameling their products for easier cleaning in 1910.

Vintage gas stoves came in numerous sizes, colors, and shapes. There are triple, double, and single oven stoves. There were many that came with warmer/broiler drawers, in addition to a range top for cooking with skillets or pots and one or more ovens. Some ovens even have windows for checking on the status of rising breads. Most windows are rectangular or square, however, one brand had oven windows that were circular.

There are many vintage gas stoves that can still be bought today. The models that are available range from those that have several ovens and larger cook tops to some with fairly simple, compact stoves with only a compact range top and a single oven. O'Keefe & Merritt was one of these producers of these vintage gas stoves.

O'Keefe & Merritt Stoves

Most O'Keefe & Merritt stoves featured a large surface for range top cooking, two ovens, and two warming/broiler drawers. The company did make a few models that had a smaller range top surface and a single oven. There was one O'Keefe & Merritt stove that had four different oven compartments and four warming/broiler drawers. If your O'Keefe & Merritt isn't working properly be sure to call Orange County O'Keefe & Merritt Appliance Repair located in Orange City to have it repaired.