Old Fridgidaire Elec Cookmaster

Old Fridgidaire Elec Cookmaster

Kathryn Toutolmin -- Saturday, 8 February 2003, at 1:02 p.m.

With my 1940 house came a Fridigaire Electric stove/oven, Model: RBH G533, Serial: 64C11282. On the oven door it says "Product of General Motors, USA". No idea how old it is. It is a Compact 30, and on the stove top left is a standing square timer/clock thing that says "Cookmaster" on the front. No idea how this thing works, if it does. Not in any way you would expect, anyway. Every so often, there is a surprising, quietly grinding sound that says it is doing something. A bit worrisome. Any idea where I could get information &/or instructions for use, or repair?

Re: Old Fridgidaire Elec Cookmaster *LINK*

Dan O. -- Saturday, 8 February 2003, at 1:42 p.m.

: With my 1940 house came a Fridigaire Electric
: stove/oven, Model: RBHG533, Serial:
: 64C11282. No idea how old it is.

From the information I have, it appears to be a 1964 model (not that old for GM Frigidaire products).

: It is a Compact 30, and on the
: stove top left is a standing
: square timer/clock thing that says
: "Cookmaster" on the front. No idea
: how this thing works, if it does.

A cookmaster is Frigidaire's trade mark name for a clock/timer assembly. It can be used to turn on the oven at certain times like starting a roast while you're still at work, etc.

: Every so often, there is a
: grinding sound that says it is doing
: something. A bit worrisome.

Sounds like the gears in the clock are not meshing properly. If you removed the cookmaster and took it to a local appliance parts supplier, they could send it away to be rebuilt.

: Any idea where I could get information &/or
: instructions for use, or repair?

About the only place you're likely to find any information for it would be on eBay. Currently there are a number of Frigidaire "Tech Talk" service manuals for older Frigidaire products up for auction (see the link below). Even those may provide some helpful information even if not for your exact model.

Dan O.

Frigidaire Manuals @ eBay

Re: Old Fridgidaire Elec Cookmaster

Kathryn Toutolmin -- Saturday, 8 February 2003, at 3:12 p.m.

Dear Dan O. - Thanks for such a quick response.

: Sounds like the gears in the clock are not
: meshing properly.

-You are right, the clock doesn't work at all, and therefore, not the timer. The sounds that happen are spontaneous, and not from being 'fiddled with'. They just occur out of the blue. I guess it is trying to work, then quits.

: If you removed the cookmaster and took it to a
: local appliance parts supplier, they could send
: it away to be rebuilt.

-Removal and repair of the timer sounds like a best bet. Wondering how involved that would be... Would that mean disconnecting and rendering 'offline' the appliance for the duration of the hoped-for repair? That wouldn't work for me. Anyway, I'll peer at how it is put together, taking care to be smart about the fact that this is an electrical appliance.
Wondering, perhaps this thing can just go away and stay. If the stove will work without it, that may be okay, should I reach a dead end. Do you know if the timer thing is intergral?
Again, thank you very much.

Re: Old Fridgidaire Elec Cookmaster

Dan O. -- Saturday, 8 February 2003, at 4:07 p.m.

: -You are right, the clock doesn't work at all,
: and therefore, not the timer. The sounds
: that happen are spontaneous, and not from
: being 'fiddled with'.

Yes, just from wear and tear.

: -Removal and repair of the timer sounds like a
: best bet. Wondering how involved that would be...

It will depend on how your model was actually designed. It can be somewhat difficult on some of the high end models but may not be too bad on a more simple designed one.

: Would that mean disconnecting and
: rendering 'offline' the appliance for the
: duration of the hoped-for repair?

At least the oven that it controls. Its switching mechanism can sometimes be bypassed for the period that the clock is out for repair but that can be more involved. That might be something you might want to leave to a service technician that could remove the clock, send it for repair then reinstall it, bypassing the unit in between.

: Wondering, perhaps this thing can just go away
: and stay. If the stove will work without it,
: that may be okay, should I reach a dead end.
: Do you know if the timer thing is intergral?

The timer is integral to operation of the oven that it controls but the clock motor could be disconnected to stop the noise without harming operation of the oven (as long as no one fiddles with the knobs and sets them wrong). If the rest of the range is in good shape, it is not unreasonable to get it working correctly though.

JMO

Dan O.
Appliance411