Funky Ovens

We own ruddy-chocolate-brown, double-wall-mount ovens installed in 1961 when our house was built – miniatures in one unit that together measure 24x48”.  At 350 degrees the bottom oven belches steam like a muffled dragon when the door is shut.  The top oven, the more dependable of the two, has a more even-tempered reputation, but recently threw a fit and retired.  It just quit working, right when I was trying to brown some oven fries for the grandkids.  Of all the nerve.

Like a stealthy detective, I researched replacement ovens online. I found several of this odd size, but alas! The online reviews socked a punch - mawhumph - as if to deflate my victory.  One model was reported to have repeated problems with the control panel that would burn-out (nice pun) in about four years.  The shallow ovens described in reviews for several other models couldn’t accommodate normal-sized cookie sheets, let alone a turkey roaster.  And what good is an oven that can’t roast a Christmas turkey? Pshaw.

Still, we went on the prowl today to try and actually SEE some of these ovens for ourselves.  We found one, and one only – a GE.  It was attractive enough, with ovens of reasonable height, and the price was the lowest yet – but I gasped out loud when I peeked inside.   The back walls redefined what should have been the oven’s mid-section, essentially cutting it in half.  These ovens were not deep enough to hold a cookie sheet, let alone a…you guessed it…turkey roaster.  Gulp. Those reviewers were right. 

My old ovens, on the other hand, had thinner walls and larger cavities even though their rough exterior dimensions are the same as the new one we examined today.  They accommodate not only a normal cookie sheet, but some I own that are oversized – as well as large baking pans AND my giant turkey roaster.  However, a replacement part is no longer available for the old geezer, although an appliance dealer said he could supply a custom-made one (for a fee, naturally). 

So now we’re stuck in a quagmire of a dilemma.  Which funky ovens to we want?  Eh?  The bigger, on-the-way-out older ones with a handcrafted patch, or the smaller, more energy-efficient, newer ones that will deny us Christmas turkey?   The vote is still out.