Vintage stoves and refrigerators

John Jowers and 1946 G.E. fridge

The best selling stoves and refrigerators at Jowers Appliances these days aren't sleek models with computerized controls. What folks can't get enough of are the stoves and refrigerators that the store would have sold when it opened more than 50 years ago.

Customers are willing to forgo modern conveniences for the distinctive, soft and rounded look that defined appliances until about 1957, saysJohn Jowers, affable owner of the Clayton, Georgia, appliance store his father founded.

Jowers will sell about 60 restored vintage appliances this year -- as many as his crew of five can handle -- but barely enough to keep up with demand. Jowers' customers sometimes wait six months or longer for one of the 1920s to 1950s appliances.

The pieces sell for $2,500 to $6,000 and are used anywhere from kitchens to museums to family recreation rooms.

"People spending money on a vintage kitchen have just got to have an old appliance to complete it," Jowers says.In some cases the older appliance becomes an accent piece with a modern appliance doing every day duty. But Jowers says many customers give up the convenience of automatic defrosting and self-cleaning and use the restored refrigerators and stoves as their primary appliances.

Jowers recalls his father's reaction when he began restoring old appliances: "No one's going to want that old stuff."Six years later, he's become "quite interested in the business," his son says. In fact, the elder Jowers (pictured above, repairing a vintage stove) has seen his son refurbish some appliances that he remembers selling the first time around.

Jowers works strictly by commission, finding, restoring and shipping refrigerators to customers all over the country. His customers find him largely through his Web site, where he posts pictures of finished projects as well as treasures waiting to be restored. The price of the restored appliances rival, and in many cases, exceed the price of a new high-end appliance.

But before you decide to cash in for big bucks on grandma's old Philco, consider the work that goes into refurbishing an old refrigerator.

The unit is completely disassembled, old insulation and wiring discarded. The box is stripped and gutted, with every piece meticulously catalogued, photographed and stored in a plastic bag. Interior rust is sanded, dents and body damaged are repaired. The box is then coated with two coats of primer and finished with a solvent-based enamel. If the appliance is old enough to be porcelain, it is sent out to be refinished and relined. Chrome racks are re-plated. Then the refrigerator gets new insulation, new coolant, new wiring and an overhaul of the mechanical system.

The simplest appliances require at least 50 hours of labor to restore, with some more elaborate models taking up to 110 hours.

Jowers pays an average of $150 to $300 for the un-restored appliances.

"People think they've got a $2,000 appliance, unrestored" Jowers says. "But what they've got is a nice old appliance. And that's worth $150 to $300, even if it's been well-maintained."

The stoves and refrigerators Jowers refurbishes come from just about every place imaginable -- barns, garages, summer houses, through ads and solicitations on his Web site. Occasionally Jowers will do a road trip to pick up a particularly nice piece.

One of his most interesting tales of acquisition involves a 1939 refrigerator. The unfortunate appliance had been the object of a marital dispute which culminated when the man of the house "drug the thing out to the middle of the field," Jowers says. There it sat for eight years, rusting and sinking in the mud. The husband died and the refrigerator languished in its undistinguished resting place until Jowers came upon it. The widow, happy to have the refrigerator finally gone, gave it to Jowers.

Back at the shop, the refrigerator was fitted with a new electrical cord, plugged in and "it hummed right up," Jowers recalls.

All of Jower's appliances get new wiring and insulation and a complete mechanical overhaul. Jowers says he prefers to re-use the old mechanical systems, which he says are studier and quieter than new systems. Finally the appliance is tested. A rebuilt vintage refrigerator motor will run 8 to 12 minutes out of every hour -- more efficient, he says, than many newer models. Some customers prefer a new mechanical system for ease of maintenance and repair. Jowers uses standard mechanical parts that "any repairman, anywhere is going to know how to fix."

The coolant in the old refrigerators -- nearly always freon as far back as 1937 -- must be replaced. But since freon was commonly used until 1992, its modern substitute, R12, is compatible with the vintage cooling systems.

Jowers says he hasn't encountered problems finding mechanical parts to repair his appliances. "You can still find these parts in catalogs," he says. "These machines were meant to be repaired. They were built in the days before planned obsolescence."

In some ways, Jowers' business is a labor of love -- and he and his craftsmen are passionate about it. The same crew still helps run the modern appliance store, "but they're always after me to let them do more restoration," he says. His craftsmen present a diverse portfolio, and include a former Miami attorney, a painter, a former hotel and restaurant manager who now spends his days building custom shipping crates and recreating any millwork needed for the older appliances, and a retired seaman who redesigns electrical systems for the appliances.

Like most of his crew, Jowers got into the antique appliance business somewhat by chance. As a fresh college graduate with a business degree, Jowers remembers vowing never to return to Clayton, let alone to the appliance business in which he grew up. His first job after college convinced him that he would rather own a business than be an employee, and Jowers returned to his father's appliance store in 1980. In 1982, he bought the business from his father.

Several years ago, a couple of the store's employees asked if they could restore a 1940s refrigerator and put it in the display window as a drawing card. That little red refrigerator became the catalyst for Jowers Antique Appliances.

Customers and window shoppers alike inquired about the flashy little machine. One woman was particularly persistent, coming by weekly to ask about buying the refrigerator. The woman was redoing her basement and had two old pinball machines and a jukebox. "She HAD to have that little red box." Jowers says.

Jowers finally sold the little refrigerator, and his crew restored another box for the window. That refrigerator sold nearly as soon as it was placed on display. For the next few years, Jowers and his crew restored and sold a half dozen old appliances, "pretty much for fun," he says. The crew enjoyed doing the work, and it kept them busy during the quiet winter months in this resort town.

Two years ago, Jowers bought the domain name antiqueappliances.com and launched a Web site advertising his restored treasurers. Most of the vintage stoves and refrigerator now come via the Web site, which features photos, descriptions and prices. Jowers can ship the appliances most places in the United States, at a cost ranging from $300 to $800.

Through April of this year, the crew had completely refurbished 10 appliances, and had another 34 scheduled for work. Jowers estimates that he'll do perhaps 60 in all this year.

1957 is the pivitol year for older appliances, Jowers says. "After that, they became boxier and more streamlined," he says. "I call it the George Jetson look." He occasionally will work on a model as late as 1961, especially if it is pink or turquoise, or has unusual features such as a bottom freezer or lazy Susan shelves.

Does he think he'll ever be asked to redo a 1970s avocado green or harvest gold piece?

"Oh, no," he quips. "I hope not!"

To Jowers Antique Appliances Web site