Archive | September, 2013

Dangerous fix for vintage Revere Ware pressure cookers on Ebay

By RevereWareParts on September 16, 2013 in Ebay, Tips

I came across this purported fix (pdf in case the listing is gone) for faulty vintage Revere Ware pressure cooker over pressure plugs on Ebay.

The problem with over pressure plugs on the vintage cookers is (a) they contain solder inside that will melt (thus opening up the over pressure hole) when the pressure gets too high, and once blown, they are useless, and (b) they are no longer available.

While they do include a copy of the pressure cooker manual (which you can download from our site for free), the fix itself is nothing more than a screw and nut that will permanently block off the over pressure hole.

While it may be frustrating not being able to use your pressure cooker without an over pressure plug, plugging the hole and leaving yourself with no over pressure release is dangerous. The instructions that came with the “fix” give no warning as to the dangers of not having a pressure relief when using a pressure cooker.

We can’t recommend fixing your pressure cooker in this way.

Revere kettles

By RevereWareParts on September 13, 2013 in Manuals & info, Tips

Revere Ware produced tea kettles in many styles over the years, as evidenced by this ad (apparently from the 70’s given the avocado colored tea kettle).

The most iconic tea kettle is the stainless with copper bottom art-deco style which is still sold today.

We now have an information page for this kettle with care and use tips. We are in the early stages of producing replacement parts (handles, whistles, and triggers) for these kettles.

More finding Revere Ware on Ebay

By RevereWareParts on September 12, 2013 in Ebay, Tips

Ebay now appears to do some classification of its own, although it is far from complete. This page separates out some Revere Ware listings into categories. The amount of categories is far from complete and this only appears to cover a small number of the available Revere Ware related auctions.

Capturing the Revere Ware era

By RevereWareParts on September 9, 2013 in Memorabilia, Tips

This ad from 1948 captures the Revere Ware era perfectly. We use our tea kettle almost every day but the percolator had been sitting in the garage due to a fancy espresso machine in the house.

I recently took my family camping which proved to be a perfect opportunity to try out my vintage Revere Ware percolator.

The percolator worked well and made great (and strong) coffee. The directions I’ve found for this percolator say to percolate for 3 to 4 minutes. Before the Revere Ware percolator, the only percolators I’d used in recent history are the large electric ones that make coffee in large batches; these stop percolating on their own. I found myself letting the coffee percolate much longer than 3 or 4 minutes, expecting it to stop, hence the strong coffee.

The only trouble I had was a little of the coffee grounds escaped the basket and ended up in the coffee. If I just let it settle for a few minutes before serving, it wasn’t a problem.

Finding Revere Ware on Ebay

By RevereWareParts on September 7, 2013 in Tips, Trends & statistics

A couple of years ago we started a website that collects all Revere Ware related listings on Ebay and separates them out by type, size, etc. For example, if you are looking for a 7 inch lid, you can see all currently available lids on Ebay sorted by size. We update the listings every 30 minutes so it always has up-do-date listings.

It wasn’t the prettiest of websites, but it worked well. We recently did a complete overhaul of the site which makes it both more attractive and more effective. For example, we offer a grid view and a list view.

If you are looking for vintage Revere Ware cookware, this is arguably the easiest way to find what you want.

We’ve also been tracking the number of listings of Revere Ware related items on Ebay and it continues to grow and grow, meaning there is more and more items available to select from. Here is the graph of the number of items listed since May 2009.

Letters from customers

By RevereWareParts on September 6, 2013 in Memorabilia

We get a lot of sweet letters from long time Revere Ware users. Here is the one we received recently:

Dear Sir,

I thought you might be interested in this. In 1949 I was 16 yrs old. I bought from a traveling salesman a 4 piece set of Revere Ware. It was a Dutch oven, a 2 qt. sauce pan with lid, a 10 inch frying pan with lid, and a 6 cup coffee pot.

They are still being used nearly every day. I married in June 1951. My husband to be payed off the pans.

They look great. I keep them with Cameo Copper & Brass cleaner. The Patent # is 2272609. The made under process patent is 2272609. These pans have been used for 62 yrs and are still going strong. The Dutch oven gets used a lot. I make lots of soups, chile, etc.; things that can be frozen. That way I eat healthy.

Thank you for a wonderful set of cooking ware.

At 16 yrs in a family of 8 children and my mom, I had a job and could make payments. My family was 4 children.

– Marie

What a wonderful window into another era. This highlights just how much a part of everyday life a product like Revere Ware was back then, and still is for many people. While we aren’t the makers of the cookware (but people still refuse to believe it, perhaps because we are only ones that provide parts, information, and customer service these days) the storied nature of the product is what motivated us to do what we do.

Handle repair options

By RevereWareParts on September 6, 2013 in DIY

We often get asked how to repair handles when the metal part that is attached to the pan body starts separating or has completely come off. We aren’t aware of any services where you can send your cookware in to get repaired.

Brazing

The surest way is to find a local welder that can either spot weld (typically how they were usually attached in the first place) or braze the pieces back together. Brazing is similar to soldering, where a metal filler is heated up such that it flows in the space between the two parts. I’ve seen one estimate for $35 for repairing a handle in this way, which is more than the typical Revere Ware vintage piece is worth. But for sentimental hand-me-down items, cost may not be an option.

I also investigated using an epoxy to repair a handle. By all indications, on a gas stove, the cookware can reach very high temperatures, perhaps as high as 500 or more degrees. JB Weld, a product well known for bonding metal together, does offer a high heat formula, but it is rated only up to 500 degrees. Another product is stainless steel putty, which is rated food grade and is often used to repair stainless steel food processing equipment. Unfortunately this is only rated to 250 degrees.

A third option is to drill small holes and use stainless steel hardware to reattach the handle. This is perhaps the most unsightly option.

I recently came across this DIY option that involves the use of a propane torch and silver solder rods.

I’d love to hear if anyone has tried this method or has had success repairing broken handles any other way.

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