Wasted $40 on a vintage 1950s oven thermometer that was way off

I found this cool looking 'Glasbake' oven thermometer at an antique shop in Omaha for $40. Figured it would add some retro charm to my kitchen! Turns out it reads about 50 degrees too low, so my roast chicken was raw inside and burnt on the outside. Anyone else get burned by old kitchen gadgets that looked good but didn't work?

2 comments

2 Comments

sean_murray24d ago

Read something online about old mercury thermometers actually being more accurate than the newer ones, but only if the mercury hasn't separated or the glass hasn't cracked. Yours is probably a bimetal coil type though (most vintage oven thermometers are), and those coils just wear out over time. You can actually test them in boiling water to see exactly how far off they are, which might save your next roast. I've heard of people resetting the needle by carefully bending it, but that's a risky move with a $40 antique. Might be worth keeping it on the wall as decoration and grabbing a cheap digital one for actual cooking, honestly.

nathan_foster6024d ago

Oh man, sounds like you got vintage looks with modern problems. Guess that thermometer was more of a decoration than a tool, huh? Hope that chicken wasn't too pricey.