Panel/console lights on ranges/ovens/washer/dryer

[fan-of-fans]

I miss the console/panel lighting on these appliances.

The newest ranges I've seen with a panel light are the Kenmore Elite ranges and wall ovens with the little purple accent strip. It lights up when there is a burner or oven is on, or when the accent light button is pressed. Not sure if these are still in production or if Frigidaire has an equivalent feature.

Several years ago the Whirlpool Gold ranges also had an LED night light strip on the console, seen some of these around but no longer in production.

In the 1990s there were some Kenmore and KitchenAid ranges with fluorescent lights still. I believe Whirlpool and Frigidaire still offered them too, along with Caloric. And some of the GE Profile ranges still had a fluorescent night light I think in the early 2000s.

The last washer/dryers I can think of with a fluorescent light were the Kenmore electronic sets in late 1990s/early 2000s. And maybe the electronic Amana sets.

Does anyone else like these lights?

 

[jo]

Always…

I always LOVED appliances with console lights. We never had any in our hose growing up but my best friends Amon had a GE washer dryer set with them from 1967 and a lady who I delivered papers to and started cleaning for, feeding her cats and much more and we became great friends had a GE electric dual oven range in avocado with a console light for the cooktop. I used to put it on when she was out of town and I was feeding the cats so the house had some soft lighting on while she was away. She liked that I used it for that purpose. It lighted the kitchen similar to having a night light on.

My Aunt had a “Constellation” by Vernois gas range/home heater in her house. It was quite large and white porcelain and looked like something from the 50’s. It did have console lighting but it could never be used as there was no power outlet near the range as it was freestanding in an odd part of the kitchen all by itself. It had a big section on the left that had its own door and the bottom door I opened and there was a control knob in there to set the heater setting. There were vent holes all on the left side of it. The kitchen table was right next to it on that left side. The heater portion provided the heat to the house. That range may still be there in that house as it was the main source of heat for the house and the house was sold in 1986 with that stove still in it working fine. My Aunt did have to have the heater thermostat control replaced and the new one was a retrofit so the little bottom door would not close all the way but that was ok.

I’ve seen Maytag washers and dryers from the 50s and 60s and 70s with the console lights. I think they were automatic and came on when the timer was advanced and the cycle was started. I think the GE washer dryers were the same..the light was on when the appliance was on.

A friend gave that lady I worked for with the GE range a Brown Speed Queen dryer. It had the console light but something was a miss with it…it worked but the metal switch would shock you when using it to turn the light on so I never used it after the few times I got shocked! I liked the dryer, it had a stainless steel drum and a foot pedal to open the dryer door which I just loved on other speed Queen dryer I had seen as a kid! I think old GE dryers had the foot pedal too!

The console lights were quite popular in the 50’s through 70s and slowly were eliminated in the 80s.

I really like the LED lighting on new vacuums. My Shark rocket Deluxe Pro has it on both the main head and on the power nozzle. It’s a Costco exclusive model and Shark adds the lighting for those Costco models.

I’d like to see the appliance manufacturers add these lights again. They can do color changing LED lighting now!

My Brother in law has a Mini Cooper car. Not sure if you’ve been in one but it has color changing LED accent lighting inside that lights up at night.

I like footwell lighting in cars so you can see what’s on the floor when you open the door. I discovered my car was equipped with the working for it as only the top trim level included the lights. After having noticed that, I did some research and found out they were plug and play for my trim level and got the lights and plugged them in and now I just love it at night..I bought cool floor mats with the Chevy logos on them and they really show off nicely at night when a car door is opened. Not to mention I can see ton the floor if I drop something at night on the floor. The car is a 2012 Chevy Equinox and all 2009-2017 Chevy Equinox’s and GMC Terrains are equipped with the wiring for the lights but only the top trims included the actual fixtures.I find it irritating not many manufacturers include decent footwell lighting anymore. Some have dim footwell lighting that stays on with the dash lights but it’s not bright like when the door is opened.

I’m all about all sorts of soft unobtrusive invisible lighting. We are doing our backyard and pool over currently and adding some exotic lighting to light all of the things we are adding so we can enjoy them at night. Some people just keep their outdoor lights off on their houses. I love to have the place lit nicely with the porch lights and also landscape lighting to show the place off while also provide some lighting for security purposes. Some people just put giant harsh floor lights in for security but I find those ugly when there are so many other ways to provide lighting that is much more attractive, up lighting of the elevation of homes is quite popular in the part of the country I live in. It showcases a home while also providing lighting for security and guidance for any guests.

 

[fan-of-fans]

My previous car had the incandescent footwell lights that illuminated when the doors were open. Very useful.

My Taurus has LED lights in the footwells, front door map pockets, above the door handles, and also in the cupholders. There are some in the back seat footwell too. The lights are bright blue when the doors are open. Then you can change the colors for accent lighting while driving like in the Mini and dim them. I usually keep them on the ice blue color as it's brighter than the others.

I really like having those lights, but like you say they are only offered on certain trim levels. That's a big part of why I wanted the Limited model, but I have seen Ford offering kits to add the footwell lights in all models.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Oh, I forgot about the dispenser lights on fridges too. I like those. One of my neighbors used to have an older Amana that had a sensor for the dispenser light so it would go on automatically if the room was dark. The newer fridges have LED dispenser lights that look nice. I'd probably leave it on all the time if I had one.

 

[human]

My 1992-ish Lady Kenmore range has the fluorescent panel light. It looks cool; however, I seldom turn it on as the light on the range hood makes it kind of redundant. It does make a nice kitchen night light, even if it does use too much electricity for the light it puts out. I'd love to replace the fluorescent tube with an LED tube but I haven't found one the right length. I also seem to remember that the 1960s vintage chocolate brown Kenmore washer and dryer we had when I was a kid had backlit controls, at least on the washer.

Today, a lot of appliances are going the opposite extreme and trying to hide the controls entirely with LED touch panels that stay dark when the appliance is not in use. My sister has an Electrolux dishwasher that has the controls hidden along the top edge of the door, where they're only accessible when it's open. It also projects cycle information and a countdown timer on the floor while it's running.

My 2013 Buick LaCrosse has an extensive interior lighting package—foot well lights, lights on the bottoms of the doors so you can see where you're stepping at night, lighted door pulls, and decorative light strips on the dashboard and center console. It really projects (pun definitely intended) a sense of elegance.

 

[madman]

Roper stove I got out of a 1950s house that was being demolished. The whole kitchen was 100% original 1950s. I still have it, albeit in pieces, because the top piece of metal has large rust holes on either end. Fixing the steel is going to be a pain, but then it has to be re-enameled afterwards, which costs $800 plus shipping a large thing to the enamel guy. So that's a literal backburner project for me lol

Used this stove for a second kitchen in the basement of my previous house. Worked a treat for all the holidays.

I'd say this is the best stove I've ever used. Each burner is two burner rings in one, so they're amazingly powerful. Yet, the valves operate as such that as you turn them down, both burner rings go down, then the outer ring goes out completely and the inner ring goes back to full force, then goes down as you turn the knob further. Gives you power and precise control on all four burners. I've noticed a lot of new stoves just recently have come out with just one 'power burner' of this design.

Incidentally, the panel light, if you can even call it that, is basically completely useless.

 

[jo]

That stove…

Is likely better than our damn $5500 wolf gas range. I HATE the burners on the wolf. 5 of the 6 are huge and the 6th is small and in the back left corner. I need another small one in front for small pots of sauces that need to be constantly stirred. Doing that on the back burner is a pain in the ass. A better design would be the dual gas burners like your’s has so any size pot can be used anywhere. All burners on the wolf have two burner rings but they are both the full sixpence of the burner. The simmer ring is below the main ring and has lower total output in its range but it doesn’t work well for small pots…just for simmering large and medium pots.

For these prices…wolf should really be doing better. I wanted the thermador but that was thousands more but at least those star shaped burners work well with different size pots.

Jon

 

[human]

Cool stove. I've never been much for gas stoves but I know many people prefer them. I didn't grow up around them so I'm just more comfortable with electric. I realize the odds are long given its age, but it would be great to find one that could be a parts donor for the panels that you need.

 

[madman]

I was gearing up to have the top panel repaired. I found a guy who re-enamels stuff. As soon as I said it was a Roper, he said it must have the rust holes on the sides. He said they're all like that, but didn't know why. I know why. The pilot lights have heat shields that redirect the heat from the pilots to either side - exactly where the rust holes are.

Shame.

 

[fan-of-fans]

That has a nice, dramatic look with the flurorescent light on in a dark room. Those pies look good, too.

This is the latest range I'm aware of with a kind of panel light, these Kenmore Elite ranges and also the wall ovens they made. That purple/blue strip lights up when the "Accent Light" keypad is pressed, or when a burner/oven is on. You can see it on here.

I did like the tall look of this control panel, it reminds me of the Frigidaire Touch N Cook ranges of the 70s.

My neighbor has the older (2006) version of Kenmore Elite, but back then they did not have any sort of panel light that I'm aware of.

 

[texaskirbyguy]

I have always loved panel lights, dial lights, indicator lights - the more the merrier, lol... Make the appliances very classy and sophisticated in my opinion. Beautiful to se at night as well.

Here is my mom's original-to-the-house 1966 Roper wall oven. I replaced the panel light over the clock once (it is a 7W night light bulb).

This oven has been so faithful and has made thousands of meals for us over the past 56 years. It is so simple - it has a thermocouple, a mechanical thermostat, and an electric gas valve. It is in very good condition and is still working great.
Nothing with a circuit board would have made it this far...