If the pilot light goes out, is there a safety valve, or does the gas keep flowing?

Ask whoever replaced the valves.

You can buy safety pilots with a thermocouple, like water heaters have, or it can just flow and fill the house/.

There are some vintage stove sites on line that have some real experts there. One is http://antique-stove.com. There are two Chambers Stove forums that have members who will answer questions about other stoves.
Diane

We have a chambers that I craigslisted for $250 - must be the magic number! And dh restored the whole thing, not really parts intensive but did take a lot of labor. He did install that thermocouple safety thing for the oven. We had some pilot issues thank goodness it was in. We sometimes have to adjust the pilot light level, higher in winter.

It is pretty great stove, I have had no issues and really happy with its performance. Have fun!

Nice stove. I love that you have the back piece with the clock (or is it a timer?). Mine is missing an ornament of some sort on top, and I keep thinking it may have been the clock. Also the knobs on yours are in very nice condition. Mine are losing their chrome accents. So are the door handles. I looked into having them re-chromed a couple years ago, and it was expensive but doable.

By pilot light, you mean you turn the burner (or oven) knob to on and a flame appears?

My stove must not have a pilot because I light the burners and the oven with a match! I've lived here 36yrs. and the stove was here when I moved in and probably 30 - maybe 40yrs. before that. Yeah, lighting the oven can be a little hairy, you strike a match and hold it out of the way, open the lower broiler door, turn the oven knob to "On", listen for the gas flow, then reach in with the match and wave it around under the gas jets hoping they light and nothing explodes. lol The burners aren't quite as scary but don't let your fingers holding the match up to the jets linger or you'll feel the burn.

But I love this old stove. The burners work great, the oven bakes like a charm (when the floor is level, depends of the season and when the house decides to settle). Only, once I set the oven temp dial to the temp I want - 350 for example - I really don't know what happens when I need to lower the temp by 50 degrees if a recipe says to do so. The gas jets go out as soon as I lower the temp! Does the gas keep flowing? I don't know, I've never had the nerve to stick my head in there to see or smell. One of these days I should really find out after all these years. And yes, the stove top does get very warm if you are baking at the same time doesn't it? Nice for softening a stick of butter!

When I had the kitchen remodeled in 2011, for some reason I called the gas company with a question and ended up being inspected and told that a new, more modern brass gas hose had to be installed on the stove. It still had the original one from 1940-50. That was an easy and quite frankly a welcome fix.

Another issue is that grease build up on the cast iron grills and burner pans, oven and oven door can be a mess if you don't wipe down after each use. When I moved in, it was awful.

My stove. It's a Magic Chef.

Thanks for sharing your experiences! Schoolhouse, your stove looks awesome! I hope to get mine installed this weekend and can't wait to use it...For now I just go out to the garage and stare longingly at it!!

I've been posting my personal restoration experience with my late 1940 - early 1950 O'Keefe & Merritt I acquired about a year ago. There's so much info, though; it wouldn't fit here. But I love my stove and the process of restoring it to its former glory.

My model comes with safety valves that shut off gas flow if their respective oven or broiler pilots go out. Stoves that don't have them can be modified to accommodate safety valves. Safety valves and thermocouples are ubiquitous so they can be installed in many vintage gas stoves.

WRT to your stove cooktop getting too hot when your oven is on. There are two possible causes I can think of. One, you might need to have the stove's insulation replaced. When I opened up my stove, the insulation, which should be fluffy white fiberglass, was dark brown compressed gunk. Not too surprising after more than 60 years of use. When insulation is dirty and/or compressed, it cannot do its job as well.

The second possible cause could be your oven door isn't closing tightly. It's a common problem with spring-loaded doors. The springs weaken over time and cannot hold the door in the best position when closed.

Installing safety valves, insulation and door spring replacement are advanced restoration tasks.