Are stove top drip pans universal sized?

June 1, 2014 9:21 AM

Short and sweet question - See title.

I have a "Holiday" brand stove in my apartment which appears to be about 50 years old. The drip pans are all cruddy and I want to replace them. Are all drip pans like standard size or do you have to buy ones that match the brand stove you have?

posted by mermily to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Fairly standard. Take them out and take them with you to the hardware store. They have generic replacement parts and you can easily visually match them with the ones you already have.
posted by ssg at 9:23 AM on June 1, 2014

No. The first time I replaced drip pans I went to the store and got some that seemed about the right size. They didn't fit (it had more to do with the alignment of the holes than anything, IIRC). But they're not listed by brand anywhere I've ever looked. It's just a couple different styles, not dozens, so I would do what ssg suggested and bring yours with you.
posted by wintersweet at 9:26 AM on June 1, 2014

Yeah, no, they're not. If it's an electric stove, take the drip pans and the heating element with you to ensure the heating element will sit flat.

(Yes, I learned this the hard way, trying to make my kitchen **obsessive-mother-in-law-perfect-clean** the day before Thanksgiving and then on Thanksgiving Day, couldn't use my stove because I'm an idiot, the electric coils didn't fit into the shiny new drip pans, and I had already chucked out the nasty old drip pans. My MIL thought I was a crazy person as opposed to slovenly.)
posted by kinetic at 10:06 AM on June 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Nope. Not only are they not standard sizes, you also have to make sure the "slot" for the element is the right kind if your stove is electric or the element won't sit right. Have you tried Googling "replacement parts" for your stove model?
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 10:52 AM on June 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

They're not standard, but there are a couple of different standards that cover most ranges made during the last few decades. With a 50-year-old stove, however, from a manufacturer that is no longer in business, you may or may not be able to use one of the two major alternatives.

They're cheap, though, so there's not much harm in trying. And your range will look amazingly better for it.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:22 PM on June 1, 2014

The standard drip pans from Walmart or wherever have fit perfectly in every rental I've ever lived in, which is many, many, many rentals. One of which had a similarly ancient stove.

I don't think it's a guarantee with a stove that old that they'll work, but you seem to be getting a lot of answers saying that this is fairly difficult to match and that has not been my experience at all. Worth a shot, for sure.
posted by gerstle at 2:27 PM on June 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

They're difficult to match with a stove that old. I tried to order some online after a lot of research and measuring and they were still the wrong size. If you live in a reasonably populated area with well stocked stores, take it with you and try to match it in person.
posted by lakersfan1222 at 6:49 PM on June 1, 2014

When you take it with you, put it in a gallon size ziploc bag. Everything stays clean, you can see your old pan, you can hold the new one up to the old one to compare holes and sizes.
posted by CathyG at 2:33 PM on June 2, 2014