Just spotted for sale today on ebay: This Sunbeam Automatic Control Panel — New Old Stock. I see these in-wall appliance centers very rarely on ebay — this might be only the third in five years. These control panels were typically recessed into the kitchen backsplash — with multiple plugs for plugging in small kitchen appliances. This one also has a clock — cool!
What a treasure to find this New Old Stock woddity. This is the fifth vintage Appliance Center design I’ve seen and featured on the blog. In all, I’ve now seen three Sunbeams and two Westinghouses. Here are the four others — and click on through to see the ebay listing, if you are in the market:
- I found myself a NOS Sunbeam Automatic Control in 2008. The illustration above is from the marketing material for my Sunbeam, not the one currently for sale.
- Tim — who does product development at Rejuvenation — spotted this Westinghouse Appliance Center one when he was looking for a house in Portland, Oregon, in early 2009.
- Here is a 1957 advertisement for the Westinghouse Appliance Center.
- Okay, here’s another variation — the Sunbeam Appliance Center is built into the cabinet.
Are you interested in snapping up this NOS puppy? Here is the listing:
Please note: Even NOS should be checked by a professional to ensure wiring is safe or needs to be replaced. Consult with a pro!
Brini Maxwell shows us her vintage Sunbeam Automatic Control Panel 
Westinghouse Appliance Center 
Another delicious vintage system by Sunbeam to organize your appliances 
Become a fan
I know next to nothing about electricity, so forgive me if this is a stupid question. I notice the outlets have only two prongs. Can you really install these things and have them up to code? I really like the fact that you can plug in that many table top appliances, and especially the one with the clock. But can they really be used today?
I do not know. As usual: I will point you to consult with a pro….
Yes you can install them, the only items that can be plugged in would be toaster, small lamps, etc. For 3 prong items use standard 3 prong outlets. You can get a 3 prong adapter that fits into a 2 prong but on an item like this it is NOT recommended. This item was ONLY made for 2 prong plugs.
We have one of these! And it’s been a real lifesaver, as our 1954 rambler was not equipped with sufficient “house power” (a utility marketing term from that era meaning having enough outlets and circuits) to support any sort of kitchen appliance load.
As for the lack of grounding: all of our wiring is Romex (yay!), but two-wire (boo!). When we replaced the fuse panel with a breaker box, our electrician used GFI breakers on all non-lighting circuits, so we were able to replace all two-prong outlets with three prong. We did the same thing when installing the power center.
oooh, lucky you, Dan! Do you use it? I’d love to see a pic sometime!
Hello……a while ago, I purchased an NOS 1959 Westinghouse Appliance Center on Ebay. There is a metal box that mounts inside the wall that the main wire comes into, then attaches to three connectors at the rear of the outer panel. There are 4 3-hole grounded plugs with circuit breakers and a Timer in the center…but no clock. The timer is mechanical…not electrical. The wall box mounts between two studs, so finding the right place for it might be difficult. The wires appear to be sufficient, but I have not had an electrician rule on code-worthyness as yet. All of the original paperwork came with it and I also have a catalog page with it.
I suppsoe that today, one would just have a 4 outlet box installed. How boring!