We are about to do out our kitchen and I get to choose the cooker (as it’s me that does all the cooking). I want a huge range cooker (dual fuel, none of this induction malarkey) and four ovens (ie, two ovens, a grill and a slow oven/plate warmer).

Currently looking at these – anyone have any experience/opinion/advice etc on what I need to look out for, brands to avoid etc

http://www.myappliances.co.uk/prod/Range-Cookers/yappliances-lofra-proqua120bk-range-cooker.htm

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/cooking/cookers/stoves-sterling-r1100dft-dual-fuel-range-cooker-stainless-steel-21373820-pdt.html

http://ao.com/product/db4110df-belling-dual-fuel-range-cooker-white-28803-16.aspx

http://ao.com/product/hlt110dffwhc-rangemaster-hilite-dual-fuel-range-cooker-white-28623-16.aspx

Ta!

No, but I’d be tempted to either get something ‘commercial’ or get separates that ‘build-up’ to what you want.

We’ve an AGA and while it’s totally not you want the ability to always have warm plates/serving-dishes etc and dual-ovens is something I’d hate to be without.

I have a dual fuel Belling .Good fan oven ,convection oven grill and warming drawer 8 rings and griddle plate .I find ir really good .Even better was the fact that I bought it in perfect nick off ebay for 120 quid

We did out kitchen and put in a Rangemaster (Elise SE110) and absolutely love it.

Personally I would not go for one with a stainless surface around the hobs, black is better and it doesn’t show marks as much.

I did a lot of research, anything specific you want to know?

Yes I am wanting to avoid stainless steel too, just wanting to know if there is anything in particular to avoid – they all look pretty decent and it will only be used for general cooking (keen amateur, no Michilin-grade stuff being made, just Sunday roasts, stir fries, the odd cake, stuff like that. Want it bigger so I can do big family cooking and do different components of the Sunday Roast at the same time without all the juggling.

We bought a Britannia for our last home. Had to leave it there when we moved – Mrs North still hasn’t got over losing it 5 years on…

It was dual fuel (we jhad natural gas at the last place), with 6 burners (or “fires” as her Basque friend put it). The stainles steel looked good but was a PITA to keep clean.

Recommended.

Yes I am wanting to avoid stainless steel too, just wanting to know if there is anything in particular to avoid – they all look pretty decent and it will only be used for general cooking (keen amateur, no Michilin-grade stuff being made, just Sunday roasts, stir fries, the odd cake, stuff like that. Want it bigger so I can do big family cooking and do different components of the Sunday Roast at the same time without all the juggling.

Well we went for Rangemaster because my wife parents had one and it has been outstanding for years, it is built in Britain, had heavy metal knobs which feel really good (the model we bought) and had the colour we wanted.

Double check that your links actually have 4 ovens…I think most are three with a storage. Also check the access, esp if you are in a flat – a lot of places won’t deliver.

Ours 🙂

Great bits of kit.. IMHO.
Had to buy one when we moved in 18months ago..
Will be the only thing we’ll keep when we re-do the kitchen.

Cheers ericimel – I hadn’t appreciated they weren’t all 4 ovens (although that wouldn’t be a deal-breaker) but the Stoves Sterling is and I like the idea of a slow cooker. Pity it only appears to be in stainless steel…

Edit – and black. Hmmm

We opted for a Rangemaster Excel. Ticks all of your boxes but not cheap. The clincher for us was it not looking like it belonged in a country cottage or farmhouse without looking like it would date very quickly.

A lot of ranges out there are completely gopping.

Yeah that looks nice – and available in ivory too.

My budget has just shot up by £1k….

Our rangemaster isn’t great, I think it’s the kitchener model. Bloody thing has a multitude of joining bits of metal for bits of food to get stuck in.

It’s pretty flimsy too. I’ve had it apart and there’s not really a lot to a gas cooker, they’re a lot of money for what they actually consist of.

Just buy an Aga and like the rest of us “owners” you can be smug as **** as all your mates other half’s will covert it and make their other half feel like a cheap shit…. worth every penny

Forgot to say get the long wheel Base 4 oven version if you really want to rub salt into the wound (no cooking pun intended)

Don’t buy a lofra, I remember dealing with all the customer issues when they went bust in the uk about 6 years ago. Horrible things!

What width are you going for?

Belling/stoves don’t have catalytic liners (some people don’t care)

Rangmaster do loads of different models, some have roll out grills, some multifunction ovens.

Ideally go and see a few, and not in curry, they don’t have the range to look at!

Mercury FTW!

Dont get the the Stoves. Had that one in an old house and it was useless. Engineer was forever coming out to look at it.

The Rangemaster brand is a lot better but if you are planning to stay in the house I would second the recommendation about a Britannia.

Britannia are now owned by Stoves! They’re still made in the same factory as they were when they were independent though.

Mercury were taken over by Rangmaster about 5 years ago but they’re still my favourite range cooker, all the quality of the falcon but much better controls. Stainless steel hob though, it is a coarse brushed finish though so not a fingerprint magnet.

We had a Stoves Sterling 110 put in just before Christmas last year.

Great bit of kit. My Mrs loves it, and she would tell me if she didn’t!!

It is stainless steel, but cleans up nicely no problems, not sure what the issue is.

It has two ovens, a separate grill, and a plate warmer/slow cooker oven. And 7 burners plus the griddle, which is actually really good.

We had a Rangemaster some years before, and that was top of our list, but the Stoves one pipped the Rangemaster equivalent for whatever reason, but it is every bit as good as our previous Rangemaster.

Best price we got was from Long Eaton Domestic Appliances.

Rangemaster and Aga are also the same company

Tbh money no object id buy a la canache – love their wok burners and 260c ovens

What is a catalytic liner????

Catalytic liners absorb any grease that spits onto the side (they have a rough finish) of the oven and burns it off when the oven reaches over 200 degrees. You may need to run the oven on high heat every now and again to keep them working effectively. They never coat the base so you’ll still need to clean that.

Built in double oven here, no silly bending over to put stuff in an oven.

Really wouldn’t get anything else now.

Had a rangemaster professional for 12 years now. Its great. I went for the 110 mode with 2 full sized ovens.

the only issues with it are

* warming plate light bulb went after about 8 years
* gas hob is a pain to clean – but only because I’m lazy

its also easy to move around if you need to – theres a built in retractable wheel thingy

We’ve had a Rangemaster 110 for over a decade now. The 110 ovens aren’t full size but not much smaller. Only ever needed to replace a flame safety device on the most used oven which was quite simply to do and only £30 for the part.
The griddle plate seemed like a good idea at the time and was replaced with a wok ring which was expensive so make sure you get it configured how you will use it to avoid extra expense further down the line.

If you’re fitting it yourself they are very heavy, especially to get up a few steps. Have a strong mate on standby.

Thanks for all the feedback so far – and we are doing an entire refit/remodel so we’ve got people in. The work I am putting in is even more late nights to pay for it all…