Please help me choose a range cooker before my head explodes

[Cookerconfusion]

i need to replace my duel fuel range cooker and am getting totally confused. I’m related to spend up to £2.5K for the right thing.

I thought I’d found the one I wanted in either the Stoves Sterling or Richmond, however I’ve been put off by reading the Which? reviews which seem to suggest the brand isn’t very reliable. I’ve also looked at Rangemaster which does get good reviews however I’m not sure how practical the tall second oven design is. Can you really use all four shelves at once and get things to cook evenly? Isn’ this oven too narrow (I need a 100 cm cooker)?

please share your experiences with me as I’m completely overwhelmed now!

Can speak of current models but I've had my dual fuel Rangemaster nearly 20 trouble free years and it doesn't look like it's going to give up any time soon

I have an all electric Rangemaster, had it for just under 20 years. Still going strong, had to change the clock (very easy) that's all.

The tall oven is great, I use it a lot.

I've got a Falcon all electric 100cm, and use the smaller oven all the time. Most trays fit in it, and it warms really quickly.

how many 'rings' do you actually use?

Realistically 3 or 4 max at once, however I have a 100cm space to fill so that inevitably comes with more

I brought a dual fuel range cooker last week! I was also looking at a Stoves one, but we stretched the budget and went for a smeg and I love it!

The problem I found was trying to view one, in the end I found a local appliance center that had a large showroom with around 20 on display.

The one I have has a tall oven on one side, I use 3 shelves in it earlier and everything cooked evenly.

I’ve got a classic duel fuel range and use the smaller oven all the time yes you can use all four shelves at once. I personally prefer the taller side oven.

I have the Rangemaster Professional Deluxe Induction 110 electric range. It's brilliant, I'd buy it again happily. This is the 100cm version.

We had a rangemaster and loved it. The tall oven was great, no issues.

Oh I've just ordered the 120cm Smeg Opera for our kitchen. We couldn't see it in person for similar reasons which was really frustrating when buying an expensive piece of kit.

What model did you have and how do you find it so far?

I had a dual fuel Rangemaster with five gas rings, a standard oven and the tall oven for at least 14 years. I loved it - I used the tall oven far more than the standard one! It’s a fan, so heating should be fairly even.

Thanks everyone, these comments are so helpful. It's good to hear that the tall ovens function well.

@DeedlessIndeed funnily enough, my current cooker is a Smeg. However, it's over 20 years old and the model will be out of date by now. It's duel fuel and has two ovens - they are the same height, but I've always found the smaller one on the right to be a little narrow and I've quite a few dishes that don't fit it. It also had a period where the small oven overheated and I had to get that fixed, but all in all I've been happy with it and it's not needed a lot of attention in 20 years.

Also, I don't currently have a separate grill and quite like the idea of getting one this time.

I'll have another look at Smeg to see what they have in 100 models and also do some more detailed looking at Rangemaster.

@Viewfrommyhouse thanks for the link, I'm going to have a look at that now that I feel more reassured about the tall ovens.

@Randommother @DeedlessIndeed totally agree re how frustrating it is not being able to easily see these in person. I've visited various appliance centres because I like to get a sense of how robust the cookers feel but they never have a comprehensive range of models.

We brought the Smeg Victoria 100 wide. I’ve only cooked yesterday’s roast in it so far, but it was great and so much better than my old cooker, which had been on its last legs for years 😂

Reading with interest.
My new house has a Stoves ( can't recall the model) and I can't say how bitterly disappointed I am with it.
I've always wanted a range and a double oven but the oven sizes are so small none of my roasting tins and trays will fit in. Fittings feel flimsy.
The burners are ok with good control and I do like to have five.