Does anyone have a range style oven and are they worth the money?

[GColdtimer]

I am having a new kitchen and have asked them to spec for a range style oven. Even at the low end, they are around £1500 here). I really can't decide whether it is worth the best part of an extra £1000 to have one of these over a bog standard one.

Any thoughts?

we have a brittania 1000cm size and it is great,we regularly use both ovens but then dh is a keen cook.
btw we've got the model with no windows which is much easier to keep clean

We have a Britannia one (do shop around on the web - there were some great bargains when we were looking). We seldom use both ovens but it does look great in the kitchen.

I have a stoves too and like it. The only thing I would say is look for one with a seperate grill, or at least a grill which isn't part of the main fan oven (as ours is). It's a bit of a pain to have to cook oven stuff inthe conventional oven if you want to grill at the same time....also fat splattering from the grill can smoke when you are using the main fan oven lots. Ours is the brushed steel and is a bit high maintenance - have to clean and then go over with windowlene - to get a strek/smear free finish. HTH

I have had a Leisure Rangemaster 110 for eight years and it has been worth it's weight in gold.
The fan oven is superb and the conventional oven reliable. They have a platewarmer and a griddle as well.
I had to replace a hob ring about five years ago but apart from that it has been hassle free.It is also easy to keep clean.

I have this one I think it is fabulous. I am going to ask for the wok ring sand a new wok for my birthday as I cook a lot of chinese food.

Thanks everyone, all your feedback is adding weight to my argument that it will be a good investment . Useful comment about the separate grill, I was wondering about that.

Does anyone have a rotissirie option and do you use it?

Ours has the rotisserie thingy, but I can't say I'm very impressed with it. Once or twice the whole chicken has dropped off the spit! And it doesn't seem to be any faster than normal roasting, which I thought was part of the point.

Thanks, that may have saved me a couple of hundred as it is the only difference between the rangemaster and the brittania that I can see and the rangemaster has a separate grill.

we have a 900mm Kenwood range type thing with 6 burners, 1 fan oven 1 conventional oven and a warming drawer/compartment. Every time I use it I think "how lovely to have all this space!" and it was only £600 or so, from Comet.

Would echo smoggie though, it's a brushed finish which is a pain to keep clean. Otherwise I love it and think they really "make" a kitchen.

Thanks minkus, I was looking at the kenwood ones too as they do seem a lot cheaper. Have you had any problems with it? I can't find anything on the web about kenwood ranges so was wary.

think i have the same cooker as minkus, also from comet, got it about 6mths ago and absolutely LOVE it, its great to have the two ovens, esp when cooking a roast etc, and as we are a family of 5 about to become 6 and we do lots of cooking and baking we really appreciate the extra oven and space.

Will go and have a look at it - see you are all saving me hundreds

We have a Leisure Zenith 110 which we've had for (eek) seven years now. I wouldn't have put a range cooker in the kitchen personally (it's small) but the previous owners had one, so short of remodelling the kitchen to have a smaller space for a cooker, a range it was. I do like it a lot (got it at about the time my parents bought a Smeg one with a single oven with integrated grill, suffice to say they no longer have that, I still have my range). It has five burners and a plate warmer (think it may be pretty much the same as jeremyspants' Rangemaster actually. It's had a new element in the conventional oven in that time, and the warming drawer needs a new runner, probably because I don't use it as a warming drawer, but as storage for a vast array of roasting tins etc).

Just don't use wire wool to clean the control knobs, however greasy they may be.

I have this one. The separate grill is worth having. It's nice and compact too.

This one
www.rangecookers.co.uk/Product.aspx?id=268

Look at the prices on that site too for the bigger Rangemasters.

Oh tae hell gonaenodaethat...I never knew that the big drawer was a warming drawer! I honestly thought it was for baking trays

Thanks gonaenodaethat, that is the one I was looking at. I think you have all convinced me, I would hate to put a normal one in and then forever be wishing that I had gone for something a bit smarter.

twofalls the only drawback I can think of is that although everything comes apart for easy cleaning, the bits on the gas hob (rings, iron bits, wok burner etc) can't be put in the dishwasher. I found this out after the first time I used said hob and over-zealously decded to clean them after just one use- it took all the shine off the stainless bits.