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Original poster

Help! Range cookers - which, induction? are they worth it....

22 replies

Squigglywiggly · 26/10/2011 20:53

Our kitchen is currently being re-designed and we are going to get a range oven (I think) as we do a lot of cooking.

Advice would be very much appreciated on:

which are good brands in your opinions
would it be worth buying a more expensive brand
anyone tried an induction hob (we have no gas)

We are a little limited to 90cm in width as it is to fit an old chimney space.

Thanks in anticipation of your advice!

OP posts:

flatbread · 26/10/2011 21:40

We have induction and absolutely love it. I would suggest free standing induction hobs from Lakeland. They are cheap, movable and if anything goes wrong, you don't have to worry about conforming with a built-in layout.

The built in inductions need a special plug point as well, while the free standing ones can just be plugged in like a kettle.

Best combo though is gas and induction - gas for high heat wok stirfrys and the induction for pretty much everything else

minipie · 27/10/2011 12:58

I've got a Britannia gas range and really like it (and my MIL has the same and also loves it). I do wish it had another small burner though.

my mum has a Lacanche and I find it very annoying - all the burners (even the smaller ones) are super powerful so it's hard to cook anything on low, plus they take ages to light.

I don't know anything about induction though, sorry.

MrsSharp · 27/10/2011 13:00

We have a Rangemaster Classic Deluxe range with an Induction hob and I love it. It looks great, cooks great and the hob cleans like a dream.

throckenholt · 27/10/2011 13:04

we have a falcon range - it cost a lot and was our biggest buy by far. When we were looking the cheaper ones were noticeably less well made and didn't feel as robust.

we have had it a few years now and can't fault it. The only time we had a problem was when the fan went wrong and then the customer service was brilliant and the fan was changed the next morning.

Original poster

Squigglywiggly · 27/10/2011 14:48

Thanks so much for all replies! I think we are considering either a range master one or a Britannia one. Unfortunately the falcon 90 doesn't come with induction.

I have read about ilve ones from Italy - anyone got one of these?

OP posts:

pippala · 27/10/2011 15:40

We bought a stainless steel kenward range from curry only £500!!
we are soooo pleased with it. we went for the large 90cm oven with two trays.
we cooked a lagna for 75 guests in it in the summer.
very easy to clean. the only slight drawback is that as the oven is large it heats a good 20mins preheating even on the fan oven setting.

pippala · 27/10/2011 15:42

lasagne!

Original poster

Squigglywiggly · 27/10/2011 15:59

MrsSharpe - is the rangemaster induction hob step less? I ask this as BIL has an induction hob but it has 12 power levels and he always needs one that is inbetween.

Pippala - I will have a look at the Kenwood. Did not know they did such things, but when our blender broke I was impressed with the customer service.

OP posts:

coastgirl · 27/10/2011 16:15

MrsSharp - what width do you have? We're looking at a Classic Deluxe 110 and I'm glad to hear you like it. How do you find the ovens?

newgirl · 27/10/2011 18:09

flatbread - does it need to be wired in by a qualified electician?

We have a zanussi induction and i love it. I cook a lot and it works well and is easy to use. They are eco efficient too as they turn off as soon as you finish as well as heating up instantly. Magic!

Is it a pain to clean range gas ones? We are about to move and the sellers are removing their range cooker and we are not sure whether to just buy another to fit the gap or try and fit an induction hob on the work top or not.

minipie · 27/10/2011 18:34

Yes if I'm honest the gas range is a pain to clean. It has heavy cast iron grids over the gas burners and you have to move those to wipe up any spills and splashes. And then the grids themselves need cleaning too.

But I still prefer it to induction as I think you get much more control over the level of heat and I have a cleaner who sorts out the hob so I only have to get the worst bits off in between her visits

flatbread · 27/10/2011 20:28

Newgirl, the fitted ones require an electrician, I think it is a dedicated plug on a higher v line.I think I just made the last thing up :) But it does need an electrician to wire up.

The free standing ones are just plug and play. The thing is, if you get a fitted induction and one of the burners stops working it can be a real pain and difficult to fix.

smartyparts · 27/10/2011 20:34

Oooh I am interested in this as we are currently planning our new kitchen. We have just had a quote from Wickes (£15,000, blimey) which included £2580 for induction range.

Am having recuperative glass of wine - I thought Wickes were cheap!

nocake · 27/10/2011 20:37

I love my Rangemaster classic. It's a 5 burner with an enormous wok ring.

If you have an electric cooker point in your kitchen you don't need an electrician to connect a new cooker or hob. It's a DIY job, assuming you're competent or know someone who is.

newgirl · 28/10/2011 09:06

Thanks. We bought entire kit hen from Wickes but you don't have to buy that appliance. John Lewis do a smart range for £995 if you get it delivered to you the Wickes fitters will put that one in for you. Ours were great - they have a contract w Wickes but are independent so they also arranged some carpentry etc so you can ask them to fit non Wickes products

MilkyChopsKid · 30/10/2011 22:19

Squigglywiggly - the Falcon 900 deluxe (90cm) comes in induction or gas, they even rave about induction on their website:

Falcon

We have exactly the same questions as you and a 90cm gap to fill. We were keen on Rangemaster but the only modern looking 90cm models are fan ovens only, I've not had a good experience with these. Also, the Rangemasters seem flimsy and not solidly built, we were impressed with the quality of the Falcon, the only difficult thing is the price - £3k or so.

Original poster

Squigglywiggly · 31/10/2011 07:11

Milkychopskid - I agree the rangemaster does feel a little flimsy. But it's reviews on which? for the professional model are very good. I prefer fan so that is not an issue.

No falcon in shop but the lacanche felt nice and solid.... Don't know if could justify extra money...

OP posts:

MilkyChopsKid · 31/10/2011 21:24

Squigglywiggly - I've seen the Which reviews and was initially keen on the Rangemaster Professional. Have you noticed that Which only test four things though for each oven (oven temp accuracy, oven heat distribution, grill test and oven cleaning), perhaps it really is that simple but only one of these is about the cooked food produced by the oven.

Do you find fan ok with just turning down the temperature? Even when I do this food comes out dry and things are still not evenly cooked. The brand we have is probably rubbish but I didn't really get on with a mid-range Neff which should have been ok, I hardly ever used the fan.

Lacanche look good but even more money than Falcon, have you seen their 2.5 metre range cooker!?

Speckledy · 31/10/2011 22:04

We have had a Rangemaster Professional + 90 for about a year and love it. Friends have a 110cm Falcon, also induction, and the hob itself appears to be identical to the Rangemaster one but the rest of the range is probably sturdier. We couldn't have afforded a Falcon so didn't even look at them and we're really happy with ours.

Speckledy · 31/10/2011 22:06

Sorry, not sure whether it's clear but ours is the induction hob version.

Original poster

Squigglywiggly · 04/11/2011 10:23

Milkychopskid - personally I find if you adjust temp down and check a little earlier then I get more consistent baking, etc with fan ovens. Our current fan is broken and it was so much harder cooking cupcakes in the conventional one. But I suspect it does vary oven to oven.

The 2.5 lacanche looks amazing.... I can dream....

Speckledy - glad to hear the professional + 90 is good with induction. What colour you go for? Is it easy to keep clean?

OP posts:

Spillers · 26/04/2016 16:21

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