Talk to me about ranges please - we are redoing our kitchen

[AButterflyLightsBesideUs]

My basic criteria are:
6 gas hobs
2 electric ovens (fan/conventional/grill in one of the ovens type thing)

Ideally:
A big full width drawer along the bottom for baking trays etc
A glass lid that can be folded down to use as extra worktop from time to time/stop cats licking hob etc

We have been told Rangemaster is the best, and whilst we are happy to spend on them they are ££££. Can anyone recommend/share experiences with other brands? Who is worth having? Any specific models you recommend or things I might not have thought of?

We are having cream gloss units, chunky stainless steel handles, probably oak worktops, so a fairly clean hopefully reasonably modern unfussy look.

Thanks!

We have had a belling range for 6 years. Much cheaper than range master. 7 burners. 2 ovens. Grill and drawer below fan oven

Has glass lid which locks the gas when closed

Had no issues at all

I've got my eye on a Stoves Sterling range cooker with induction hob which comes in either stainless steel or black. I'm used to a gas hob but induction really appeals and is easier to keep clean.

Your cats lick the hob?

I have had a Rangemaster for 7 years. It's great, easy to clean and well made.

Well I don't know that they lick the hob Japan but I've certainly had to clean their footprints off it too many times, I guess they must be hoping some food got left. It's not nice anyway.

Good to hear Belling is good too, they are a lot cheaper. I'll have a look at their range

Unfortunately if we go for a Rangemaster DH has been smitten by the Elise SE in china blue which is basically as expensive as they get and not necessarily ideal as it's got solid oven doors so you have to open it to check on your food - not ideal for cakes etc!

Console yourself that at least it wasn't this one
http://www.rangecookers.co.uk/lacanche-vezelay-220-induction-product,3357.aspx
£14240 !!

In fact most of the Falcon, Mercury, Britannia, Bertazzoni and few more are more expensive - so you did well really !!!! Enjoy it !!! It's an investment - but a good one !!

Bloody hell, over 2m long and you only get 8 rings?! Christ 14k would pay for the entire kitchen twice over including DH's beloved Elise!

Another vote for Rangemaster, although we had the 110 Elan which also has solid doors. We've had two - the first dual fuel we had for 11 years, the second that we had for 3 years was all electric (no mains gas at our last house) - and had no issues with either. We'll be getting a Bertazzoni here as I fancy a change currently managing with a single neff oven and domino hob so can't wait if we ever get the new kitchen finished!

One thing we liked about it was the gas hobs were shiny and easy to keep clean. Originally we had one with dull (cast iron?) hob rings/surface and everything - including our then cats' hairs - stuck to it like shit to a blanket

I've got similar criteria and I'm going for the Stones 1100ei it's got 6 induction hobs and 3 ovens

Stoves not stones!!!

I have a rangemaster, smaller than what you are intending. One issue is the that the grill is pretty crap. It is set too high so you have to turn over the griddle (is that the word) so it is nearly flat so you don't burn your food. I thought it was just me at first, but a look online confirmed what I thought and it really is a bit of a design flaw. It also seems a bit cheap and tinny. If you are buying a top of the range model, then of course it may be better.

I have had my three years, it is black with matching range master canopy. Belling are a whole lot cheaper, but rangemaster are a lot better looking. They do really look the part.

I've got a Rangemaster Elise, which I'm happy with. It has 8 rings, 2 electric ovens and a drawer for pans. It's this one

www.johnlewis.com/rangemaster-elise-se-110-dual-fuel-cooker-black/p231027218?sku=231027218&kpid=231027218&s_kenid=4ba43a74-3aa7-9b08-f205-000026e92612&s_kwcid=402x364805&tmad=c&tmcampid=73

Rangemaster are owned by Aga iirc

I have a stoves range - mine is fully gas but it is much better quality than the rangemaster ones I saw in Currys.

Our Rangemaster is dying, after 18 years hard graft. As a new one is about £1500 - £2000, I think there are good value for money.

Another Rangemaster fan. Wehave a professional 90, it looks good, is very well made and easy to clean but even more important the food tastes better!
Everything I cook (and there were no complaints before) isabout 20% more yummy.

We've ummed and arred as it were, and considered this Belling but not convinced on the colour - it seems very light stainless steel.

I think we will probably go for this Rangemaster Professional+. It's very shiney. And about £600 cheaper than the Elise SE model at least!

That is today's decision - of course we'll probably have changed our minds by tomorrow...

We had a Rangemaster in our old house and bought a Belling this time around due to funds mostly. I miss the Rangemaster:

The Belling is slightly smaller but that was to fit the space. You can't put lots of roasting dishes into the second oven which is totally tedious as it is really narrow. And you can't swap shelves from one oven to another.
We don't have a drawer underneath any more. In hindsight having somewhere to ditch shelves and dishes not in use was dead handy. DH always heats the oven up and then takes the stuff out so there are scalding hot pans on the counters !
The Belling only has fan ovens, the Rangemaster gives the option of choosing convection or fan which is handy for baking and so MIL doesn't burn her cakes.
Weirdly the temperature dials on the Belling are really unclear. There's a spot between the temperatures so it's not clear which temp you are choosing or a temp in between. We've had to buy an oven thermometer to be sure
Some of our gas knobs have warped from the heat of the oven below.
You can't turn on an oven light if you've turned off the oven.
Rangemaster ships with a little cookbook which is a useful reference guide for cooking times especially with fan ovens where the guidelines seem to vary widely. Bell ships with zip.

Cons.
The grill is better than the Rangemaster which as a PP said, is totally shit and far too close to the heating elements. Lots of burned cheese on toast.
Our Rangemaster had a roasting dish on the door? If you opened the door too sharply you risked sending a roast chicken into orbit across the kitchen floor. Also meant that you constantly had to clean the sodding door.

Both
Neither have self cleaning ovens for the liners [boo]
While both have thermoproof doors, it's wise to keep small children away
Neither range [at least when we looked] had a good option for childproofing the gas knobs against little fingers.
To be honest though, you can train your child not to go near either which is a better life lesson.

We [DH] looked at brushed stainless steel for both. Decided against it when I pointed out that he'd be responsible for wiping off finger marks.