Range cooker recommendations/anything to avoid?

[pacific407]

After getting some really great help with a previous post where I was debating whether to get rid of my inherited Aga when we redo the kitchen, I have decided to get rid. Which then leaves me with a decision as to what cooker to replace it with. I have decided on a range, as opposed to separate oven/hob combos (I may live to regret that decision) but really don't know what to go with.
I'm used to a gas hob, but have heard great things about induction. Then there's the question of brand - any recommendations or anything I should totally avoid?! Advice gratefully received!

Oh no @MyAltAccount - we were thinking of getting a Smeg range (the induction Concert range). What has gone wrong with yours?

@TaleOfTheContinents

Oh no *@MyAltAccount* - we were thinking of getting a Smeg range (the induction Concert range). What has gone wrong with yours?

We have the SMEG Opera 150cm a5-8

Things that have gone wrong:-
Oven element
Grill Element
Gas clickers stopped working.
Oven seal doesn't last more than a year.
Oven timer blew up - literally.

On the plus side, their spares dept are lovely helpful people.

We had a Britannia range with gas hobs in our previous house and had no problems over 15 years and are currently building a kitchen extension in our new home. Probably a Rangemaster Professional.
I’m definitely having a duel fuel range again with a gas hob - I do a lot of stir frying in a proper wok so despite what has been said by those who stir fry on an induction hob there is no way you could use a proper wok on one.
The other thing to consider is that you never see chefs on the tv using an induction hob - not that I’m a professional chef 😂

"Probably a Rangemaster Professional."
As I said up thread we have an induction Rangemaster Professional Deluxe (it came with the house) I can't quite explain why but Im not totally convinced. It has a lot of extras; simmering settings, timers, rapid heat and so on but ultimately I don't use them and Im quite a serious cook. I'm not sure their are really necessary and I wonder of there's too much to go wrong. In contrast the dual fuel Falcon in my other house, Falcons costs significantly more than the Rangemaster but has no extras they've concentrated on build quality. Seven years of pretty hard use it looks as good and works as well as the day we bought it.

Thanks @timetochangeyourlife but I wouldn’t be having one with an induction hob so there’s not much extra you can have on a gas hob apart from a powerful wok burner.

The ovens got a delayed timer on it a rapid heat setting and other bits I never use any of it. The thing I do like is the roasting/baking tray attached to the door as I get older and bending over and getting things in and out of an oven gets harder it feels easier to use.

Rangemaster dual fuel here.
I love mine. We left one behind when we moved from our old house and it looked as good as the day we bought it despite being 10 years old.
The range in our new house then turned out to be broken so we replaced it with another rangemaster which has also been just as good.

Range master nexus se 110 here. Love it. Dual fuel. Had a rangemaster Toledo in my previous house which we installed a good 12 years ago and still going strong.

@TaleOfTheContinents
I have a smeg symphony.
We got an E4 error code on the induction oven, apparently it means it’s the control boards. There are 5 hobs and they can’t tell which one it is so they need to replace all 5.
Current quote is £800 for parts

We put in a Britannia gas hob electric ovens 1 years ago and still going strong - I absolutely love it.

@TaleOfTheContinents Repair costs seems to be a vote in favour of gas over induction...that's a good percentage of the original cost!!

@Londonmummy66 the Britannias look so lovely too...

[quote pacific407]@TaleOfTheContinents Repair costs seems to be a vote in favour of gas over induction...that's a good percentage of the original cost!![/quote]
True - I can’t imagine that anything would go wrong with a gas hob.

@Hadiever

Definitely look at a Godin. Ours has lasted forever.

Are they actually sold in the UK (other than some sporadic imports). I am wondering how you get spare pieces when small repairs are eventually needed.

I bought a Smeg stainless steel range cooker and it looked great, but it seemed sort of flimsy to use. We sold the house only 6 months later and I was quite happy to leave the cooker there.

Thanks @MyAltAccount @Onestep2021@pacific407 - I'll steer clear of a Smeg. I'll admit I was driven by style over substance - they are pretty!

I've had a Britannia double oven (120cm) for about 15 years and the element needed repairing once. It's huge and has lots of rings which I love. Particularly at Christmas.

Hi, any recommendations/advice re range cookers. Will be needing to buy new one. Thinking induction one, for me that's the main tech/eco consideration. Like knobs not touch buttons, don't want to see repair person very much ! Cook alot of stir fries etc and not sure if induction is up to that ? Thanks in anticipation 😊

We have a Godin. Absolutely brilliant oven. Approximately 35 years old and still working. Parts are easy to source.

I have a Smeg that I bought in 2001. Replaced a couple of parts but otherwise still going strong. I love it.