
Choosing a range cooker can be confusing with so many different makes, fuel types, sizes and styles. If you take a manufacturer like Rangemaster for example their are nine different range styles most of which are available in 3 different widths and five or six colour choices with two different trims. If you have just started to research which type of range cooker to buy let us point you in the right direction, range cooker vary in price considerably so the first consideration is your budget. If you are spending under £1000 you should be looking at makes like Leisure and Indesit, moving up in price & quality, the cheapest British made range cooker is Belling. Belling celebrated 100 year of cooker production last year, Bellling range cookers are made in their factory at Prescott near Liverpool. Bellings Core range of range cooker consists of the Belling Classic, Country Classic and Professional range cookers, available in 90cm 100cm or 110cm widths. Belling Range cookers are available in Black Anthracite, Cream or Silver in Natural Gas Dual Fuel or all electric. Please note that all Belling gas Range Cookers have electric grills.
Made in the same factory as Belling but to a higher specification and build quality is Stoves. Stoves range cooker are more chunky & solid than Belling and available in two styles. Stoves Richmond range cookers have that classic look and are available in Cream, Black, Burgundy or Green in 90cm 100cm & 110cm in Dual Fuel Gas or all electric with a split Induction / Ceramic hob. The Richmond 110 dual fuel and gas cookers have a seven burner gas hob with cast iron pan supports, one of there best selling points is the 2 spacious ovens, separate grill and slow cook oven perfect for stews & casseroles. The other style of Stoves range cooker is the Sterling. These have the same features & layout as the Richmond but is in a more contemporary design and available in some funky colours like Jalapeno and Coconut and a Union Jack model as well as good old Stainless Steel. Stainless Steel is always a safe bet if you are worried about the cooker looking dated in 5 or 6 years time.
In my opinion the next step up in build quality & price is Rangemaster Range cookers. Rangemaster is part of the AGA Group which consists of AGA, Mercury, Falcon & Rangemaster, made in Leamington Spar, Warwickshire Rangemaster have an enormous range of cookers. To help you choose I would split the styles into Classic & Contemporary. The Classic range cookers include the Classic 90 Classic 100 Classic 110 Elan 90 Elan 100 and Traditional 90 Traditional 110. The Contemporary styles include Elite, Kitchener 90, Kitchener 110, Professional 90 Professional 100, Professional 110, Toledo 90 and Toledo 110.
Although there are nine different styles there are only 4 different layouts. The Rangemaster 90 chassis has one large multifunction oven, one tall oven and a separate grill, the hob layouts vary. The Rangemaster 100 Chassis has 2 ovens separate grill & warming draw with different hob configurations. The Rangemaster 110 Chassis comes in three different configurations the main one has 2 oven (one high one low) a grill and warming draw this configuration is found on the Classic, Elan, Kitchener, Toledo, Professional and Traditional ranges. The second 110 chassis is found on the Excel this has two large ovens at the bottom a separate grill & slow cooker at the top. The third 110 configuration is two large ovens with a full width storage drawer underneath, this layout is fond on the Rangemaster Elite. No one style is better than the other it all comes down to taste and what serves you needs.
SMEG bring a touch of Italian style to the kitchen with their range of 90cm to 150cm wide Range Cookers. The Smeg Range Cookers range start with a couple of 80cm wide single oven cookers with five gas burners. 80cm is an unusual size and I would not recommend basing a new kitchen around this size as you might struggle to find a replacement in years to come. SMEG make a number of 90cm cookers including the SMEG Concert SUK81MBL5 and SUK81MFX5 dual fuel single 78L oven cookers with 5 gas burners perfect if you prefer one large oven. The 90cm twin oven SMEG Concert range cookers are available in dual fuel or ceramic in Stainless Steel, Cream or Black with a modern and stylish appearance and four adjustable stainless steel legs. The top of the Range 90cm SMEG cooker is the Opera A1-6 with 6 gas burners, 70 litre multifunction oven which includes a Rotisserie. The SMEG A1 Opera is also available in an all electric Induction version the A1PYID. SMEG Opera Range Cookers are also available in 100cm 120cm & 150cm widths all with twin ovens. The SMEG 100cm Opera A2PYID-6 has a 5 zone induction hob, 60 litre main pyrolitic oven and 27 litre secondary oven. Both ovens have Rotisseries.
Falcon Range Cookers are part of the AGA group and made in Leamington Spa, England. They are available in 90cm 100cm 110cm and 130cm widths and finished to a very high standard. What I particularly like about Falcon cookers is all the Gas and dual fuel models have single piece brass burners, the advantage of this is they are easier to clean and you can not accidentally knock the cap off when mopping up spillages. All Falcon hobs are forged from a single piece of stainless steel again making it easier to clean the hob. All models with a separate grill compartment have Falcons roller grill with 4 adjustable height setting. The Falcon Continental 1092 has two large ovens with internal grills and a large storage draw underneath. If you are looking for a higher quality Range Cooker I would highly recommend having a look at Falcon Range cookers they have good build quality functionality and are easy to keep clean
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