Advice please on stand-alone cookers

[Tolleydog]

Having spent ages searching the shops I’ve looked through this forum but I now seem to have more questions than answers and would appreciate some help. We are looking for a 60 cm stand-alone cooker in the 500-800 pound range. Definitely a gas hob, preferably with a wok burner (what sort of output should we be looking for), but open minded about the oven. If electric, what are the pros and cons of fan assisted? The fans do not seem to last particularly long. Are they generally easy to replace or is it an engineer job?

We would like a variable grill i.e. one can adjust the temperature. Many models do not seem to do this and instead the distance between the fixed heat source and the grill pan is varied. Is this a good or bad thing?

What are the advantages of a double over a single oven? I can’t think of many occasions when the grill has been needed as the same time as the oven?

Whilst I look for reliability and quality, Mrs. T goes for appearances and chunky metal work on the hob. What brands should be avoided? I’ve picked up from discussions on this forum that Smeg/ Neff/ AEG/ Bosch/ Mercury/ Viking/ CDA/ Leisure/ Stoves/ Belling/ Cannon are okay to good, but there is little discussion (compared to say the washing forum) as to poor brands. Possibly Baumatic, Hotpoint, LG?

Any thoughts on Lofra in particular, or Delonghi or Kenwood. It’s a bit confusing with the re-badging issue.

Any comments on any or all of these points would be much appreciated.

[Phidom]

Re: Advice please on stand-alone cookers

I don’t do gas so can’t comment on that. Fan ovens probably do cook a bit more evenly but the elements (not the fans) do seem to have a more limited life. Grills are often controlled by a simmerstat the same as an electric hob ring. This does not work too well as a small reduction from full gives a big increase in cooking time. Some share a thermostat with an oven but again, not very good as things stop cooking during the off phases. The distance from the element does seem the best form of control and you will find the cheaper Creda cookers suffer from only having one fixed height for the grill pan.

[Tolleydog]

Re: Advice please on stand-alone cookers

Phidom – Thank you for your helpful reply.

I’m particularly interested in any comments on the quality or reliability of Lofra or Zanussi cookers in general.

Also, searching the forums here and on the internet in general suggests that there are a whole host of quality/ reliability issues with Smeg gas cookers, ranging from thermostat problems to poor after-sales service. The term “style over substance” springs to mind. Is this a true reflection of Smeg cookers, especially given their premium pricing?

[kwatt]

Re: Advice please on stand-alone cookers

Smeg are okay and are a little better in terms of finish and, generally, in customer service IME.

Lofra seem okay, but I’ve not seen too many (probably a good thing) but, like many “budget” manufacturers forget about any possibility of an exchange if it doesn’t go right.

Zanussi used to be good but I have no experience of the current range.

Gas or induction hob is the way to go if you cook and want controlability, you get a far poorer response time from ceramic or standard electric methods. A wok burner is good, but on a 60cm cooker I’d say it wasn’t much cop as you’ll struggle to get anything else onthe hob top whilst using a decent sized wok or pan on that zone.

Electric ovens are far better IMO, far more stable in terms of temperature and produce better results.

A double oven is hand, very if you entertain and you can stick plates in there whilst using the main oven and it should gently heat the plates even when off.

Hope that helps.

K.

[Tolleydog]

kwatt – Thank you for your advice.

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