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Range Cooker: Buying Guide
The ultimate range cooker buying guide.
No matter what cooking skills you bring to the kitchen, a high quality range cooker is the cornerstone of any busy kitchen. From batch baking to large family roast dinners, a range cooker can handle it all with ease. And with a vast variety of sizes, designs and colours, you’re guaranteed to find one to suit any and every kitchen. They also come in various fuel types such as gas, dual fuel and electric, to cater to any cooking preference.
How do you know which range cooker to buy?
With so many options to choose from, it can be tough to figure out what’s right for you and your kitchen. Luckily, we know them inside and out. With over 35 years experience of selling range cookers, we know exactly what to look for before buying a range cooker.
Our guide will cover everything you need to know about range cookers. We cover things like fuel types, sizes, colours, style and features. It’s important to us that you’re able to make an informed decision!
What is a Range Cooker?
Before we go any further, let’s start by explaining what a range cooker is. There’s no point boasting about how amazing they are when you’re not even sure what we’re talking about!
Simply put, a range cooker is a combination of an oven and a hob. “But isn’t that the same as a regular freestanding cooker?” I hear you ask. Well, yes and no. The basics are similar, however a range cooker is significantly bigger, and offers more cooking settings. This makes them better equipped for cooking larger portions or more advanced recipes.
They’re essentially the ultimate cooking machine!
Why Choose a Range Cooker
If you love cooking, or need to cook for a large family, a range cooker seems like a no brainer. They often feature generous capacity ovens, four or more hob burners, and handy extras such as fish kettles and grill plates. All of this means that they’re ideal for cooking multiple dishes at different temperatures, making them a popular choice amongst professional chefs.
There are so many benefits of a range cooker to talk about! However, we’ve done our best to condense them down into a list of the most useful ones.
The Main Benefits of a Range Cooker
Large Capacity
The biggest benefit of a range cooker has to be its size. They have larger widths and oven capacities than other types of cookers. Typical range cooker widths range from 90cm to a whopping 150cm. For comparison, a standard freestanding cooker will have a width of either 50cm, 55cm or 60cm. That’s a huge difference in size! All of this additional space means that you’re able to cook bigger dishes, or multiple smaller dishes, at the same time. Cooking Christmas dinner is a breeze with a range cooker!
Cooking Flexibility
There are a large variety of additional cooking features available to choose from across range cooker models. Such features include a grill, a tall oven or even a proofing drawer. So you can cook up a storm easily, moving from different compartments without any trouble.
Long Lasting
A good quality range cooker can serve you well for ten to twenty years. Some can last even longer with a good level of care. A good quality range cooker is made out of strong, high-quality materials such as stainless steel. This gives you incredible reliability that will last a long time.
All-In-One Cooking
A range cooker gets it all done in one! So, instead of investing time in researching various different oven and hob models, you can get it all in one purchase.
Fuel Types
Range cookers are available in different fuel types. We offer three types of fuel: Gas, Electric and Dual Fuel. You can also get LPG kits too if you need this. Unsure on which fuel type to choose from? We explain the differences below.
Gas
This type of range cooker has a gas cooktop, as well as a gas main oven. Sometimes the additional ovens in these models are conventional or electric.
The benefits of choosing a gas fuel type includes the instant heat generated from the flame. This allows you to cook on the hob instantly, and speeds up how quickly the oven reaches temperature.
Cooking with a gas oven is also fantastic for roasting. This is because they create more moisture than electric ovens, so your food won’t dry out as easily.
Another benefit of gas range cookers is the low running cost. Gas is cheaper than electric, meaning that a gas range cooker will typically be cheaper to run than an electric range cooker.
Electric
An electric range cooker has an electric cooktop and a conventional or fan main oven. The cooktop may be either ceramic or induction.
Ceramic Cooktop
A ceramic cooktop is a popular choice due to their performance and completely flat surface. This makes them really easy to clean!
These hobs can preheat quickly, and offer a wide range of cooking methods and control options. This helps you to stay on top of what you’re cooking, whilst allowing for quick and easy clean-up.
Induction Cooktop
Induction hobs are just as responsive as gas hobs, but are faster, safer and more efficient.
The hob of an induction range cooker heats the pan using electromagnetic energy. This means only the pan is heated – the surface of the hob itself will barely get warm. (Your pan has to be made from a ferrous metal for this to work though). Once you remove the pan, the connection is broken and no more heat is produced. This makes them extremely safe and efficient!
Dual Fuel
One of the most commonly asked questions we get is what is a dual fuel range cooker? A dual fuel range cooker has a gas cooktop with an electric conventional or fan main oven.
They are by far the most popular type of range cooker on sale today. This is because they offer the cooking speed and even heat distribution of a fan assisted oven, and the control and quick heat of a gas hob. They also offer a more traditional touch and feel to your kitchen space that a flat cooktop just can’t do.
Because they are so popular, dual fuel range cookers tend to have a wider selection of sizes. However, the standard size is 90cm. They also offer many different cooking zones, such as a wok burner, cast iron griddle, and much more!
Please note: Dual fuel cookers need to be installed by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
LPG
LPG range cookers work in the same way as gas range cookers. They still use gas to power the cooker, but it’s a different type of gas to the natural gas you find in your home’s gas mains.
LPG stands for liquefied petroleum gas, and comes in a gas bottle or cylinder. There are two different types of LPG – propane and butane. Propane gas comes in a red cylinder and butane comes in a blue one (a quick trick is to remember B = blue).
It is recommended that you do not connect a blue butane canister to an oven. Only use the red propane cylinders. These will give you a much better performance.
Almost all dual fuel range cookers are LPG compatible cookers. This means you can use an LPG kit to change the fuel source from natural gas to LPG. Some gas range cookers, such as most Rangemaster range cookers, are also compatible.
The benefit of an LPG is that it burns at a higher heat than gas supplied through the mains. Also, because it comes in a bottle, it’s portable. This means you can take the gas bottle with you if you go camping, which saves you buying another canister.
Note: Because LPG comes in a container, eventually it will run out and will need replacing. Depending on how much you cook, an LPG gas bottle will usually last around 4-6 months.
Range Cooker Sizes
Dimensions
The dimensions of a range cooker include the height, width and depth. When looking for a range cooker though, you’ll find that the standard sizes are based on the width.
The typical range cooker sizes are:
If you have a small kitchen, a 90cm range cooker may be your ideal choice. These offer a lot of versatility in a compact package. A 90cm single-oven range cooker still offers a generous amount of oven space (we’re talking a massive 100L – 120L). A twin-oven cooker is also versatile enough for the needs of most families.
A width of 100cm or more will usually accommodate two cooking compartments. This will usually be one large primary compartment and a smaller secondary compartment.
In general, a range cooker that is 110cm+ will give you more ovens and additional features.
The standard depth of a range cooker is 60cm. This will match most kitchen countertops.
How To Raise Stove Height
Most major range cooker manufacturers provide adjustable feet with their range cookers. These feet allow standard range cookers to stand between 86cm and 91cm tall.
Range cookers with a built-in grill tend to be slightly taller. They usually stand between 910mm and 935mm high.
If your counter is still still taller than your range cooker, consult the manufacturer of your chosen oven to find out if it can be safely adjusted.
Oven Capacity
How big of an oven capacity you need will depend on what and how much you cook. A capacity of 60L is ideal for a family of 4 who cook one or two dishes at once. It can fit a whole roast turkey between 6-9kg.
For larger families, those who cook multiple dishes at once, or busy bakers, a bigger oven capacity offers more variety.
Many range cookers will offer multiple oven cavities, usually 2. Although smaller, these allow for multiple dishes to be cooked at different temperatures. Furthermore, the smaller the capacity the more energy efficient your oven will be. This is because it won’t need to heat up any extra space.
To determine the dimensions you require, measure the gap in your kitchen. This will help you to find a model that best fits to give you a flush, seamless style.
Colours & Style
You’d be surprised at how many colour options there are with range cookers!
Of course, if you’re looking for standard black or stainless steel, you’re covered. However if you’re looking for something to add a bit more of a statement, there’s loads of options for you there too.
Red, green, purple – all colours of the rainbow! If you can think of it, we’ll probably stock it!
Features
There are so many features to find amongst all of the range cookers. Below we’ll talk about the ones that are the most useful or popular.
Programmable Oven Features
Many range cooker ovens come with sophisticated multifunction pre-sets. For example, one pre-set could defrost a joint, cook it through, and then heat up at the end for a nice crispy finish. That leaves you with heaps of time to sort out all the trimmings, without needing to touch the oven until it’s done.
Multi-Function Ovens
Multifunction ovens can have up to nine different heat sources. These can be used either separately or in combination, depending on your needs. For example, when cooking meat you can use both the grill and fan for the perfect cook. Other meals that can benefit include pizza or vegetables.
Self-Cleaning Ovens
There are two kinds of self-cleaning oven technologies: Catalytic ovens have a special lining that absorbs spills and splashes, and then breaks them down. Pyrolytic ovens heat the oven up to 400°C. This extreme heat completely incinerates any leftover waste.
Fan Assisted Ovens
A fan assisted oven uses a fan inside to circulate the hot air. This allows the heat to be evenly distributed, eliminating hot or cold spots. In turn, you get a consistent cooking or baking experience. It also means a shorter cooking time, and helps prevent your food from drying out too much.
Bread Proving Drawers
Some range cookers come equipped with a bread proving drawer. This can be used to rest and rise your bread before baking. Alternatively, it can also be used for resting meat, melting butter, or warming plates before serving. With so many possible uses, it’s a must have feature for many chefs.
Telescopic Shelf Runners
Telescopic shelf runners allow a shelf to be partially pulled out of the oven. There is a safety mechanism that will stop it from coming out completely, avoiding any accidental spills. This means that you can safely check or add to your food during cooking, and safely take it out.
Griddle
A griddle, or hotplate, is a ridged or flat cooking surface that can be placed over the burners or cooking zones. This creates a flexible multi zone cooking area, perfect so many different dishes. You can sear meat or vegetables, fry eggs or bacon or even make pancakes.
Wok Burner/Support
A wok burner, (or a wok support or wok ring) is a high-powered burner that supports a wok. Many woks have a rounded bottom, making them difficult to place on a flat hob. A lot of heat is lost when the wok isn’t supported correctly. A wok support makes cooking stir frys or seating meat a breeze.
Check out our range of range cookers in our wide and varied cooking section. We offer many premium cooking appliances, including Built In Steam Ovens or Air Venting Induction Hobs. With top products at great prices from leading brands, you have the luxury of choosing from the best cooking appliances available today.
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