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Dual Fuel Range Cooker and Wooden worktops

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Hello All,

This is my first post so please make it worthwhile!

I am currently looking into spending some money refurbing my kitchen. I have always wanted a range cooker but I do not want to spend huge amounts of money on it. At the moment Comet are offering a good deal on a Delonghi Dual fuel 90cm range at £399. Does anyone know anything about these, especially DeLongi? I am really keen to have the large oven but am torn because I know that a second oven is sometimes handy and because I am not sure how efficient such a huge oven would be. Please help! Also do you think I can really buy a good oven for under £400 or is this a false economy?

I am also looking to buy some solid wood worktops for the kitchen and have been shopping around but still find it very expensive. Has anyone got any money saving tips?

Comments

  • Nile
    Nile Posts: 14,845 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hello muellered_2000


    Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

    I'll move your thread to the 'In my home' board, where it should get more views and responses.

    Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [email="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/email].

    Kind Regards

    Nile
    10 Dec 2007 - Led Zeppelin - I was there. :j [/COLOR]:cool2: I wear my 50 (gold/red/white) blood donations pin badge with pride. [/SIZE][/COLOR]Give blood, save a life. [/B]
  • ka7e
    ka7e Posts: 3,130 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    Check out the interior off the DeLonghi, I looked at them a couple of years ago and found the finish very poor. Lots of rough edges and deep seams, making it difficult to clean! But they might have improved more recent models.
    I had a shortlist of about 10 ovens I liked the look of. Not one of them had all the features I wanted, in my price range, though! In the end I got a Belling double oven (about £340 after shopping around), with removeable glass door panels. I'm surprised how little I actually use the top (smaller) oven, but it was a big factor when buying. I miss not having an automatic timer that switches the oven on when you are out. Cleaning is a doddle!
    Whichever model you choose, make sure you have some hands-on experience of it - check shelf movement (can you do it with one hand?), ease of cleaning, robustness of hinges and knobs (different models may have different fittings), does it have coolwall doors (esp. if you have children), can you easily see food cooking.
    You know best which quirks you can forgive in a cooker, so it's a very personal choice. If you enjoy your food, and cooking, buy the best you can afford that fits your needs.
    "Cheap", "Fast", "Right" -- pick two.
  • safesound
    safesound Posts: 1,164 Forumite
    You stole my ideas! :D
    I was looking for something very similar myself, but opted for a 'proper' range cooker (ie. one with more than four burners and no wok burner). I came up with this little beauty:
    http://www.rangecookers.co.uk/stoves/nh1000_1.html
    I know its a little more expensive than the one you mentioned but after an extensive search it was the only one to meet all my criteria.

    Let me know what you come up with re: wood worksurface as at the moment the most likely way for me to get some is to get hubby to glue me some up from planking (LOL)
    :A:A:A:A:A:A
  • Thanks guys. I would still appreciate more advice if possible. safesound, the oven you chose is awesome but unfortunately I only have a 90cm gap to fit it into.

    Any more advice?
  • We bought the DeLonghi at christmas but have only just had the chance to wire it in. we still cannot use the hob as we are waiting on a plumber to do the necessary pipework as it will be run off LPG (this ability was one of the deciding factors in going for it) The oven works fine and it is a good looking cooker but I can tell you that it is not a coolwall design. The glass door becomes very hot in use but it's not a problem to us as we have no children.

    We first considered it when it was priced around £500 and when they put on the discount we grabbed it.

    Try to negotiate on the delivery charge, Comet tried to charge £40 "because it was a range cooker" but I dont do delivery charges and got it down to zero!! We did buy a washing machine and dishwasher at the same time though and the threat of losing two grands worth of business for the sake of the delivery charges seemed to do the trick. If the salesman says he cant discount the delivery charge then ask him to check with his manager. Try for half price delivery, say you'll meet them halfway (not literally of course) Good luck and welcome to the site
  • oh yes and wooden worktops.... In our last place we were doing up the kitchen to sell it and opted for beech worktops. Ikea seemed the best price but after a 250 mile round trip to my nearest store I found that the worktop bore no resemblence in colour to the one on display. A mate took me to Howdens where we got a 3M length for £130 not the cheapest but it was in stock and I could see instantly what it looked like. That was May last year so prices may have changed but, if anything, like the cookers, they may have come down in price. I see Screwfix are doing them now. Might be worth a look but remember with wood being a natural product it may arrive in a different shade.
  • Thanks very much guys. Good information on the Delonghi. It is no good to me if it is not a coolwall design as there are 4 kids to consider. Thanks for all the info. Still waiting on a top tip on the range cooker for me.
  • We have beech block worktops , had them 18 years. Ours are Junkers and were expensive. More recently we put IKEA ones in our daughter's flat. They look very similar, the colour is exactly the same as our ones ,and for the price (£55 for 2.4 m.) they are excellent value. 2.4 m is the longest but they can easily be joined if need be.
    If you get them, do not get the IKEA wood treatment. Much better with the Junkers stuff or Danish Rustic Oil. Gives a lovely finish. Take your time and sand well between coats and it will last for years. We have only had to sand and redo ours twice in 18 years.
  • Does anyone know any good range cookers with coolwall technology? There will be kids in the kitchen constantly and I do not want to have to keep them out because we are cooking.

    Thanks
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