Cooking Appliances (Official Thread???)

Martynt74

Martynt74

Martynt74

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Figured this was separate enough to warrant a new thread, especially since it seems many people are in a similar position with regards to kitchens. Plus who doesn't like an "Official Thread"?

Where is the best place to go to check out appliances in person? I've found Currys to be quite lacking. AO would be great but they have no showroom.

A lot of kitchen places also seem to use the same units in all their show kitchens so it's hard to get a good variety.

I'm not a huge fan of touch controls. I can handle them for things like timers etc but i want a proper dial for the setting/temperature and there's a huge difference in feel between some of the ones i've looked at.

Do matching appliances matter to you? I'm not too bothered as long as my oven/microwave match as their in the same part of the kitchen.

We've got an AEG Induction hob and it has a function where it can connect to AEG hoods to control the fans automatically. It seems like a great feature but i'm not a fan of the AEG hoods from an aesthetics point of view. Trying to decide whether to go for functionality or looks.

From a budget point of view i'm looking around the £600 mark per appliance.


I welcome all discussion :)
 
Personally I hate all kitchen appliances with 'added functionality'. I had a microwave with 20 buttons that didn't last a week because it took 5 button presses to warm up my leftovers. Same with my oven, 1 single dial. I had to cut the wires to the timer because it made a wildly annoying ticking noise. Smart frdige? No thanks. Maybe because I've worked as a chef for years, but I just go for the simplest option, from the best brand I can afford.

Not sure where you'd find a broad selection in a showroom, but buying a popular model at least will give you the benefit of cheap and easy to find spares in case something goes bad in the future.
 
In the same kind of boat here, the best does seem to be currys, after that we're looking at the same stuff that the kitchen companies show or online.

Just about to do a new kitchen. Double oven and most likely an electric hob. We've had a gas hob and as good as it is I like the simplicity of a electric hob looks wise.

Last oven we brought in the current house was a stoves one, really simple and UK made which i'd be more than happy to have again.
 
peige said:
In the same kind of boat here, the best does seem to be currys, after that we're looking at the same stuff that the kitchen companies show or online.

Just about to do a new kitchen. Double oven and most likely an electric hob. We've had a gas hob and as good as it is I like the simplicity of a electric hob looks wise.

Last oven we brought in the current house was a stoves one, really simple and UK made which i'd be more than happy to have again.
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Try some of the local Independant dealers. Some of them have massive showrooms now and nearly all of them have staff that are knowledgeable and actually want to sell you what you want! In Sussex , try Carters ( https://www.cartersdirect.co.uk/ )
(Disclaimer: Yes I do work for an Independant (not Carters)
 
vvalter said:
Personally I hate all kitchen appliances with 'added functionality'. I had a microwave with 20 buttons that didn't last a week because it took 5 button presses to warm up my leftovers.
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So true. Nearly took my microwave back because it takes 3 presses just to start it for 1 minute. The cheap one at work just has a dial you can turn and it starts for X minutes. Simple is definitely better there
 
It can be a bloody nightmare trying to see products in person and actually use them, but if you are willing to travel, all the major brands will have places you can go to where they put a wide range of models on display. You might not get every model, but you'll get an idea of how the outside looks and what the controls are like to use, then you can worry about the internals later.

I spend a lot of time in random kitchens, cooking for people on their appliances, so I'm kind of used to making the best of what I have got. And I guess that is reflected in my choice of appliances for my new kitchen - it's not all ultra high-end stuff, but it is quality.

Hobs

When it comes to hobs, if you are going gas then you really only need to worry about two things - the size and the placement of the rings and the finish of the hob itself. Any decent brand will have the safety features you need and after that it'll be much of a muchness.

With things like induction, you get better quality for your money if you spend wisely and can stretch a little further to the decent models. Cheap induction hobs are not all that better than your standard halogen hob but once you get use to the intricacies of your equipment, you can cook on anything.

I ended up going with the Bosch PXX275FC1E as I really wanted something that would take pans side-by-side, not stacked up in front of each other. Both Siemens and Neff have their own versions, but are saddled with stupid gimmicks and do not work as well as the Bosch.

NB. I think we all know that Bosch, Neff and Siemens stuff comes out of the same places, but is just branded slightly differently. Bosch is a bit utilitarian and sensible, Neff is designed for the enthusiast and Siemens is all fancy features and gimmicks.

Oven

For my oven, I picked the Neff B6ACH7HN0B oven for one simple reason - as far as I am concerned, Neff are the only sensible choice if you want a single oven. Pyrolytic, slide-and-hide door, plus whatever fancy features you crave. I prefer physical controls over the touchscreen interfaces, so I went for the B6A.

I do not see the point in a double-oven or anything with a separate grill as I don't cook like that, but it really comes down to the individual who is using it. And I don't like range cookers, so I didn't even look into those, but I have cooked on a Wolf range more than a few times and it is a thing of beauty and a joy to use, but never likely to be worth the money for us mere mortals...

Fridge/Freezer

For my fridge/freezer, I am going integrated, but I am still torn on who to use. Bosch, Neff and Siemens all share the same design with the idiotic 'BigBox' freezer compartment, which eschews the standard draws for one big box that is destined to be a dumping ground you'll never find stuff in.

I much prefer the look of AEG fridge/freezers, but there's a potential issue with the backing being unsafe and some of them get really poor reviews for efficiency and noise. But I believe AEG supply Smeg, John Lewis, Gorenge and IKEA with things like fridge/freezers, which get great reviews?!

NB. I could swear blind the Gorenge model I was looking at is all-but identical to the AEG one I had previously seen... same layout, same display panel, etc.

Microwaves

Clearly I do not understand how other people use microwaves as I see lots of people recommending models which are silly money and have all manner of features that I would never bother to use. Personally, simple is best and I use a Panasonic NN-E271, which cost me a little under £50.

Does all that I need and I cook anything from veg to cakes in it. Yes, it's a counter-top model, but why spend money on an integrated microwave which will cost a fortune and be a bugger to replace when it breaks, which it will. Regularly.
 
We've just had most of our new appliances delivered by Appliances Direct, the same place we used 12 years ago when we first did the kitchen. Doesn't look like you're anywhere near one of their showrooms though which is a pity as they have tons of variety on display.

We weren't particularly bothered about matching the brands of appliances, as long as they matched aesthetically. We ended up with an AEG double oven with a built in electriQ microwave to sit above it. Hob is what they call a gas on glass one. Easy to clean and nice sturdy cast iron supports. Also happens to be an AEG, but it was the only one within our budget that fitted the bill. Hood is also electriQ, brushed stainless chimney with a black glass canopy that echoes the other stuff nicely. Unknown name but it looked very sturdy in the showroom and was cheap as chips :p

Fridge Freezer will be a compact American style one. Currys sell it under the Kenwood brand, but it's made by Hisense. We haven't ordered it yet as the price keeps fluctuating by as much as £150 depending where you look and on what day.
 
Some great posts there.

There’s a place not far from us (appliance world?) so going to check that out tomorrow.

We went to Kuchenhaus last night and they had quite a few different ovens. The Bosch ones look quite nice providing it’s the higher model. We currently have all Bosch stuff though and the light failed quite soon in the oven and the dishwasher is rubbish.

I also had a play with a Samsung model in Currys and the controls felt nice. They seem to have made a big move into a lot of appliances recently and get good reviews in many (washing machines in particular).

Still can’t decide on an extractor. Faber do some stunning ones but the CFM ratings are pretty poor compared to many more traditional ones.

Hob wise I’ve gone with an AEG one. Big factor for me was being able to bridge zones so I can use rectangular shaped pans and then stick it straight in the oven rather than having to transfer things mid cook.

My wife’s also still stuck on a combo microwave. Part of me does think it’d be handy. Being able to stick burgers under the grill to finish melting cheese etc while potatoes are in the oven would be handy. But we’ve managed so far with just a normal microwave. I think capacity is a bigger deal for me. Ours is pretty small internally.
 
Ethical dilemma now though. I bought an AEG hob to take advantage of a free pan deal they were doing.

I had to cancel the order though as Currys messed up my delivery address and couldn’t change it. I’d already submitted my claim though and it’s been approved.

I now have another invoice number for the recent purchase which would also be eligible for the free pan deal. Do I chance it and put in the second claim or be honest!
 
I ended up torn with ovens as the quality of knobs and touch buttons seemed to vary massively on store demo models. I couldn't work out if this was because they were shoddy or had been abused.

I ended up going for a Bosch oven with dials and an AEG indinduct hob with touch buttons.

Touchwood both have been excellent.
 
Marvt74 said:
Ethical dilemma now though. I bought an AEG hob to take advantage of a free pan deal they were doing.

I had to cancel the order though as Currys messed up my delivery address and couldn’t change it. I’d already submitted my claim though and it’s been approved.

I now have another invoice number for the recent purchase which would also be eligible for the free pan deal. Do I chance it and put in the second claim or be honest!
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That's up to your own morals.
 
Very impressed with the Siemens Studio line ovens, especially the Pyro and steam functions and both inc a microwave (weird with metal racks in there). Lots of crazy functions but simple enough to use the basic touch features.

A bit of a bargain grabbing x2 and a warming draw for £700 ex display from a closing down showroom.
 
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arch said:
Try some of the local Independant dealers. Some of them have massive showrooms now and nearly all of them have staff that are knowledgeable and actually want to sell you what you want! In Sussex , try Carters ( https://www.cartersdirect.co.uk/ )
(Disclaimer: Yes I do work for an Independant (not Carters)
Click to expand...

+1 here for the Independents. We've used a local company called Appliance Express in Eastham a few times over the years. Always friendly advice and none of that pushy hard sell you get from the big chains. Pricing has always been competitive and somewhere we can drive to in 5 minutes if there was ever a problem.
 
Can't really comment very well given that I've only ever bought one set of appliances but we went with a mix of Samsung and Bosch:

Oven - Bosch HBG6764B6B
Fridge - Bosch KGN36HI32
Microwave - Samsung MC32J7055CT
Hob - Samsung nz84f7nc6ab
Extractor - Bosch DWW077A50B
Washing machine - Bosch WAWH8660GB

All have been great so far. Ignore the prices as I just found the first place on google. We shopped around a bit for them and they could possibly be had for about £600 each (bar Microwave which is maybe £150).

And to add, https://www.appliancedirectmorecambe.co.uk/ were good for us and they a relatively local to us (Marvt).
 
We replaced our kitchen a couple of years ago and went with these bits:

2 x Smeg SFP9395X. We wanted two large single ovens rather than a double oven so 2 of these 900mm wide units did the job. They're excellent ovens.
Neff T69S76NO gas hob. Very happy with this still. I hate electric hobs and didn't want induction.
Neff N17HH11NOB warming drawer. Perhaps we should have bought a taller unit but it's very rare that this one isn't high enough. The ovens have a warming function so we use that if needed.

The Ovens came form a small reatailer somewhere up north (I forget the name) and the Neff stuff came from the kitchen designer and their prices were well below retail.
 
@the-evaluator

I've just ordered a SMEG oven and microwave. It was a tss up between that and a Samsung one, but the aesthetics of the Smeg won me over, even though functionality is probably lower and cost higher. They're just very beautiful looking ovens! How well do the controls work as they look fairly basic.

Have also bought a Beko american style fridge freezer. They had one with the drinks dispenser on the inside which looked nicer, but given it's gonna be shoved away in a utility rather than on show i figured it's quicker to just get the water on the outside.
 
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