Never mind the width, feel the quality (Kenwood CK404 Dual Fuel Rangestyle Cooker)

Member Name: dee778

Product:	Kenwood CK404 Dual Fuel Rangestyle Cooker
Date:	17/09/09 (484 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks great

Disadvantages: Isn't great

When I refurbished my kitchen about 4 years ago, I wanted a small, dual fuel rangestyle cooker to fit into a 90cm gap. I wanted a freestanding double oven as well as something that looked nice. After some research I discovered that a top of the range Britannia dual fuel range cooker would cost just over £2300. Whilst I was thinking about this, I happened to see a 'Manager's Special Offer' on a Kenwood range cooker at Currys, and was immediately tempted to buy it for the much cheaper price of £600.

The appearance of the Kenwood is as good as any Britannia or Smeg product. It has a modern aluminium look, which is very different to some of the old-fashioned ranges such as the green Rangemaster. It has gleaming chrome hob with three heavy black pan holders. The temperature control knobs are solid-looking and are matching silver. The two oven doors have a very solid looking handle made out of a thick round chrome bar.

Both the ovens are electric. The main oven has a 60 litre capacity and it can be used as a fan assisted oven as well as a conventional oven. There is a fan only option for defrosting frozen food - this defrosting is done through simple ventilation, without heat. The oven has a grill function which can be used as a fan assisted grill or a conventional grill, and comes with a large grill pan. The handle of the grill pan is separate and has to be stored away from the oven. There are two oven racks and one grill pan inside the oven.

The second oven is much smaller and also has the grill function, with a smaller grill pan and handle. There is one oven rack inside the oven, with the small grill pan. Both ovens have a tinted glass door and internal lights that can be turned on independently of the oven. They can heat to a maximum of 250 degrees, and a minimum of 50 degrees, and the doors are well insulated so that they remain fairly cool to the touch - they are not air cooled.

There are 6 gas burners on the hob - one triple ring burner, one large rapid burner, two medium semi rapid burners and 2 small auxiliary burners. This huge choice of burner is ideal, and the width of the oven means that several pans can be used at once, without the risk of handles catching or pans getting knocked over. The powerful triple ring burner comes with a curved wok holder pan support. The gas burners light very easily with the electronic ignition.

The 24 hour digital clock is set into the left hand side of the control panel, and acts as a timer as well as a programmer which can turn the main oven off and on at specified times. The timer has a discrete buzzer to indicate the time is up, and you can choose from three volume settings.

A storage compartment underneath the two ovens stretches the whole 90cm width and has a chrome door that matches and balances the chrome control panel.

The oven stands on 4 rounded chrome legs, which takes it about 6 cm above the floor. These legs can be adjusted by twisting, making it possible to achieve a level cooking surface for both oven and hob.

~~Good things about my oven~~

I am very pleased with the look of my oven. Although it was cheap, it looks like a much more expensive product. The oven has retained its good looks over the past four years, and essentials such as the ignition have remained in good working order.

Cleaning the oven is made very easy - the side runner frames that hold the rack can lift out of the oven so that they can be cleaned in the sink. The oven is not self-cleaning, but the removal of the frames mean that the whole of the side surface is clear of obstruction to enable a really good scrub.

I like the fact that the oven stands above the floor on legs, so that it is easy to clean underneath, and food does not collect around the perimeter. The gas burners are set in three separate long basins, so that any spillages are contained and easy to clean up. The aluminium burner caps are fully removable for cleaning, and the control knobs pull off for easy cleaning.

The pan stands are very good quality - heavy duty and matt black, they are they are perfectly sized for all pans. I also like the storage space underneath the ovens - perfect for storing baking trays and cake tins, it is well sealed so that cooking fat and dust does not get inside.

~~Bad things about my oven~~

It took me a couple of years to discover that this cooker was not actually made by Kenwood, but by Currys, who have bought and used the Kenwood name for a Currys own brand. Unfortunately I only found out these details after my main oven failed. No electrician or cooker repairer in the area would touch a Kenwood, and I resorted to the internet for information. I then found out that I was not alone - there is obviously a design fault on the cooker that many people have experienced, and failed to get repaired. The problem is that the main oven will not heat up beyond 150 degrees, and from the web I discovered that this is caused by a failed element.

Another fault that has existed since I bought the oven is the smallest gas burner, which goes out when turned down to minimum. I have never bothered to get this fixed as there is another small gas burner that I can use.

Although the oven looks very impressive, some of the fittings lack the quality of a more expensive oven. Although the temperature control knobs look solid, they are made out of a light plastic and have a cheap feel.

The design of the oven also lacks some of the safety feature of more expensive ovens, and in retrospect I wish that I had paid more and bought a safer product. There are no child safety locks, and the hot, heavy oven doors can easily be pulled open by a toddler - this could happen by accident as the round handles are very tempting to grab hold of. There is no flame failure safety device, and since the smallest burner often blows out, I have frequently come back to find the kitchen filled with gas.

The main design fault is at the back of the oven. The fittings to the gas pipe are not recessed into the body of the cooker, and as a result the cooker cannot be placed flush to the wall - there is always a small gap at the back which food and fat falls down. I have seen on the web that other people have had to chase out a hole in the plaster to accommodate the gas pipe, but we did not want to spend the extra money to do this, and just put up with the hidden mess.

~~
In conclusion, I would say that if I ignore the broken element, I am more or less happy with my oven. Although it is not the oven of my dreams, it was good value, and considerably less money than better known models. I was on a budget, and had to consider the cost of an oven in the context of the cost of the whole kitchen refurb.

If I was to buy another one I would definitely wait until I could afford a better quality oven. I wish that I had held out for one that was better designed, had more safety features, and had the extras that are on offer with better models, such as griddle and rotissary.

Summary: Save up your pennies if you can, and go for a quality brand