Not really a DIY type question...


We bought our house & it'd just been done up & this Belling Countrychef was installed prior to our purchase.

http://www.goorey.com/house/cook5.jpg

Now, its undoubtedly a fine cooker with more rings than we'll ever need

BUT

We don't think that the "simmer" level (lowest) is in fact low enough or even useable. We have had an engineer out under warranty but he was free-lance & seemed to thing that the level was suitable and that was "how they come these days"...

Now, I've been researching friends & rele's cookers but they have simmer levels that are in fact suitable for simmering things, not burning ( :rolleyes: )

Anyone take a look at the pics below & pass an opinion?

Maximum setting

http://www.goorey.com/house/cook4.jpg

Minimum setting

http://www.goorey.com/house/cook3.jpg

Maximum setting

http://www.goorey.com/house/cook1.jpg

Minimum setting

http://www.goorey.com/house/cook2.jpg

Sorry the dials aren't too visible but you can see the positions...

Would it be recommended that the dial is set between Maximum and Full Off in order to get a simmer flame?


We are convinced that this is not right & (here comes a second question) anyone know what our rights are in rejecting/replacing this cooker if it proves to be that the level of simmer is one that we've got? That level just does NOT simmer :(

Just to recap - builders did up house, installed cooker & then we bought the house, so first users of the cooker.

Thanks - this is annoying us somewhat!

First off: Why do you have a cooker in a library :p

2nd: I'll get you Belling Service Direct number from work if ya like and I'll also see if I can dig up some info on it.

Jim

I'll see what I can do. My uncle used to work for Belling and my gf works for Lacanche who make those crazy 20K cookers the Beckhams and Mick Hucknall have


AllanB

Lacanche Cluny is the Mutt's nuts :)

Doesn't cost 20 grand though :eek:

Puff,
When the gas engineer fitted my new hob, in order to adjust the simmer level, he took the 'knob' off, and way down inside the shaft, there was a tiny screw that needed turning to the right level, it may be totally different on yours, but it could be worth a look, of course, I'm not suggesting that you do it yourself, you should clearly get a corgi guy to do it!!!

Just bringing it to the boil for the workers ;)

All those gold fittings will give Petelewis a heart attack!!

maybe the supply feed pipe to that ring could have a mini valve etc fitted so you could set your own settings

From the pics above, the min setting shows quite a "defined" flame where as our gas cooker on min, is best described as a "soft" flame.

I'd be interested to know how you get on. We've just bought a Belling Rangemaster and are experiencing exactly the same problem.

I hope to God it's not going to be a "They all do that sir..." exchange.

What type of pans do you use on yours? We've got some stainless steel jobs (steel handle rivetted straight onto the wall of the pan) and they do get fcuking hot.

Cheers
Kav

Amen - I wish you hadn't said that. Just doubled the budget for a new cooker...

Puff

The CountryChef range has hotplate burners with maximum ratings between 1.0 and 2.9kW. These are similar to many appliances.

Basically, each burner has a tap that controls it's "turn down" ratio. The ratio is set to give correct burner performance and shouldn't be adjusted. Lowering the minimum rate could result in excessive carbon monoxide being produced and the burner flame becoming unstable.

Maximum burner rate is achieved at the large flame marking on the fascia, minimum rate at the small flame marking. The burner should always be operated with the tap between these markings even though it might be possible to obtain a lower rate at other positions (eg between maximum and off).

If only gentle simmering is required, the 1kW burners (back right and back centre left) should be able to do this. External influences such as pan diameter, pan base construction and pan contents can, however, have a significant affect. As an example, a copper based stainless steel pan on a hotplate that has similar ratings, you can't keep a large pan hot enough to simmer on the smallest burner and can't keep a small pan cool enough to stop the contents burning on the largest burner.

It's possible to measure gas rates using a domestic gas meter. Providing no other gas consuming appliances (including pilot lights) are operating, the consumption (normally in cubic feet) can be timed and the rate calculated. If you can provide some numbers, I could do the calculation.

Hope this helps.

F