Dare I get a SMEG cooker?

[JFCarlstrom]

Hi!
Im in the market for a gas/electric cooker, and came across a 36" wide

Smeg SCB92MX8

SCB92MX8 rostfri dubbelugn, 90 cm från Smeg » Fri frakt

2 elektriska ugnar: Smeg SCB92MX8 rostfri dubbelugn, 90 cm - ✓ Sveriges ledande återförsäljare

bagarenochkocken.se

and also La Germania RIS95C61BX

Prima Gasspis med multifunktionsugn 90 cm, RIS95C61BX från La Germania

Beställ La Germania Prima Gasspis med multifunktionsugn 90 cm, RIS95C61BX () - ✓

bagarenochkocken.se

I was initially very tempted by the SMEG, since it has two ovens and also a rotisserie function, which seems very exciting. However, I keep reading that SMEG has really poor quality control and that they keep breaking. Is that true?

Best regards
//
Johan

 

[dragnlaw]

Both of those are primarily European appliances and as we do not have them in North America (although maybe Smeg?) I can't really comment on them.
That being said, I've often heard of Smeg from various sources and thought they were quite good.
Like you, I would be sorely tempted by the double oven. The rotisserie function - well most of my ovens have had them and I don't think I ever used them once! However I do know lots of people that do.
Haven't really been very helpful have I.
Hope you get some better answers from someone here, and Welcome also to the forum!
Let us know how it all works out and stick around if you have time and join in with some of our other conversations.

 

[JFCarlstrom]

Hi! Thanks for your input and the warm welcome. I have never used a rotisserie either but am very tempted to use it for whole fish, which a cook a lot. Let's see if there are some europeans on this forum then who can share their experience

 

[dragnlaw]

I also just went and looked at those sites. The Smeg is double the price of the other which may or may not contribute to the decision.
But for that price I would want more than a 1 year Warranty.

 

[dragnlaw]

LOL, and a 3rd consideration (for me!) would be the height of the flames. I once paid similar price for a beautiful stove only to find that I could not lower the flame down to where I believe it should be able to achieve. Never had that happen with any of my gas stoves until this one.

 

[JFCarlstrom]

I did not think about flame hight. The smeg has a 1000W minimum, while the germania has 480W, which is actually important. Perhaps I can install some third-party rotisserie for my needs

 

[dragnlaw]

I was not referring to the kw output on the burners, but the actual height that you can raise or lower it flame to. All my stoves have been able to have a reduced flame as to barely see it. Was perfect for a very low simmer. The last one didn't. Three different technicians tried and could not understand why it would not go lower. . Needless to say I was not a happy camper. The maximum height was not a problem.

I also like the 5 shelf places in the Smeg's larger oven. The Germania doesn't seem to mention how many places in the oven?

 

[JFCarlstrom]

The germania also has five places apparently. The prices on those links are a little inflated. The smeg can be found for about 2000 USD and the Germania just north of 1000 USD, but it's still almost twice the price. I would consider paying the premium for those extra features knowing that it would last me a long time, but a one-year warranty is not terribly generous... In my world, a stove will run for decades if need be...

 

[dragnlaw]

I agree entirely on how long a stove should last - decades definitely! I've had 6 gas stoves, 2 new ones were from moves and sold with the house, 2 were at the cottage - best stoves ever! (from the 30's and 40's I think). Two - on which I will not dwell - other than to say one problem arose from the electronics and the other from an easy fix - except configuration design made it impossible to get to it.

Push come to shove, I will take that old cottage stove any day!

 

[taxlady]

I was not referring to the kw output on the burners, but the actual height that you can raise or lower it flame to. All my stoves have been able to have a reduced flame as to barely see it. Was perfect for a very low simmer. The last one didn't. Three different technicians tried and could not understand why it would not go lower. . Needless to say I was not a happy camper. The maximum height was not a problem.

I also like the 5 shelf places in the Smeg's larger oven. The Germania doesn't seem to mention how many places in the oven?

I won't swear to the SMEG being electric, but it does say "2 elektriska ugner" in the blurb. That is Swedish for 2 electric ovens. So, if the ovens are electric, probably the burners are too. I won't say they must be, since I once lived in a place out in the country in Denmark that had a stove with an electric oven and the burners used propane.

Oops, just looked at the link and it does have gas burners.

 

[taxlady]

Hilsen og velkommen JFCarlstrom. I assume you can read Danish.

 

[dragnlaw]

No taxy, the blurb is correct. It is quite common to have a gas stove top and an electric oven. Two of mine were like that. The others were gas in ovens and the top.

 

[taxlady]

No taxy, the blurb is correct. It is quite common to have a gas stove top and an electric oven. Two of mine were like that. The others were gas in ovens and the top.

Yeah, see the edit to my post.

 

[JFCarlstrom]

Menge tack taxlady! Yes, I can understand some danish
I think gas top and electric oven makes a lot of sense, though to be fair, I never used a good gas oven.
I was living in the states for a while (Massachusetts) where gas is the standard, but I cant remember if I also had a gas oven... hm....

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I dunno, are you pklanning on cooking some smegs?

 

[JFCarlstrom]

I had to consult an English dictionary, but from what I understand it can mean anger, disgust, frustration, contempt, fool, and dirt. Perhaps there is a reason they did not make it across the pond...

 

[taxlady]

In British English, smeg is a slang word. It's often used as an insult or a swear word. It's short for smegma. English Wiktionary has entries for both of those words.

smeg - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

en.wiktionary.org

 

[taxlady]

Menge tack taxlady! Yes, I can understand some danish
I think gas top and electric oven makes a lot of sense, though to be fair, I never used a good gas oven.
I was living in the states for a while (Massachusetts) where gas is the standard, but I cant remember if I also had a gas oven... hm....

Well, written Danish is probably easier to understand for Swedes and Norwegians than spoken Danish. You don't have to contend with the "talking with a potato in the mouth" aspect of Danish (or the very peculiar numbers).

 

[pepperhead212]

I was not referring to the kw output on the burners, but the actual height that you can raise or lower it flame to. All my stoves have been able to have a reduced flame as to barely see it. Was perfect for a very low simmer. The last one didn't. Three different technicians tried and could not understand why it would not go lower. . Needless to say I was not a happy camper. The maximum height was not a problem.

I also like the 5 shelf places in the Smeg's larger oven. The Germania doesn't seem to mention how many places in the oven?

That's a good thing to look for, dragn, the minimum setting of the burners. That is the only bad thing I ever really found with my Wolf range (which I got in '83, so is going on 40 years, and will outlive me, and probably the next owner!) - the burners just didn't go very low, before they start flickering, then POOF!, and they were out (but gas still going into them!). I guess minimum settings weren't a concern in restaurants - most of their minimum simmering is done on the grills - the thick steel plates, that also spread the heat better than having gas directly under the pot. But it's definitely something you want to think about. A friend of mine, that I got hooked on cooking on the high heat burners, wanted a smaller restaurant range for his condo, and ended up getting a Garland, and I remember the burners were much better in that the center core of gas orifices would continue burning, but all the outer ones would go off, when turned super low. Not sure how it did this, but maybe some of these other brands do this? Would be good to see it in operation, maybe on a video somewhere?

I just plugged up all of the center orifices on one of my 6 burners, and about 75% of the rest of the orifices, so I could turn it fairly low, but most people don't want to be doing things like that!

 

[pepperhead212]

@dragnlaw Why does this thing turn the entire post bold, when only trying to turn one word? Doesn't do it all the time, just occasionally, and not doing anything differently.