Welcome to Simelex Helpful Info Page

Some Info on Electric Cookers

There are three main choices with electric cookers, single oven with grill (oven & grill in one cavity), twin cavity (separate oven and grill) or double oven (small oven usually has grill). Whichever choice of electric cooker you decide on, you will need a proper cooker point or heavy duty electric point. If you are in any doubt consult an electrician before you purchase, as if you do not have this it can be very expensive to have installed..

Single oven/grill, grill combined with oven

This is the budget option with prices ranging from £150.00 upwards. The main downside of combining the grill and oven is the fact that you cannot bake and grill at the same time.

Twin cavity, separate oven & grill

This is by far the popular choice, a lot less expensive than a double oven with prices ranging from just below £200 up to several hundred. You can grill and bake at the same time and some models are available with an automatic oven.

Double oven, small oven has grill combined

The best option if the budget will allow, two ovens, one small one large with the small one accommodating a grill. Usually it will have a fully automatic programmable main oven and minute minder. You can bake and grill at the same time, or use the small oven to keep things warm in.

Some Info on Dishwashers

When dishwashers first appeared they were considered a luxury, however today they are considered a necessity. Mind you when the first dishwashers hit the market they were ridiculously expensive, plus you had to wash the dishes by hand before placing them in the dishwasher! Most dishwashers are 60cm wide and hold 12 place settings, although there are some now boasting as many as 14 place settings. If you are planning a new kitchen our advice would be to avoid a semi integrated model if possible, because if you are integrating to hide the appliance why show the fascia? We believe it defeats the object.

Some Info on Fridges

With or without ice box is the main question with a fridge, although ice box fridges are becoming less and less popular. This is because of the defrosting which, unlike a freezer because most ice boxes are 1* and 2* is a regular occurrence. If you really need an ice box, try and buy a fridge with a freezer box, this will then be properly insulated (it will have a proper seal on the door) so it will not need defrosting very often. As with all appliances energy ratings are A - G with 'A' being the most efficient and 'G' being the least. Today there really is no point in buying less than an 'A' rated as there are so many available, the running costs can be less than £15 per year! You can help the energy efficiency yourself by following a few guidelines. Try to avoid keeping the door open whilst you are putting the shopping away, not only are you wasting energy but you will raise the temperature inside the fridge.

Some Info on Tumble Dryers

In the world of tumble dryers, you will find two types that you can chose from, condensing and vented. Condensing tumble dryers collect all the water usually in to a tank which you empty. A condensing tumble dryer is only needed if you do not have an outside wall to vent out to. They are usually 6kg load. Vented dryers are by far the most preferable type of dryer, as they are more efficient and cheaper to run. So if you do have access to an outside wall, it is worth going to the trouble of having a hole made in the wall and the kit fitted. Alternately many people open a small fanlight window and hang the hose through that. The load sizes vary but the average is 5-6kg. The vent hoses are usually supplied although one or two budget models may not, the vent for the outside wall needs purchasing separately.

Some Info on Freezers or Fridge Freezers

The main choice to make is frost-free or conventional, there are some considerations which are often overlooked here. It may seem easy to simply choose a frost free model, but it may not be as straight forward as you think. Frost free models have extra workings inside, the capacity can be reduced by up to 0.5cft. With the average underworktop freezer being slightly under 4cft, a loss of 0.5cft is quite a big disadvantage. The other consideration is why do you want frost free, well of course its so you do not have to do a manual defrost. But there are some things which you can do to help reduce the frequency of defrosts. Firstly today's freezers have much better insulation as they have to be more energy efficient, this helps reduce the amount of moisture drawn in to the unit and so reduces ice build up. The best way is to remove all the baskets and stack them on top of each other, if you do not have baskets keep all the food together. If you are able to pack loose food in to large freezer bags then all the better. Most makers recommend leaving a bowl of hot water in the bottom of the unit to help speed up the defrost, its also handy to catch some of the water in. Never pour boiling water directly on to any of the internal fitments as this may lead to cracking due to hot meeting cold. Also never use any metallic object to scrape ice, always use a purpose made plastic one.

Some Info on Washing Machines

As many machines are so similar in features, it may be more a question of how much do you want to spend? Again the amount you spend on a machine should be decided on how you use it, along with how much you can afford of course. It would be easy for us to recommend the most expensive machine on the market, but there is little point in spending money unnecessarily. The more complicated the machine is, the more there is to go wrong. Budget manufacturers are in business to make money just like their high end rivals, so if a machine is considerably cheaper the money has to be saved somewhere.

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