My poor old cooker has finally given up completely so I need to get a new one.
Its a minefield out there.
I want a freestanding one aprox 22" or56cm wide.
Can anyone firstly tell me what is the best type of hob?  Are the ceramic ones any good and easy to clean? or what about the solid ring type as I have one with those whirly looking hob elements at the moment.
It must have a seperate grill and I would prefer a self clean fan oven, but wondered if there is any easy to keep clean oven types these days?
Finally any recommendations of a good make or cooker thats not too expensive.

Crikey....i just read your post as "My poor old cocker has finally given up completely so i need to get a new one....i'd never heard of a freestanding cocker and thought 22" was wide for one !

Realised only when i read best type of hob, i think i ought to go back to bed !!

So did I [blush]

Can't help either as I use gas.

Crikey....i just read your post as "My poor old cocker has finally given up completely so i need to get a new one....i'd never heard of a freestanding cocker and thought 22" was wide for one !

Realised only when i read best type of hob, i think i ought to go back to bed

LOL perhaps bed is not the best place with that on your mind !!!!!

i have a Neff oven and hob and i'm really pleased with them. you pay a little more depending on witch model but they have a good reputation.
i have a gass hob now but Neff do gas or electric. i have had a ceramic one before and i much prefer them to a solid ring, nice and easy to clean but make sure you wipe over if you spill anything, else it can be a little trickier to clean off.

I loved my Cannon Gas cooker which died when the springs went in the door.  It had a fold down eye level grill and a storage box under the big oven (for the grill and any tins.  Had to replace it with a cheapie one as didn't have the money for better :(

Me two I read old cocker!! how rude i thought!!
Just buying new myself and its Neff vote here. My Mum & Dad had Neff fitted when I was about 22 Im 55 now and the hob is still going strong we had to replce the oven when I dropped a le Cruet dish onit about 10 years ago.  So Neff is good and Im sticking with it.

I used to have a Cannon Harvest which was lovely till my old girl decided to eat the oven door seal and the ignition knob! bless her lol. Then I had a new kitchen fitted and had built in Stoves oven and hob,it's 5yrs old now and still looks and cooks great.

Lexi ate the Ignition knob on my cheapie Creda and I have to push my little finger nail in to use the ignition.  When I contacted them they said I couldn't' get a replacement knob, ridiculous.

Thanks everyone but it has to be an electric cooker and it has to be free standing, my kitchen is very small and there is no room for a built in hob and seperate oven.

I've a gas cooker but I also have an induction hob which I love. The only draw back is the pans must be magnetic but its very quick to heat up and cleaning is just so easy.

I have almost decided on this one
http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/568198/BEKO-DVC663K?cm_sp=FeatureEnd-_-Electric_Free-Standing_Cookers-_-position

I went round the shops looking yesterday.  The only other thing i wish it had was self cleaning oven liners.

The only other thing i need to ask is how do I know if my pans are stainless steel or aliminum

use a magnet, aluminium won't stick to one, it's how I sort my drinks cans.

That's the cooker I have :)

Never had a minutes problem with it - it's only around 3 years old right enough.

That's the cooker I have :-)

Never had a minutes problem with it - it's only around 3 years old right enough.

Do you have to have special saucepans for it?  e.g stainless steel or other.

If its ceramic there shouldnt be any problems with sucepans
I have had cearmic fo 20 years now and love them unfortunately not the same cooker (not cocker !)
To clean it I use hob brite form sainsburys and one of those green scourers the flat cheap ones. If food gets stck a little gentle pursuasion form a sharp knife does the trick. I do clean it everytime it is used and polish with a dry towel or similar and hey presto just like new. One good place to look if you have one nearby is a spectrum franchise.
You can get similar cookers with stayclean sides try zanussi and have a look at sainsburys or boots website.Can you tell I have been through this recently lol 
 

Its only Induction hobs that require pans that are magnetic. They also tend to be expensive but I have a small 2 hob version as I wanted to try the technology out and I find it very good.
Trouble is no matter how good the hob is my cooking is not lol.

No - bog standard non stick pans :)

I agree with the suggestion for hob brite to clean the top - brings it up like new every time

Thats ok then as I kept reading things about you must have stainless steel not aliminum or you will ruin the hob, so was getting worried as my saucepans must be aliminum as they are not magnetic.
I will make sure I get some hob brite. Thanks for that tip.