Indesit KD3G21 SXIR Gas Cooker
Introduction
When, earlier this year, we decided to upgrade our old cooker we had very few actual specific requirements so were pretty much open to any brand and model so long as the cooker was gas and not electric. Searching online at the usual places; Curry’s, Comet etc in the end we decided on the subject of this review – the Indesit KD3G21 SXIR (to give it its full, overlong name) as it was priced in the middle of our budget and looked quite stylish when compared to our old and battered white cooker which had long since seen better days.
We have a grey fridge freezer in our kitchen so the fact that this cooker was available in stainless steel appealed to us as we decided it wouldn’t look too out of place, the dimensions were perfect for the space we had available (90cm in height, 50cm in width and 60cm in depth) and it was just a case of getting rid of the old and replacing with the new.
Features
As illustrated in the provided picture this is a cooker with a separate grill and a single oven, the doors feature toughened glass in the centre sections and along the underside of the hob are the buttons to ignite each of the gas burners, grill and oven itself. You are provided with a separate metal plate which is designed to slot into the space between the outside top of the grill and temperature control buttons which acts as a heat barrier to prevent melting and included is a grill pan with detachable handle.The cooker has an ignition button which requires plugging into the mains and as this was something not included on our old cooker we find this to be extremely useful especially when it comes to lighting the oven or grill which do light from the back. The four hob burners vary in size which is generally how all cookers these days seem to be and this cooker features 3 standard and 1 simmer burners. The two contrasting black enamel pan supports on the hob itself are removable and dishwasher safe and the oven itself has 2 metal wire shelves which can be placed in any of 5 different positions. All in all the cooker looks very stylish, modern and priced at just under £350.00 when we bought it appeared to be a bit of a bargain from such a well known and respected manufacturer.
It is worth mentioning here that this cooker is FSD compliant which means that it is suitable for flats. FSD is a safety feature which some cookers are fitted with and stands for “flame supervision device”, essentially this means that if the flame goes out when you are cooking the gas supply will automatically cut off so you are not endangering yours or other properties which are attached to you. If you live in a flat and are looking for a new cooker there are regulations in place which will prevent retailers from selling you a cooker which is not FSD complaint so it is worth knowing if this is something which could potentially affect you as your product choices will be dependent on this feature**.
Our Experience
We have had this cooker for 8 months now and have noticed that over time it is starting to show signs of wear and tear despite the fact there are only two of us at home.
Most notably the printed numerical digits underneath the burner and hob controllers have begun to fade and as they weren’t that large or clear in the first place it has become awkward to set the correct temperature in the oven itself. To counteract this problem we now have to light the oven and set it to its highest temperature and make an educated guess as to what setting to leave it on, so something that cooks at “gas mark” 6 or 7 ends up being cooked somewhere in between 5 and 9. Fortunately this hasn’t resulted in any culinary disasters but for an 8 month old cooker this really isn’t ideal or acceptable and is perhaps a major flaw in this Indesit's design.
That aside there are many positive aspects of this cooker, the electric ignition works first time, every time so lighting the oven and grill is a doddle. There seems to be plenty of space within the oven and grill themselves and the fact that the shelves can be adjusted to suit our own needs means that we can fit just about anything into the oven. The glass panel acts as a viewing window and doesn’t steam up which could normally be a concern and the appliance as a whole does feel robust, sturdy and very well made. There are no sharp corners or edges on the hob itself as the metal is finished off nicely, it is of course something which has a practical use but as far as cookers go it certainly looks stylish enough and could potentially fit into even the most modern and up to date kitchens.
Cleaning the exterior of the cooker though is problematic as all Stainless steel appliances are but this shouldn’t really be classed as a negative aspect. We knew when we bought it that fingerprints and smears would show up clearly and they most certainly do. Any water spillages on the hob usually means that the whole of the upper part of the cooker needs cleaning and if it isn’t dried off properly then you can see where you have wiped, when compared with our old white metal cooker this is difficult to keep pristine looking but realistically we did know what were letting ourselves in for. Personally I wouldn’t have another stainless steel cooker again in the future but this will be down to individual tastes as to what suits you, do bear in mind though that this is a cooker which does show every and all imperfections – you have been warned!
A cooker is something that you use on a regular basis and so long as it provides a flame to cook your food with then everything else is down to individual taste. This Indesit does what we want it to do, was reasonably priced and has been a reliable piece of kitchen equipment. It isn’t perfect by any means and there are annoying aspects which I have covered in this review, it is FSD compliant though which will be a requirement for some consumers and overall it would come cautiously recommended by me.
Do bear in mind that this will need to be situated near to a plug socket if you want to take advantage of the electrical ignition and this will also enable the digital timer on the oven too.
The cooker doesn’t have a lid either so again this may put off some people but for want of a thorough review I thought it worth mentioning.
This cooker is still available to buy online and instore at various retailers and prices seem to vary from £300.00 up to over £400.00, shop around would be my advice as there are bargains to be had with this or wait until the January sales when it will inevitably have reduced in price even more. Comet have this on their website for £349.99 at the moment which is what we paid for it but it is cheaper elsewhere.
In conclusion then this isn’t a five star appliance as far as I am concerned as I am deducting two stars for the printed numbers which have faded and the fact that is awkward to keep clean but overall the Indesit KD3G21 SXIR receives a good 3 star rating.
Thanks for reading my review.
Summary of Features
Colour: Stainless Steel
Dimensions 90x60x50cm
FSD Compliant
Single Oven
Seperate Grill
4 Hob Burners
Electric Ignition
2 dishwasher safe enamel pan supports
2 oven shelves
5 shelf positions
Glass oven door
Grill Pan included
**FSD information and regulations: http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/advice/324/Flame-Supervision-Device-Guide
Indecisive about Indesit 
