There's quite a difference in price range between the brands you mention. Rangemaster offer genuine value for money with regards to features and build quality at affordable prices, but then can't be compared to La Canche which are far more expensive and owners tend to either love them or hate them. Equally Brittania can reach the £3-4k range but the build quality is poor IMO, offering very little value for money. I think if you asked 20 different people, you would get 20 different answers as it is what they are used to and suits their budget. If you are looking at the £1-2k range, then you could do a lot worse than Rangemaster, if you are looking at the £3k-4k plus range, then I think you would be best placed to go and see a specialist retailer who can demonstrate the differences between the brands and you can see first hand where your money is being spent and if it suits the type of cooking you do.

Hi @J Lo no we haven’t bothered (yet). Generally its been fine. There’s no escaping the fact the long feed does create a bit of unavoidable condensation but it’s nothing major and easily manageable with some workaround measures. I got some cooker hood filters and cut them to size to lay on top of the cooker hood to trap the grease and smells more. i also fold a piece of kitchen paper into a square and put that underneath the motor of the fan so if there are any drips through where the motor unit is screwed together (that is the main culprit!) its well absorbed. The filter lasts about 3 months before I change it. The kitchen paper I change every couple of weeks and just to stress its a tiny greasy drip each time that dries up. I just change it for cleanliness when I check it and wipe the side of the fans, as I would anyway even without that issue. The way I see it is it’s still a much better set up than relying on a recirculating hood that doesn’t take the smells or grease outside at all. So the very minor condensation issue is a small price to pay. I was a bit obsessed with it when I posted on here but don’t give it too much thought now… until you posted and reminded me haha! I would suggest though if you have the option you may as well do what you can now while the dirty work is going on for peace of mind. Whatever your builder says there will defnitely be a little condensation whatever the set up, unless you have a really powerful fan or the extra fan on the chimney - its just physics and gravity that can’t be avoided. Either way you want to get it sorted now in my view rather than later as you probably won’t get round to it, as has been the case with us. That said, like I say it’s not a major issue if you have the same results as us. Only thing a few people have said is that over time it will cause the fan to fail but I haven’t noticed any problems yet so all good so far touch wood

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiu4JzukrDrAhWCRBUIHY5ICbMQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.agaliving.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fuser_guides_uploaded%2FAga%2520Oil%25202%2520and%25204%2520oven%2520inst%252004-07%2520EINS%2520510949.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3ivvnZjSvvpxNem9xVHPAO the above link (right click and open in new tab) should take you to the aga oil fired fitting instructions, page 4 goes into air supply and extractors

Yes a carpenter can do it. And the width matters less than the power. Look at the extraction rate, noise levels and make sure the hole in the wall for venting is as big as required in the user manual as most times builders favour 120mm holes but most extractors need 150mm to work fully. Also don’t forget to follow the safety instructions and place it the correct height above the hob.