Bompani Philippines. We had to buy a cook stove for our new Philippine house. Here’s our experience buying an Italian BOMPANI range.
Carol is a fantastic cook. One of her dreams was to have a decent kitchen stove. Typically kitchen stoves in the Philippines are 50 or 60 centimeters wide — 20″ to 24″. While these may have four burners they are very cramped for serious cooking. We decided we wanted a 90cm (36″) wide stove. The major brands in the Philippines are La Germania and Elba. A 90cm range costs P70,000 or more. This was just more than we wanted to pay. The Citi Hardware chain is marketing a smaller Italian brand — Bompani (
www.bompani.it). A nice looking 90 cm stainless steel Bompani was available for about P54,000. The design and quality seemed similar to the other brands. We were attracted by the lower price, but worried about the availability of parts and service. When we questioned Citi Hardware sales persons, they gave us the name of an Iloilo appliance repair shop who they said could supply parts and service. We went to the location. They told us they had never heard of Bompani and had no idea where to get parts. We emailed Bompani customer service in Italy and never received a reply. This was discouraging, but our longing for a bargain kept us focused on Bompani. Finally we met a Citi Hardware assistant manger who had more answers. He said that:
- Citi is the Philippine dealer for Bompani
- Bompani parts and service are available through Citi Hardware
- Citi has technicians trained in installing and servicing Bompani
- Citi offers a written six months parts and labor warranty.
- We could have a 5% discount on the range we wanted — the Bompani 96N Fornio Gigante (Giant Oven)
- Citi would deliver and install the range for P450
Based on these reassurances we bought the Bompani. Here’s our report so far. The stove was delivered in excellent condition. A few days later the “technicians” arrived to do the installation. They seemed generally knowledgeable about the basics, but admitted that they had never installed this particular model, only smaller Bompanis. There were two issues we were particularly concerned with. Gas stoves are generally shipped with two types of jets or “injectors” — one set for natural gas and one for propane. Natural gas is delivered at a lower gas pressure and so requires bigger jets. Propane is delivered to the stove at a higher pressure and so needs smaller jets. The technicians did not seem completely up to speed on this, so, after they left, we looked over the jets in the stove and the spare set and determined that the stove appeared to be already set-up for propane.
Almost immediately we popped a pizza in the oven. After frustrating attempts at pizza-baking in stoves in our rental apartments, we were delighted with the performance of the Bompani. The stovetop burners are wonderfully powerful. In the U.S. we had suffered with propane stoves which could not get a pan hot enough for stir-frying or larger sautes. That’s certainly not going to be a problem with the Bompani. The huge middle burner really is tremendously powerful. So, so far we’re pleased that we were able to buy a big stylish Italian range at a price which we could afford.
UPDATE: We’ve had a chance to live with the Bompani for almost a year. We are VERY pleased with it. The oven worked flawlessly. The temperature control was excellent. So too the cooktop. It seems well made. The burner controls are precise. The burners have a safety device which prevents them from releasing gas unless they are lit – such as when a child fiddles with the knobs. Overall we’re very happy with the stove. Be aware that not all parts of the stove that look like they are stainless steel, are stainless steel. The key parts are stainless — the top and the front panels, but the sides are not. We knew this before we bought the Bompani as we brought a magnet with us when we shopped. This is not a 100% foolproof test for stainless as some good stainless is magnetic.
Related posts:
- Flowers in Iloilo – Where to buy them.
- We buy real estate in the Philippines
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October 7, 2011 at 5:57 pm
I have purchased a 4 burner Bombani gas cooking burner and wish to use it in Chennai India. In India any gas burner can easily be connected to the gas cylinder with just a rubber tube. I see that its not possible with the Bombani burner that I have. Can you suggest the name of any agent or company that can help me connect my gas cylinder to the burner.
Can you inform as to how I can contact Bombani Italy to find out if they have any such agent in Chennai India.
October 8, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Sorry, wish I could help but of course I’m not familiar with Bompani dealers in India! In the Philippines we also use the rubber hose connected to a propane tank which is in a kitchen cabinet. When these hoses fail, an explosions can and do happen. This would never be allowed in the U.S. where stoves are connected to tanks with copper tubing and the tanks are outside the building. We will replace our rubber hose each year. Our Bompani came equipped for use with a rubber hose — that is there was a hose nipple on the stove’s supply pipe. We just bought a hose and regulator. The regulator screws to the propane tank and the hose goes from the regulator to the nipple on the stove.
December 9, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Dear Dr I had the same problem that you had and i bought a connector , one side of the connector is hexoganol like a nut and it has a thread inside which you screw onto the pipe of the oven which has a thread .The other side of connector has a pipe to which you insert the rubber hose from the gas cylinder. Use a thread sealant tape on the threaded portion of the connector to prevent leakage of gas . You have to be carefull when you connect the connector to the pipe .Use your hand and tighten the connector and once you are satisfied there is no wrong threading ,then only tighten with spanner.If you are not careful there you will have a big problem on your hand. I bought the connector from a gas oven repair shop or you can get it from any hardware shop .
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November 13, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Only a pizza Natie, but everything about the stove seems very deluxe.
November 11, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Wow!! great stove!! that’s a good info, Bob, esp now that I started baking again..has Carol tried baking yet?
November 2, 2010 at 9:46 am
you made a good choice on the stove. I am sure your family will have many years of good service from it and they will appreciate the high btu’s. It appears to be a good value for the cost. Cogradulations . Michael & Cheril
October 29, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Wow! What a stove. Only the best for one of my hero’s “Bob”.
I don’t know if you remember me but I actually visited you one time when you were living in your appt. by the sea. We came with “Larry”.
My wife and I enjoyed the visit very much and your hospitality was top notch!
We visited your compound while it was under construction.
Great blog..
Thanks Randall
October 29, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Looks great Bob! I like the idea of a wider unit with a high output center burner. Does the oven have a thermostat?
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