Would you?
Thinking £1500 instead of £4000 on a Mercury range, or is this a stupid idea?

£1,500 for a cooker? Is it Jamie Oliver?

is this a stupid idea?

Which bit?

I know someone whose just done done exactly the same. They seem happy with it.

is this a stupid idea?

Do you live on a farm and have a dozen mouths to feed?

My father did the same (an AGA) and lived happily ever after.

My brother has however never purchased a second hand oven and is bitter and depressed.

Read into that what you will.

I’ll sell you a £8000, 3 yr old electric Aga, for £2500.

Gobuchul – please supply more details.

3 year old electric powered, in “duck egg” blue.

In Northumberland.

It came with the house, we have no kids etc. and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to run it. Not too bad in the winter, as we now have solar but come summer time the house is just too hot.

It does cook beautiful roasts mind!

Like this one.

I’ll check the colour with the wife.

No, they’re very very good.

(based on our 17 year old RC1090 in stainless)

One door catch and the grill drawer roller coming loose and needing to be screwed back on is all it’s needed. No frills though, no fancy timers or modes and the fan oven isn’t very even front to back. What they have going for them is being rock solid and big capacity. We couldn’t face the super angular Mercury hood though and went with a Belling with rounded corners. Ours was before the AGA brand takeover when they were still made by Lincat, don’t know about quality after that.

Edit: Misremembering stuff again, it’s 15 years old not 17.

I went ex display – £4K Brittania range cooker for £1700. After a couple of months use (I cook from scratch lots) it had already got enough signs of use as to make no difference from buying sparkly brand new and still had the manufacturer warranty.

Okay I’ll keep searching I guess.
Need one before Christmas or it’s pop tarts all round.

Just to throw another idea into the mix, we were looking at ranges and ended up going for two side by side built-in ovens and a six ring hob in the worktop on top. Looks good, and gives more flexibility choice-wise for ring layout, oven features etc

IHN Yeah I like that idea but the kitchen is all free standing stuff.

Have a bloody great big Rangemaster, gas, 4 burners, griddle, electric plate, 2 ovens, warmer and drawer that I won’t be using in the new kitchen.

I’ll be doing similar to above and building a free standing cabinet to hold it

Hammy, are you interested in selling it?
If so could you send me some details- cheers.

Brilliant cookers. We have a newer Mercury 1000 (about 6 years old now). Bombproof. As midlifecrashes says no fancy stuff. Older ones have awesome pan supports.

OP no reason at all not to consider second hand. We all buy houses wirh a oven / hob in place and keep using them. It’s all about condition and price for the cooker you mention. Don’t forget delivery issues either. Those Aga’s are a project.!

Have a bloody great big Rangemaster, gas, 4 burners, griddle, electric plate, 2 ovens, warmer and drawer that I won’t be using in the new kitchen.

we have one of those..

Mainly use the griddle / hot plate for sticking how pans on from the oven, rather than using the worktops.

It’s not an Aga, but the Mercury coolers weigh 185kg.
Which is a lot.

Yeh – the one I have took several of us to get in the kitchen.
Def up for sale – but you can move it!
Will get pics up for you sunday/monday as at the other house till then

bought a Falcon massive range thingy for our renovated cottage 2nd hand, paid a 1/4 of the new cost. Helped sell the house at a premium. result.

What is it that these things do that makes them cost so much?

Genuine question.

I liked the look of the mercury but the ovens in the equivalent sized Falcon are bigger. The mercury ones have a metal strip each side, so there isn’t as much actual oven width. I went with a 1000 falcon induction in the end – very happy.

What is it that these things do that makes them cost so much?

Genuine question.
On a cycling forum I find that question more than a little amusing.

A mate has just bought this black aga range cooker to sit alongside his aga (peak aga collection?), the kitchen is being totally revamped in time for xmas and the vast amounts of family/friends to feed so the black aga will be sitting alongside the blue aga.

He bought it from a holiday house in devon, it’s never been used – not in the slightest, not a mark on it anywhere and despite it costing him £480 to get couriered to galloway he’s still saved a small fortune over the new price as there was no bids on it.

Aga’s are **** brilliant, especially in a huge old kitchen/house as they act as permanent heating and it’s so nice to come if from walking the dogs on the farm/moor and sit your arse on the plate warmer 😀

Op – email with a couple pics sent

we were looking at ranges and ended up going for two side by side built-in ovens and a six ring hob in the worktop on top

That’s the direction we’re heading in. Currently (and for the last 15 years) have a Brittania range which is fine but cleaning the cast iron pan stands on the hob has got really old for me now.
When we change the kitchen around I’m keen on a pair of Meile ovens (well, one oven and a combination oven) and a big induction hob.

Tempted by an Aga but the purchase and running costs were just too much.

Since I changed from fas to induction, a spray and wipe post cooking makes me smoke every time! I used to hate ckeaning the gas hob. I would have gone for 2 separate ovens & a hob, but SWMBO wanted a range cooker. TBH, once you’ve purchased the units for the ovens & paid for the worktop cutout for the hob, and 3 lots of electric connection, there isn’t much price differential.

On a cycling forum I find that question more than a little amusing.

Why? Just wondering – look nice, get really hot, good for cooking xyz, because I can are all perfectly good reasons…

The in-laws have one that does the heating too.

Just wondering what the deal is, it’s not a criticism.

No, I think you’re missing the point of JohnDoh’s post there Larry 🙂

No, I think you’re missing the point of JohnDoh’s post there Larry

I knew what he meant. I was wondering what the appeal of these things is in particular – why folk like them (or if they do anything special) Like someone above saying ‘they heat a whole big room’ kind of thing.

You could say the same about spending that much on a cooker as a bike/car/HiFi/<insert middle class consumer good here> Nothing wrong with buying something you like, after all.

Nothing wrong with buying something you like, after all

Absolutely.