…a total nightmare?

We’ve just had an offer accepted on a house which has an Aga. I must admit I’m drawn to the idea but research suggests they can cost as much as a luxury yatch to run and aren’t all that good.

Given this is STW I’m confident there’ll be those who can give both the pros and the cons.

For reference it’s a 2 oven gas one…

My parents have a 4 door electric. It is brilliant to live with, great to cook on (bit of getting used it), place to dry clothes and socialise round. It’s a way of life. They wouldn’t be without it, especially as that and the wood burner are their many sources of heating – no CH. However Dad does curse the £3k per year household electric bill (no gas in their village).

Had one in a shared house so I didn’t get too involved with the running but it was great to cook on. Took a certain style of cooking but made some simple things extra special. We used to shut it down over summer due to costs and just use a regular oven.

Nice in the winter. Annoying in summer and wasteful. Can make sense if someone is in the house all day benefiting from it and you have room for a second job for the summer. (That is how friend and family who have them run them, with a normal hob for during the school)

Total nightmare.

You did ask.

You’ll need a separate cooker for cooking on, Agas are great for background heat, Aga Toast and heating the water, but for main cooking duties they’re not the best to be honest. We have two in the Farms, both are oil fired now (the last conversation was only last year from coal !!!!) but it’s still an accessory rather than the main tool.
Whilst the hot plates are “normally” hot they never get hot enough for boiling water, simmering yes but not boiling. We’ve had new baffles and heat exchangers in both and whilst mildly better now than before, they’re still just nice arse warmers.

Obvz there are many varieties and fuels to choose from, gas is popular if you can get one on that it’d be much better and easier to regulate, oils the second choice, coal never choose that and don’t be tempted by electric either because those last two you’ll end up with spending a bucket load on the fuel rather than heat.

Stanley do some nice old oil fired ranges, they’re not as trendy or popular but 100% more useable and produce more heat.

Spend wisely, make the right decisions before committing.

And, we’ve got an old Aga that’s 60 years old in the shed, no one wants it and it weighs an absolute ton.

ahsat Has your dad costed out a gas tank in the garden instead?

I know an Aga installer. He puts them with Range Rovers.

Take that as you want!

Horrible things….the hottest hot plate isn’t hot enough to fry properly, the ovens are an odd shape…very deep but not high enough. A nice background heat in winter but you need another cooker in summer. Oh, and they don’t heat enough hot water….you’ll also need a separate boiler.
Also, you have to get the oil ones serviced regularly.

@bikebouy-not a case of us buying one. It’s already in the house we’re buying so guess we’ll live with it for a while and see how we get one.

@twodogs. This one is a cooking only installation so no need to worry about the hot water.

@everyone else. Thanks for the input-I’m yet to make my mind up. That said the house was nice and toasty even though the thing doesn’t rub the CH. Certainly seemed to impact the overall temperature of the house.

I looked into this when we had our extension as I likes the romanticised idea about it. And decided it would be a bit of a mare and hassle and decided I didn’t want one that much. Speaking to people with them already it was a mixed bag of reviews, real marmite thing, but the thing that killed it for me is that living in a modern well insulated home they would be too hot to run in summer (and probably even winters as they warm up), a work colleague who has one shuts his down over summer because it’s just too hot and the idea of having a lump of iron worth more than my car taking up a decent chunk of space in my kitchen which is only of use for a few months a year just seemed rediculous.

I think if you had a larger older, colder home it would become the feature of the home and live upto that romanticised ideal people think of when it comes to Aga’s.

I can’t see how they’re justifiable when we’re supposed to be reducing fossil fuel use.

For balance, the in-laws have one in their farmhouse and it’s quite nice – makes the kitchen warm and sociable. They like it, anyway, but then they live in a draughty farmhouse and suspect they pay many thousands of pounds a year in heating it.

On the plus side, they’re worth a fair bit even second hand so why not try it for a year then sell it if it’s as much as a PITA as everyone says.

It can dictate how you live your life.

My Great Aunt and Uncle had a coal fired one for 40+ years and they absolutely loved it, but they spent 80% of the time they spent indoors in the kitchen, with stone floors that acted as a massive storage heater. Once my aunt died it got converted to gas. She was an avid hill walker and there was apparently nothing quite so satisfying as getting in from the hills and sitting in front of the Aga with your feet in the slow oven 🙂

If i had a big enough kitchen I think i’d have one, but I work from home quite a lot so would just sit in the kitchen and sack off heating the rest of the house.

The problem with that idea Superficial, is that they weight a ton. If you do decide to sell then you’ve got a real difficult logistical effort to move it. I don’t think they sell that well second hand for that reason. You can’t just win one on eBay and turn up to pick it up on a Mondy estate. I think they need to be ‘decommissioned’, dismantled, transported, rebuilt (and probably refurbished if an old one) and recommissioned again in their new location. I think once they’re in they’re in for good in all practicality. That is the reason the work colleague I spoke to who shuts his down over winter hasn’t sold his, as it was already in when he bought his house.

ahsat Has your dad costed out a gas tank in the garden instead?

Yes they did look into it, as ~10 years ago the toilet in the bathroom above the kitchen leaked whilst we were on holiday and killed the aga. Whilst sorting the new one out on insurance, they looked into alternative set ups, but there are in an area of outstanding natural beauty and in part controlled by a local stately home and the planning limitations made it not worthwhile/possible (I can’t remember which).

They also have a standard oven but they use that about once a year. No problems boiling water, fry etc. You have to be aware the heat will drop slightly during the day, but that just takes getting used too. We don’t do bacon on the top regardless, just stick it in a thick bottom griddle pan on the bottom of the hottest oven and cook. Great bacon sandwiches yesterday. I’d think my parents would say it took a bit of getting used too, but my Mum now cooks awesome meals, often for numerous people, in it.

The problem with that idea Superficial, is that they weight a ton. If you do decide to sell then you’ve got a real difficult logistical effort to move it.

Yes, it took 6 big blokes and some heavy lifting kit to take out and put in my parents replacement one.

Certainly seemed to impact the overall temperature of the house.

My gran had them, first in a big old house and latterly in a modern bungalow.

Kitchen hotter than the fires of hell; remainder of house freezing.

2 door version? If you (or Mrs BGoode) like making cakes, you’ll need the AGA cake baker* and a fair bit of experimentation or get a normal oven installed (which you can also use over summer when you switch off the AGA).
Had one; miss the winter benefit and convenience but not the expense.

*Mary Berry had early popularity with her AGA cookbook.

My folks had a oil fired one. It ran the central heating in a 3 bed house just fine and provided plenty of hot water. they did as others have said have a separate cooker as well tho and it was expensive to run

Whilst the hot plates are “normally” hot they never get hot enough for boiling water, simmering yes but not boiling.

There’s something wrong with your AGAs. Usually thr problem with an AGA is that they’re too hot. Even the cool plate on my parents’ AGA will boil over a pot if not placed towards the edge.

Few points based on personal experience of helping to looking after one for many years…

* The mechanical thermostat that regulates the oil pump is terrible. We stripped it out entirely and replaced it with an electronic thermostat connected to a themocouple inside. It holds 265C pretty much perfectly and will boil a full kettle within a minute or two.

* The regulator has two modes on it and it cycles between them. It’ll also fail into a gravity fed mode (or if the electricity goes off) which will drop the temperature significantly. Funnily enough I’d describe it as “simmering temperature”, so you might want to strip yours down and service it.

* An oil AGA is generally only burning on high flow fro about 12 hours a day.

* It will break down on Christmas Eve. Get very familiar with how it works and be prepared to spend time lying in a puddle of heating oil. Mechanically though it’s incredibly simple and definitely a DIY job to look after. To be fair, it hasn’t actually broken since removing the stupid mechanical thermostat.

* Quite often the flue has an opening at the back of the AGA which works as a rudimentary extractor. It also extracts all the hot air out of the house. The vent is required, but can draw from outside.

* A lot of wasted heat goes up the flue. With some careful planning and a low speed fan or two you can recover a lot of heat.

I fitted a small induction hob next to it which makes cooking a bigger meal much easier. They are good if you know how to cook on them. My mum loves it, I curse it every time I visit home.

I wouldn’t have one but they aren’t the end of the world. Drop me an email if you have specific questions.

You’ll want a normal hob and probably oven as well. The Aga will be lovely for background heat in the kitchen during winter, but a complete PITA for day to day use.

Mains gas powered one here. As with everything there’s two sides to them.

Good:
Warm in the winter, and if you’re the sort of person who hangs around in the kitchen they’re great.
No need to wait for ovens to preheat so great for anything.
Once you learn the tricks they’re great for cooking. Especially baking, anything that involves simmering and stewing.
You can dry wet MTB shoes on them very quickly.

Bad:
Costs a fortune. About £4-5 per day according to my smart meter.
Terrible for the environment if you’re bothered about that sort of thing.
Not very good for cooking anything that requires stir-frying, even with the cast iron wok that you can buy.
Your mates will take the piss out of you for being a middle class ****.

I hated mine when I first moved in, but have now got used to it. You just need to change the way you cook from using a hob to using an oven. The cost is the main problem, even if you don’t use electrical appliances which they replace (kettle, toaster, dryer etc), they still cost a lot. Do not underestimate the usefulness of being able to dry out wet cycling gear on them. On really cold days I warm up my cycling shoes on them before going out. It’s bloody great 🙂

Ok, definitely folk that hate them on here…

We’ve one, it’s oil-fired and the place we live in is an old mill that we’ve opened up so it’s pretty much a single ‘room’ on the ground floor with an open staircase to the upstairs. In Scotland.

Our’s is never switched off (with the exception of 1/2 day for its’ two-year service). It also supplies hot water and we’ve no central heating, just the AGA and a large wood burner at the other end of the house.

Price-wise it uses 6-7l per day, so less than £3.

Cooking on it, or more correctly, cooking IN it is something to learn – once you understand the basics, piece of pi55. The only time I lift a lid to cook is when I want to sear a joint or cook a steak, the rest of the time everything is done in the ovens.

And boiling water, use an electric kettle – quicker and far more economical. We also don’t have another cooker nor hob.

On the plus side, they’re worth a fair bit even second hand so why not try it for a year then sell it if it’s as much as a PITA as everyone says.

Nope, paid £200 for our current one off ebay – and the best part of a £1000 getting it installed…

Oh, and best 5.10 dryer out there 🙂

Our house had a n old Rayburn which provided hot water when we moved in. It was old and used a lot of oil you might as well have taken fivers out of your wallet and burnt them every day!

We moved the house around and I looked into getting an aga or new Rayburn for cooking and heating but the running costs put us off. Ended up getting a condensing boiler for heating and getting one of the electric agas that look like an aga but work like a normal electric oven. Preserves the farmhouse kitchen feel but without the idiosyncrasies and running costs!

Oh. Perhaps I was conflating the cost of a used / reconditioned one to the second hand sale value. Ignore me then.

There is some nonsense spouted on here!

My parents had one while I was growing up. Never needed a second oven. They had a wee baby belling but that was only used for jam. Or when the aga was being serviced.

You do need to change your cooking style, stir fry etc are not so good ad it’s not ferocious enough.

There is a temperature dial so you can change the heat. For a big roast we used to turn it up wee bit the evening before. It takes a while to heat up.

It only broke down on Xmas eve once.. Which has spawned some excellent stories and borrowed ovens.

What fuel’s it using, OP? We have a coal fired AGA. It’s the only cooker we’ve got, it does the hot water, and we’ve no central heating, which means it’s always on, 363 days / year (a couple of days to go out, service and relight.)

Pros: Lovely warmth in the house – the kitchen is the only room that’s not cold in winter. It sounds really naff, but it’s almost like having a big grumbly pet in the kitchen – makes a lovely sound as the coal works its way down, and sulks if you neglect it. Perfect for toast, slow-roasting, and big, simple dinners (the oven space is huge). Cheap and quick way to boil a kettle. I’m surprised that posters above say the ‘hot’ hot plate doesn’t get really hot enough – ours is sometimes glowing gently if you turn all the lights off! Great for drying clothes over (string some lines across the kitchen ceiling if there aren’t already).

Cons: Really inflexible for cooking. We basically have two ovens, one at about 250c, the other about 100c. Any recipes needing something in between require creativity! Similarly with the hot plates – stupidly hot, or just about simmering, makes it hard to, for example heat butter nicely without burning it. Needs to be ‘fed’ coal twice a day, and have the ash pan emptied daily (and a sod to relight if it goes out), which makes holidays awkward.

It goes through about 2.5 – 3 tonnes of coal a year, so that’s about £1k annually. But then we don’t have any other heating bills, and only use electricity for lighting and the washing machine.

HTH – not sure how much applies to other fuel AGAs.

My 2 cents. Never had one out of choice. There is a second hand market FYI. (they are ‘kin heavy)

They are a “lifestyle” purchase, look great in the right kitchen. They heat the room (so does any oven). As a recent convert to induction I would not even bother with gas hob these days. Arga’s need a different cooking style and it’s not one I and most definitely not the wife could work with

Arga’s need a different cooking style and it’s not one I and most definitely not the wife could work with

Nourishing soups and very slow roasting not the thing then?

So to summarise, if you can change the way you cook, dont care about the cost in money or to the environment and can put up with a hot house in the summer, go for it 🙂

THe sort of thing that yuppies who move to the Lakes buy.

If there’s a gas main outside then get a boiler and central heating. Less money and less hassle.

Expensive image statement. My parents had one for years. No thanks and they wouldn’t go back to it either. So,I’d fuel. £3K for electricity! Madness.

Yeh, you have to turn it off over summer, or turn it right down. Either way, it’s no good for cooking on.

Even when they’re on properly, kettles/pans take ages to boil, stuff take ages to cook, they smell funny when it’s dead windy outside, you have to get a big tank outside to put oil in. Just a nonsense really.

Ours is solid fuel, it was installed when the kitchen was modernised in the ’50’s. I can’t ever see it being carried out before I am.

A gas one might be ok though?

We got £500 from the nice people who came to take the one that came with our house away, paid for a fair bit of the much better modern cooker we have now. The rest of the cooker was paid for by not burning a grand’s worth of gas every year to overheat our tiny kitchen…

I grew up with an Aga in the family home, I know all about living with one. Bloody stupid things.

Forgot about the summer, huge heat source made the kitchen unbearable

Just doing the Sunday roast IN ours, please again note the word IN.

All our pans have flat lids so they can be stacked and removable handles.

Also forgot to mention that I like warm plates/dishes, they’re piled on top at the moment 🙂

Nourishing soups and very slow roasting not the thing then?

Definitely yes but a whole lot more inc delicate sauces and patisserie (note those are most definitely the wife’s forte not mine). The wife would also not have an oven without advanced auto clean (pyrolytic I think it’s called). The Mrs is also only interested in living in flats. As I said they are great in right house, have friends with coal and gas ones.

The Mrs is also only interested in living in flats.

We have them in a couple of Edinburgh New Town flats. They aren’t that hard to reassemble.

Had one for 20 years oil fired long wheel base (4 oven) no electronics (no stress when the electric is off)just drip fed never gets turned off –

I will never own a house without one and ours boils a kettle in less than a minute, the reason people have problems is that many were crap solid fuel conversions – john wray North Yorkshire knows how to do a proper oil conversion. The odd time ours is out the house is miserable.