To all you experienced AGA users, some advice please?

[hfe3]

Total Control vs 13a with AIMS?

I am in the process of planning a new kitchen and would love to put an AGA in. However, I cannot get my head around all the pros and cons in terms of
a) economics and
b) heat output.

I am very aware that the traditional, on-all-the-time, AGAs will both sap us of money and pump out heat non-stop. Heat is great in the winter when our kitchen (and house!) is freezing, but not so great in the boiling hot summer. I don't want to (nor have the room to) install a second back-up cooker. And the idea of extortionate running costs to keep an appliance going 24/7 so that I can spend 4 minutes boiling an egg in the morning for breakfast seems cuckoo to me.

However, I am a SAHM who loves cooking for my family, and especially enjoys baking. The AGA would not only suit our house, but also my cooking style.


I have been wooed by the 3-oven Total Control model at our local AGA showroom. But not by its pricetag!! So I started investigating second hand/reconditioned models and Total Control doesn't seem to have hit the second hand market yet. A cheaper alternative might be the 13a with AIMS installed.

At a push we could consider oil-fired, but I don't really want the associated hassle/costs of having to put flue into chimney and pipe the oil from the tank in the garden. I'm drawn to an electric model as I could choose internally vented and pretty much just plug it straight in.


So really my questions are:
What sort of heat does the 13a with AIMS give off when in slumber mode? Would it be bearable in the height of summer?

Any idea of running costs of a 13a with AIMS?

Any idea of running costs of the Total Control?

Can anyone with experience of either offer me their opinion and/or advice please? My head is spinning ?


Thank you, all of you xxx

[jonicomelately]

I have a reconditioned 13 amp without aims. It's hard to say how much the running costs are in isolation with all the other electicial items.
All I can say is it's used to the maximum. It heats two rooms (ie no need for radiators). I use it to dry clothes and cook on it all the time. I would advise putting in a back up oven for hot summer months. I would find the heat unbearable if we didn't do this.

[hfe3]

Thank you jonicomelately. The heat in the summer is something that worries me as I hadn't planned to have a second cooker.
I'm sure I would, like you, use it to the max but wonder how much aims makes a difference.

[jonicomelately]

I really can't comment on AIMS but I would strongly advise that if you are going to spend such a large amount of money, it's really worth an extra couple of hundred quid for a back up in summer. You'll thanks me when it's blazing hot!

[hfe3]

Yes, the blazing summer with an AGA on is something I know we won't be able to bear. Our kitchen is a funny shape and isn't huge, so would need clever planning to incorporate a second cooker. I totally get your point about the £ - due to outlay, as you say, in the first place.

I'm so torn.

I've discovered an Aga Forum online and a thread 11 pages long slating the TC .
I've also discovered The London Cooker Company, so I'll be popping along there to find out more just as soon as I can.

[jonicomelately]

You only need a small single oven as a back up so you won't need a huge amount of room to incorporate it.

[getyoufancy]

Hi. New arrival so apols but hope it's helpful! Aga plus separate hob was the existing set up when we moved in; a bit limiting over summer when we turned it off, so we invested in the biggest combination oven we could find with a decent review (thank you, Which) which (sorry), in combination (done it again) with the hob sees us pretty comfortably through 'til the Aga's on again. Big roasts are a faff as there isn't room for meat plus roast veg, but a small price to pay if installing a full second cooker isn't an option. Other suggestion (and ours is an old-skool Aga; not a TC model) you can get the heating water option uncoupled from the cooking function which, if you've sufficient alternative means of heating water & CH, is a great way to slash your running costs. Good luck!