Have you turned your Aga off yet?

[TheExtraGuineaPig]

We moved into a house in the Autumn and the house has an Aga (that I am half liking, half not seeing the point of). Anyway it us BOILING in the kitchen now. Should I turn it off for the summer? (We have another oven and job). Aga owners do you turn yours off at a set time every summer? I know I sound clueless but can't decide....

[TheExtraGuineaPig]

Also I should probably add it doesn't heat water or anything but it does provide heat for the kitchen/ dining room (no radiator)

[cozietoesie]

Have you had it serviced since you moved in? If not, now might be a good time.

[squiggletea]

We've been having the same conversation. Of course it will freeze as soon as we turn it off.
Ours only heats food and the kitchen (and washing and dough) too and we only have a microwave as back up.
I'm planning to buy a 2ring hob and eat simply over the summer. Next year I will plan more and stock the freezer first.

We've had ours since the autumn too. What have your best bits been?

[lavendersun]

I had this conversation earlier, we have moved from a house with a very useful Rayburn (did everything, hot water, central heating), to one with a oil aga that does nothing apart from cook and guzzle oil.

The weather forecast here is currently for 11 degrees during the day, 4 at night and raining by next weekend so I haven't switched it off yet but I will do soon (hopefully).

I do have an oven/grill and have bought a microwave/combo thing and a two ring hob so I will be fine without it apart from the kitchen and utility which is a fair sized space will be freezing if it turns cold.

I usually have mine serviced towards the end of the summer when I am about to start using it again, rather than now when I am turning it off.

[exLtEveDallas]

We had this discussion this weekend. If the warm weather keeps up we will turn it off this week, if not we will keep it going until 1st June. In a perfect world we would turn it off on 1 May and back on 1 Oct - but in the two years we've been here it's not been perfect!

We are better planned this year - we have a 2 ring electric hob and have bought a table top electric oven and an Air Fryer (last year we only had a microwave and it was dire). DH is building a cover for the Aga top to put them on so that the space isn't wasted.

[lavendersun]

That is a really good idea Eve, we have got a length of beech worktop spare, I might suggest the same here as we are short of counter space that isn't close to the sink.

[lavendersun]

My sister bought an electric wok a few years ago when she was having an extension built/new kitchen and says she still uses it a lot - I was wondering about one of those.

We had a lovely glass hob in our old house - I am worrying about only having these two rings here.

[squiggletea]

Glad to hear someone else is building a cover. I'd not heard anyone else say anything like that so wondered if there was a reason. I wondered about dropping a built in hob into a piece of work top but think a standalone 2ring hob will be fine. I am short though, I'll need stilts!!

It's been lovely to be warm all winter but this weekend it has felt unhygienically warm.

[TheExtraGuineaPig]

Thanks everyone! Forecast here (London burbs) is for 13-15 over next weekend so will see if it's still too warm inside them and turn it off if it is.

Cozytoesie we haven't had it serviced ... Will do that I'm the summer. It is definitely going off, just debating when!

Squiggletea - best things have been roast chicken and anything slow cooked... Especially curry (Rick Stein's slow cooked lamb and clove thing) and casseroles. Also have liked always being able to do kids horrible fast food really quickly! Mashed potatoes great too. I don't like the hobs though

[cozietoesie]

Good idea. I've never had one myself but I've stayed in two houses that did and servicing always seemed to be a clear requirement. Both of those devices heated water as well though so if you get a halfway decent service engineer, you could always hang around during the process and pump them for tips and options.

[squiggletea]

Yes definitely good mashed potato! and baked potatoes are delicious.
I like that it is just on and after much procrastination, the cakes are good, just nothing too hefty.
I finally summoned up the courage to use the hob as a griddle. Lovely salmon and burgers.

I read somewhere you can get three pans on one hot plate... Not my pans! Even when transferring veg to the bottom oven, broccoli has varied from crunchy to souplike mush...

I think we will give it another week, unless we start losing sleep from being too warm!

[cozietoesie]

The two that I stayed with, you had to have a bath whether you wanted one or not!. They needed to use up the hot water!

[Lollydaydream]

Off from June to October, really? I moved into a house with one in December and, as much as I'm not really getting on well with it I'm dreading turning it off and cooking on two rings and a combo microwave. It's going to be like student cooking all over again. I can't get my head round the logistics of feeding four like this. Yet today I had the kitchen door open in a rainstorm to let out some of the heat......

[Ilovewillow]

Turning it off will cause the weather to deteriorate immediately and the heavens will open! We acquired one with our house and I can't stand it personally but I am no cook! We always turns ours off in the summer and actually turns it off at the weekend so now, of course, it is raining and cold!