Would you keep an existing aga?

[soozm73]

We are in the process of buying a house that has an aga in the kitchen. At the first viewing the agent said "they'll take it out if you don't want it, or leave it if you do". I'm leaning towards keeping it (because of the warmth mainly) DH wants to replace it with a normal range cooker when we redo the kitchen... What do you think? I've never used one.

[Purplehonesty]

Is it oil or electric or solid fuel?

Oil aga will use about £100 a month in fuel alone, electric a bit less.

We switch ours off during the summer as its too hot to have it on and it costs too much, so we have another cooker as well.

I love them but there are drawbacks! Lovely in the winter

[RoosterCogburn]

I love mine so I'd keep it.
I'd have it converted to oil (if it isn't already) and serviced, then I'd add an electric AGA module so I had the best of both worlds

[ThingummyJigg]

omg I'd love an aga.

My granny had one and I've coveted one ever since.

You'll want another hob and oven for the summer though, when the Aga is switched off (presuming you don't have it on all year around - you will melt in your kitchen in the summer)

[mateysmum]

I'm the same as Purple. I am a convert and I just love my Aga. It's always ready and once you get used to it, it cooks everything so well. But... if it is oil, it is expensive and yes it's lovely in winter, but in the summer it can be a bit hot. I don't have a full separate cooker, and we would struggle to fit one without a very expensive kitchen remodel, so we bought a microwave/convection combi oven and a couple of portable induction hot plates and that's fine for the summer. If I want to entertain, we just stick the aga on for a day or 2.

If you do take it out, you will get bugger all for it and if it has a flue and a concrete plinth, it will be quite a job. The only reason I would get rid is if you are really not prepared to pay the running cost.

What type of aga is it? 2 or 4 oven? Also if it one of the modern electric ones they have intelligent controls which make it much more economical to run. If it is, I would definitely keep it.

[choccyp1g]

Have you ever tried moving one?

[mateysmum]

choccy yes you can't exactly just pop an aga in the back of the family hatchback and take it down the tip! Methinks the agent was speaking "creatively"!

[CrystalSkull]

Ooh yes, I would definitely keep it. I'd love an aga. Perhaps you could try it out for a few months and you can always sell it on (I presume) and get a bit of cash for it if you don't like it?

[CrystalSkull]

Just seen mateysmum's post - I still reckon it's worth keeping. I guess the hassle of moving it makes it worth very little.

I kind of wish we'd kept/bought more of our seller's furniture, as everything we rejected now has to be replaced with something else, at our expense!

[dailyfix]

I'm not a fan of Agas so wouldn't want it, but several friends swear by them.

My only advice would be is that if you're sure you don't want it make sure it's removed before you move in because they're really expensive to take out.
There is a second hand market but, round here, it's not really flourishing.

[PlainHunting]

I'd keep it. We were in two minds about them before buying this house (which has one) but have fallen in love with it! It makes the kitchen lovely and warm and welcoming.

Is there another oven for summer though? I wouldn't like an aga to be my only oven. Ours will shortly be turned off for summer (otherwise the kitchen gets too hot) and we use an electric one until autumn. We also use the electric oven throughout the year for cakes or anything that needs an accurate temperature.

[soozm73]

Thanks everyone! I think most of you are confirming what I really wanted to hear ;) I'll show DH! Good plan to put in another small cooker if we can though... I think there will be room. I have no idea what fuel the aga uses, I'll find out.

[PlainHunting]

Fwiw our oil-fired aga costs £15/week to run.

[tanimbar]

We're inheriting a gas-fired 4-oven aga, with no other oven, but a ceramic hob. I think we'll hang on to it over the winter, and see how we feel next spring. Largely because I've not got the energy for a kitchen refit til then, but I'm also curious, and keen to have a cosy kitchen over the winter. There are other things wrong with the kitchen (tiny fridge, that ceramic hob), so it's going to need a rethink eventually, but I want to wait and see whether we feel the aga ought to be part of that.

[ChablisTyrant]

We had a mains gas aga in our house when we moved in. Lovely for slow roasting but it guzzled gas and cost a small fortune to run. So we had it removed.

[PigletJohn]

An Aga makes an attractive kitchen ornament, if you have room for it, and is a good way of using up surplus fuel, and for keeping the kitchen hot in summer.

Or did you mean for cooking on?

[Millymollymama]

Great for a huge farmhouse kitchen. Otherwise I cannot see the very expensive attraction! Just give me decent Miele ovens and induction hob every time!

[mateysmum]

Don't be mean Piglet my aga is feeling very offended . I like to think I am performing an public duty by burning up the plant's oil reserves single handed!

[exLtEveDallasNoBollocks]

I had the same reservations a year ago when we bought our house. We have a 4 oven gas Aga. I was worried about the cost, the impracticality and learning to cook with it.

All my fears were unfounded. The monthly cost is no more than in our last house because we have the heating on much less as a result. Cooking with it was less complicated than I thought; I'd got the hang of it within a couple of months and actually a lot of things are much easier. We didn't turn it off in the summer, (although I had bought a micro/convection oven and hot plates thinking we would) because hey, this is Britian and the sun lasted a whole week

The only thing I don't like about mine is the colour - I wish it was black so I could decorate my kitchen easier.

[wheresmyAga]

Yes

[Stinkersmum]

Even if you don't want it keep it for the sale and then sell it! You get good money for agas.