Aga oven

We have an elderly aga and I'm very fond of it. I love winter slow cooking it's a joy. However we are not a wealthy household by any means. We sat down and did some big number crunching and the Aga works out cheaper than the central heating to run. So we run the Aga and limit the central heating. We also cook and dry our clothes on it so it's more economical than if we just had the central heating on. Our house is also quite damp and I think it helps with this.

I'd sell everything I own before I sold mine. It cooks like nothing else. Today's roast was a joy to behold. Just looking at it makes me happy.

More great tips - thank you! And I have to admit, it’s the yorkshires that seal the deal for me. I also have a Lacanche, I make my yorkshires in exactly the same way but they are SO much better in an aga/rayburn.

@LadySummerislesApple

Crumbs. There’s a blast from the past.

We were in your shoes 18 months ago, buying a house with a 30ish year old oil AGA. I thought we’d get rid of it when we replaced the kitchen, but I unexpectedly fell in love with it! It is a joy to cook in, although I also have a conventional oven and hob, so turn it off during the summer months. The kitchen refit is now underway, but the AGA is staying. It will be getting a makeover, however, as it’ll be converted to electric (eControl, £3,700) as the house is being moved off oil onto heat pump and solar panels. As far as I could tell, the oil AGA doesn’t have any resale value, and we would probably have had to pay for removal. So I would recommend you live with your new AGA for a while before deciding its fate!

I would absolutely get rid.

Stupid, expensive wasteful things.

We have one which was here when we moved in 30 years ago ,and I love the warmth . They are not difficult to cook on at all , it is quite easy together used to. It would've hard to justify a tumble drier in the house if you have a constant heat source. I find we rarely need the central heating on as the kitchen is warm and in very cold weather we can light a fire. Although I love it I wouldn't buy one, this was here when we moved in, they are expensive to run and quite obviously not very environmentally friendly .

I grew up with one, and 3 years ago bought a house with one. They are lovely for cooking, drying clothes, etc. The older ones (eg solid fuel models) are very simple mechanically, and solid af so will last generations.

But i'ts just too expensive to run. Perhaps if the kitchen was huge, central in the house so the heat can drift into other rooms, and you're home and in the kitchen almost all of the time it would be less wasteful. But in terms of cost and CO2 they're really hard to justify.

We are getting ours removed - and they don't all have a great resale value - they need to be dismantled to be moved, and some models have asbesdos, they're often in need if re-enamelling etc.

@Holidaysrule You mentioned buying a house with mains gas and wanting an aga. The most difficult thing I had, was initially finding a gas certified person that could work on agas. Apparently its not just a qualified gas person, but they need to have also completed the Aga module. The aga website does have a list of engineers, BUT- nearly all that I called either weren't qualified for gas, or no longer worked on Agas- despite their name being listed there!

https://www.agaliving.com/contact-support/find-engineer

Our engineer had collected lots of 'bits' over the years, so gave us a toaster rack, baking dishes and various pots to get us started. Blake and Bull and the Aga shop also sell the trays that fit the runners perfectly, and pots that can be stacked. I've found them much cheaper on ebay though, especially in Summer! Our engineer was also able to re-enamel parts of ours, at a much better price than the main shops could. IF you find an engineer who covers your area, they might have a reconditioned Aga you could buy.

I found lots of youtube videos, but aga also have cooking schools. I also got some 2nd hand cook books off ebay (Mary Berry) but I found I didn't need them for long. It makes the most divine yorkshire puddings and I love it!

I’d love one but don’t have one as we don’t have space for a second oven, and I wouldn’t want in on all year- too hot.

£400pm to run? Crikey, our entire energy bill is £70 a month!

I had an oil Aga in my previous house. Yes it was lovely to look at and cook certain things in and also very useful to dry laundry. However it cost around £300-400 per month to run. A friend converted hers to electric but the cost did not reduce much. I actively chose to eliminate the next house if an Aga was the only cooking source.

Yes, the gas ones have been discontinued but having had a quick look there are gas reconditioned ones available for around £6k. A lot less than a new electric one!

I think all new Agas are electric now. You would need to get a reconditioned one. Rayburns still use other fuels though.

It is a lifestyle choice. If you do decide to get rid, definitely sell it, because they are not cheap, even secondhand. They last forever: the one my grandmother had installed in the 1930s is still going strong.

They are expensive to run now and as a result have no second hand value. Depending on its age you may have to pay somebody to take it away.

The electric conversion costs £3-5k ish depending on the size. Electric is still slightly more than oil to run , probably £10 a week.
so either pay and convert then sell if you want, you will get your money back, or bale out straight away before lots of expense.

They are lovely if you can comfortably afford them, if not it will be a frustration to you.

Thanks for this, really useful info! We’ve just made an offer on an old house with a big kitchen and no aga, but the house is on mains gas. Everyone I know has had oil or electric agas so I was wondering about the gas ones. Yours sounds perfect! The house is listed and single glazed so I think a gas one will be the way to go. Yey!

Where is old Crumbs when you need her.

I would be getting rid. Grew up with one and hated it. Temperature not really possible to control, so it was all a guess. It was lovely to lean against to warm yourself up, but that's quite an expensive luxury!

We love ours but we installed it and it's one of the more modern electric ones.

What fuel is yours OP? I know some of the old oil ones can be a bit messy but my next door neighbour has one and seems to use without issue.

I learned to cook on an Aga and would want to keep it.

I have one I do contemplate getting rid of it but it does have benefits. I’m rural with an old stone house and the constant supply of heat really helps keep damp/ mould at bay. I wfh a lot so a cosy kitchen is a pleasant working spot. The dog likes to snooze by the aga in winter. It’s really nice to have a warm room in the winter, I’ll hang the dcs clothes on the front rail. Biggest advantage is during the annual power cut. Seems to happen every year and being able to cook food and have a Cosy space is incredibly helpful. I’m not sure if ohthrrs work during a power cut. Mines used to run on anthracite and was converted to a gravity fed oil tank at some point. I do have two wood stoves so could manage during a power cut it’d just be less convenient.

I switch it off in summer and run it from October to April on a low heat. Last year I filled the tank once 1100l it was about £700. I haven’t changed the kitchen since I mived in 12 years ago so it may still happen.

We moved into a house with one.
I think it depends on the type. Ours is gas and I don't think it's too expensive to run for what it does. About £100pm which sounds a lot but it keeps the kitchen warm (brilliant at this transition time of year)

Probably don't use it to its potential cooking wise but I do like it.

Blanches at the thought of an Aga in a galley kitchen!

I grew up with one - used as intended - as well as being used for cooking - it warmed sickly lambs, dried wet work clothes, warmed bottles of milk for orphan lambs, provided hot water and warmed chilly farmhouse kitchen - a hard working all rounder BUT unless you live on a working livestock farm I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. Tney are needy, expensive to run and are a pain in the arse to cook on.

Hi Op;
We have a gas one, you can have them converted to electric, however this makes them more expensive but more controllable so for example you can turn different parts off at differing times, if you google Blake and Bull they have a website and cover all sorts of things about AGAs, there's a lot of things to research, and they take a bit of time to get used to but they are a really nice way of cooking.