Bugger my agas dead - 16 coming for Christmas lunch!

[whojamaflip]

Help!!

Came down this morning and the aga is cold 😮

I've 16 for Christmas lunch and at this moment no bloody oven😩

Have messaged our aga engineer and keeping everything crossed he will be able to sort it out in time.

How the hell do I cook everything if he doesn't? I have 4 electric rings, no microwave and can't afford to buy an oven (and no where to bloody put it!)

I also have a wood burning stove with a flat top so I suppose I could boil veggies on that but I'm more concerned about cooking the turkey!

Any ideas wise mumsnetters? Please? 🤞

I was worried you were DM for a minute there OP, until you said about the farm. Phew! Hopefully my Christmas dinner is safe, unless there is a spate of Aga deaths in the next few days....

I hope your Aga man can fix it on the spot for you OP.

Lovely neighbour has just popped over to say I can use her oven as she's away for Christmas so whatever happens with the engineer tomorrow I will be able to cook the turkey!

Kitchen feels horrible though - it's like the hearts gone out of it - all I can say is thank god it's mild outside. The agas the main heat for the house and we all live in the kitchen through the winter.

Ah really glad you have a kindly neighbour OP!
I hope the engineer gets your heat back on as there is nothing worse than feeling cold in your home .

If it's any consolation my grandparents aga went TWICE on two consecutive Christmas days!
It was the thermonuclear coupling.
Grandad always kept a spare after that but it never did it again.

Ovens always go at bloody Christmas! My mums went nuts and started incinerating the outside of everything whilst leaving the Inside completely raw. Was fixed on Christmas Eve luckily.

Glad you're semi-sorted OP. If it's any consolation, the best Christmas I had as a child was the one where the back boiler blew up and threw soot all over the living room - we had an open fire with an oven next to it. We had sausage and chips for Christmas dinner which was very late by the time everything was largely cleaned-up.

Good luck!

Breville I really hope thermonuclear is a typo!

It was the thermonuclear coupling.

I hope all works out well Op

Just had youngest dc come panicking down the stairs to say she thought the boiler in the airing cupboard had sprung a leak as it was hissing really loudly 😮

Don't think I've ever sprinted upstairs as fast in my life!!!

Thankfully it was only the immersion heater working (aga usually heats the water so don't use it very often and she's never heard it!)

But for a moment I had visions of a flooded house, moving out for Christmas and insurance claims 🤦‍♀️😱

Is it too early to hit the ?

It was the thermonuclear coupling

Blimey, was it an aga or the Millennium Falcon?!

My combi boiler went off this morning no hot water to the taps or radiators! Luckily the weather is mild, and Vaillant are sending an engineer out tomorrow.

Thermoelectric coupling @BrevilleTron

My oil aga wouldn't light when I tried after the summer.It was just that the burner was clogged up with oil gubbins. Engineer came out, gave it a good clean and hey presto all fixed.
So it's probably either the burner or the filter gummed up. Third possibility is that the fire valve has popped. Have you checked it? That could mean something more serious. However, oiil agas aren't actually very complex things - no moving parts, so hopefully it can be fixed tomorrow.

This has all reminded me of my grandparents' yellow Aga in their farmhouse kitchen. Everyone lived in there in the winter and we only went into the 'posh' lounge on Christmas Day after dinner . I remember grandad playing carols on the piano.... oh all the memories!

Really hope your Aga's fixed but what a lovely neighbour too.

Thanks @BikeRunSki knew it was something like that 😂😂 TwatMoment there sorry

I was wondering if you could get nuclear powered Agas these days!

Just checked the fire valve and it's not popped (was thinking it might be an easy fix I could do today) have put it all ready for lighting and left it for an hour to allow oil through to the wicks but there's not even a whiff of diesel smell so it's looking like it might be the pump.

Will get dh to clean the filter at the tank when he gets back in from the cattle in case that's clogged but the granny flat next door uses the same tank for their central heating and it's merrily working away so don't think it's that.

Bugger the old girl - could have chosen a better time to pack up 🙁

Just keep it turned off for a few months and you’ll save enough in fuel to cover the cost of a replacement oven.

And we shall freeze in the meantime! 🥶

I don't have an aga but a range cooked and the main oven packed up last week. The engineer came out on Friday, said he'd need someone else to come and do a part with him then disappeared and has lost any communication 😬. I don't hold out much hope of him coming out tomorrow so I'm planning how to cook a turkey, gammon and all the sides in the small side oven.

I have an instant pot and a slow cooker too so I'm hoping it will all be ok! I think I might have to cook the turkey first, rest it for however long it takes everything else to cook and hope for the best.
hoping you get yours fixed tomorrow!

Go out for an Indian meal on Christmas Day instead.

@PlomBear I'm hoping the engineer will be a miracle worker but I must admit I did ask the local pub tonight if they could squeeze us in on Christmas Day but at £90 a head it's a step too far! 😮

I have the lend of an oven, 2 x 4 electric rings and a woodburner with a flat top I can boil pots on so even if the aga is a dead cold lump of metal in the corner on Christmas Day I will be able to provide food to fill us all. Failing that be plenty of alcohol we can work our way through.....😂