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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To get rid of an AGA

135 replies

Cookiedough123 · 08/08/2021 15:50

Can someone tell me whether they would swap an AGA for a range cooker for example..

We are possibly buying a house with an AGA. It's run on gas. Are they worth it? Apparently the gas bill is between 125-200 a month! These are people who have their heating on a lot though.. I am a bit more scrimpy. I am keen to keep but BF wants to get rid.

Can I have thoughts on an AGA please

OP posts:

tinselvestsparklepants · 08/08/2021 23:26

Flowerycurtain did you convert yours to electric / solar? We have inherited one in our new house and it is run on oil - would love to change to solar. Any hints / tips would be appreciated.

Elsielouise13 · 08/08/2021 23:31

Love our AGA. We all gravitate to it like the giant radiator it is. Am sure I’d be Nigella without it but with it we are fantastic at pizza, bread, anything roasted and our kitchen is always toasty. We have an Aga Companion if it gets too warm in the summer but this year it’s stayed on.

callmeadoctor · 09/08/2021 09:40

We love ours, laundry goes on the pulley above every evening, its dry by the morning (no need for tumble drier). (Not left all over the kitchen). The posters saying about the length of time to boil a kettle suggests that their Aga needs a service. Indeed they can last 50+ years so in that respect are good for environment than rushing out to replace it with a new range cooker! Serviced and used properly they are no worse than others, however unfortunately many people do not do this.

FullMoonInsomnia · 09/08/2021 09:42

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow

Chill, Aga-lovers. I'm not coming to take away your ridiculous lumps of cast-iron.

It's just personal preference. I spent a decade with no choice but to dry my laundry in the room where I lived, cooked and slept. I'm damned if I'm going to live like that, now that I have an option. If you want to live with laundry all over your kitchen, that's your choice.

It’s not all over the kitchen. It’s out of the way in a pulley and dries like a dream. Saves a lot of money and is super convenient.

DelphiniumTea · 09/08/2021 10:31

Indeed they can last 50+ years so in that respect are good for environment than rushing out to replace it with a new range cooker!

My mil has had hers 70 years this year and it was already in the house when they moved in so will be years older than that even. It originally ran on furnacite but had it converted to oil a decade ago. Think how many standard ovens you'd need to buy in that length of time!

DelphiniumTea · 09/08/2021 10:41

Phurnacite apparently. I have been corrected. Never seen it written down before.

CruCru · 11/08/2021 14:14

AGA pans are awesome too. Ours have lasted and lasted.

EmmaStone · 11/08/2021 14:51

The house we bought had an Aga, and we removed it.

Pros: made amazing pancakes
was nice to rest your bum on a cold day
kettle was always warm
kitchen was always warm (we moved in autumn)
it heated our water so we always had hot water (although if the tank was emptied after 3 showers, it still needed time to refill)

Cons: we were being bankrupted in oil costs
we're generally out of the house from 7:30am to 6pm (when it's not Covid...), so seemed exceptionally wasteful
Because of the short amount of time actually in the house, I needed to be able to control temperature for cooking
No space for a 'summer' oven, so would have had to keep on all year around - when we viewed the house in the summer, they basically kept all downstairs doors open constantly.

Some of the arguments we were given for keeping them just didn't work for me - when I do the washing, I generally do 3-5 loads a day. I could dry about 1/4 of a load on the Aga, and it would always be in the way of me trying to cook, and I didn't really want clean clothes in my kitchen being used to prep/cook food. I also managed to burn some clothes that were drying on the Aga, which didn't fill me with confidence that it was a safe thing to do.

As for converting it, the cost was also eye watering, and I wasn't convinced electric was going to be the best method for us either.

We couldn't sell ours in the end - it was an oil Aga, and these are very out of fashion, we had to pay someone to come and take it away.

We now have an electric range oven with an induction hob, I can switch it on and off and choose the temperature at will. What a luxury!?! Be aware though that Agas are also not standard widths, so if you do decide to replace it, you'll need to come up with a solution on how to bridge the gap left (we had 1 unit next to it which we had moved as part of a general kitchen refrub - we couldn't afford to re-do the kitchen, but you may be able to ). We're now the only house in the village without an Aga (probably an overstatement, but every house I've been to in our small village has one), so could be deemed as devaluing the house, but seeing as we plan to be here for a very long time, I'll live with that!

CMZ2018 · 11/08/2021 15:05

Ours is LPG doesn’t cost nearly that much, I’d estimate £2 a day. I’d keep it they’re fantastic, ours is off in the summer though and we use the electric aga mate

FlowerPower3110 · 11/08/2021 16:45

I love love love our (electric) Aga, but it definitely took some time getting used to. I'd suggest waiting a couple of months before you make a decision.

DivaVergent · 11/08/2021 17:40

These old bangers seem to impress some people as a lifestyle/status symbol, but I really don't care at all what other people think of my equipment.

Why not choose a cooker/oven on the basis that it does what I want, when I want? An Aga or similar requires slavish attention - one I bought with the house made the kitchen so hot in the summer I had to install a room fan which helped only slightly and when I moved I left the £6k noisy lump of hokum behind.

leli · 11/08/2021 18:25

None of the AGA lovers are attacking those who don’t like them. “£6k noisy lump of hokum” is a bit harsh! I love mine (though it’s being replaced). It is silent and works brilliantly. For those of us who live in places where it rains and is grey and cold much of the year then an AGA is a friend.

NotMeNoNo · 11/08/2021 19:02

We had one in a rented house for a while, despite being a modern one I didn't get on with it at all. I'd replace it with a normal cooker - even if you can afford to run it the fuel consumption/carbon emissions are embarrassing.

user1471447863 · 14/08/2021 09:59

While certainly not an environmentalist id say they sound like the worst thing ever from an environmental, efficiency and usability standpoint.
I wouldn't even say stick it on Facebook marketplace, go straight for weighing it in for scrap.
Everybody here with one either melts in summer or has a 'summer oven' - so basically a proper oven that they could just use all year.
As for you don't need a kettle - well you have your special aga kettle that probably cost more than half a dozen electric kettles, that you can continue to use in summer when you finally turn the Aga off. The toast might be nice but it would be easier to just press the handle down on a conventional toaster - which you would need anyway in the summer if you turn the Aga off.
For those that aren't still living in the '50s and have unchained their women folk from the kitchen, let them wear shoes, not be pregnant and go to work then your house is empty most of the day and this daft thing is pumping out unnecessary heat all day benefiting nobody.
On top of that you have to go on a course to learn how to use one! Everything else you just follow the instructions on the back of the thing you are trying to cook (40 mins in a 200°C preheated oven - one knob to turn and done).
Seriously phone a scrap man to come take it away and get yourself a nice electric oven and either a 5 ring gas hob or induction hob.
Between the scrap money and and the gas savings they'll be paid for in no time

Ritasueandbobtoo9 · 14/08/2021 10:26

As above: We have maybe 25 years to save the earth and people are happily using fossil fuels to ensure that they look a bit “country”. It is pretty shocking really.

Cherrysoup · 14/08/2021 10:38

I’d get rid. My mother has one, I hate it. It’s boiling in her kitchen and my room which is above. It does boost the heating and hot water, tho.

MauveMagnolia · 15/08/2021 20:48

@Ritasueandbobtoo9

As above: We have maybe 25 years to save the earth and people are happily using fossil fuels to ensure that they look a bit “country”. It is pretty shocking really.

How do you heat your home and water?

PattyPan · 15/08/2021 22:30

@MauveMagnolia solar? Heat pump? 100% renewable electricity tariff?

Ritasueandbobtoo9 · 15/08/2021 22:38

Solar, green electricity. Have a A rated house.

MauveMagnolia · 15/08/2021 22:39

@Ritasueandbobtoo9

Solar, green electricity. Have a A rated house.

Can’t have solar here.

user1471447863 · 16/08/2021 00:11

Hydrogen boiler. All your new boilers are meant to be hydrogen compatible (sub 1 hour conversion of something) soon enough as one of the plans is to change the natural gas supply over to hydrogen. Air source heat pumps just won't be an option for many existing homes.

Of course there hydrogen will come from collecting unicorn farts or something...

AngelicaSchuylerAndHerSisters · 16/08/2021 00:14

I hated my aga. I would never have another one. I cook a lot and found it too restrictive.

LuaDipa · 16/08/2021 12:22

@TheDivineOddity

Definitely keep the Aga, yes they're generally expensive to run but it's also your kettle, your toaster, your slow cooker, your clothes dryer and airer as well as your oven. Your kitchen will also always be warm and welcoming. If you do get this house op then allow yourself six months or so with the Aga and then make your decision.

This.

I hated mine (oil fired, we don’t have mains gas) when we moved in and was terrified to use it. I’m not a domestic goddess and like things as easy as possible and the thought of it scared me to death. After a week I was hooked. It can be used for all of the above and it makes the kitchen so warm and cosy in winter. No waiting for the hob or oven to heat, just bang it in. Super handy and saves loads of time. You can also leave casseroles etc overnight or all day in the simmering oven and it’s pretty much impossible to burn anything in there. Plus, and I may be biased, but everything tastes better when cooked in the Aga.

Ours does go off in the summer as it is just too hot, so I would ensure you have an alternative just in case. We inherited an all singing, all dancing electric oven as well as the electric side of the Aga so plenty of capacity in summer.

Give it a try and I think you will love it.

NotMeNoNo · 16/08/2021 12:44

Well if I left my Neff oven on all the time, I wouldn't have to wait for it to heat up and it would make the kitchen hot. That would be a waste of electric though.. oh hang on.

LuaDipa · 16/08/2021 14:26

@NotMeNoNo

Well if I left my Neff oven on all the time, I wouldn't have to wait for it to heat up and it would make the kitchen hot. That would be a waste of electric though.. oh hang on.

Well possibly, although I very much doubt a Neff or other electric oven would heat my kitchen or withstand a period of continuous use.

I don’t see it as a waste at all, and I don’t think it’s much more expensive when you tot everything up. The engineer who serviced ours when we first moved in is a real enthusiast and gave me some great tips on how to get the best of it and recommended some excellent cookbooks in the same vein. On his advice I bought an Aga kettle and toasted sandwich maker (our electric kettle and toaster are put away in winter), have a special rack that hooks over the front to dry our clothes when it’s too wet to line dry (our drier is seldom used in winter or summer) and I often leave a meal cooking all day (or all night). The fact it’s constantly on doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wasteful, it just means it’s constantly used. I’m not a domestic type, but all of these things make my life easier. Plus we rarely have the heating on only at the kitchen end of the house as it heats far more than just the kitchen. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it saves energy or money, but I don’t think it uses as much power as you might think given it’s multiple uses.

Honestly, until we moved in I had the same opinion as you, and I certainly wouldn’t have chosen it beforehand. But you really can’t compare it to a standard oven as it does so much more.

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