Am I mad to want an Aga?

[lexie01]

My DH thinks my desire (obsession?) for an Aga is ridiculous given the fact that:

1. Despite having a kitchen/breakfast area which is just over 22ft it is quite narrow (10ft) and very oddly shaped making it impossible to have a backup oven/hob for the summer (I do have a large utility where where the combi microwave will be going)
   
   
2. I am not a great cook - my 'skill's' really only extend to trad family fayre like shepherds pie/stews of varying descriptions, the odd roast with a bit of pizza/fish fingers and sausages thrown in.
   
   Am I letting my heart rule my head? Will we absolutely bake (parden the pun) in the summer with the Aga left on? Will it be just a very expensive mistake that I will regret? Please help!!

[NewBlueShoesToo]

I have an Everhot. Love it.
More controllable, more drying space, grill, more efficient.

[Wixgirl]

Please do not even think about it, they are not what they used to be. We had our old Aga replaced in December. Aside from the palaver of trying to get it installed (Aga didn't turn up to take away the old one), we have had a nightmare with it. It has had at least four new parts and one gas burner update. Due to an inherent fault in their latest version our Christmas dinner was ruined (raw despite leaving in overnight) and I have wasted six days of work waiting around for engineers to fix it. The new Aga is more efficient and lets out very little heat, the cosy kitchen is no longer, this is apparently because it is more efficient but I would say this loses its main selling point. The customer service is appalling. If i could send it back I would. Oh and the compensation offered for six days off work for a faulty oven and a ruined Christmas day was a measly £500, for an item that cost £12,000. Never again.

[Crumbs1]

I love and adore my Aga. The house would feel very different without it. Ours is an electric programmable version that can be set to heat up and slumber to fit with family needs. It is big enough to do Christmas lunch for 22, better than any slow cooker, cooks quiche and baked potatoes to perfection. It also dries and irons clothes, dries running shoes, warms plates, sterilises jam jars, heats house in mornings. I can't imagine not having one.

[elfofftheshelf]

I have a gas 3 oven Aga with AIMS. I've always wanted one, but thought it would a "retirement dream" rather than a reality for this point in my life, but when viewing houses it was what really swayed us to buy this one! Once you get your head around the process (using oven rather than hobs, the 80/20 rule) cooking is much easier and the fact that it's on most of the time means that I'm cooking more than before.

Yes, they are expensive, but they last forever - lots of people have reconditioned Agas that are 50 odd years old.

My kitchen is quite large and I have double doors out to the garden, but we viewed the house in the summer and the Aga was definitely on and the heat wasn't oppressive. At the moment mine runs 12 hours on and then 12 hours (overnight) in slumber. With AIMS you can adjust for different days (e.g. weekends etc) and tell it when you are going on holiday etc to switch it off.

I won't go back to a conventional oven / hob!

[Cornwall73]

We lived up north in a house with a gas aha and no additional elec job so it was always on. I loved it and we were very sorry when we moved and the people who bought the house ripped it out. It does take getting used to and our first Christmas dinner using it was very late as we hadn't cranked up the heat to do the veggies and the turkey, but we have many happy memories from it. A big house yet everyone spent their lives in front of the aga watching a little tv in the kitchen. They are great for ironing clothes (folded on top of the lids) and you can make great thick toasted sandwiches!

[Sunnysidegold]

Our house came with a two oven oil aga. I was a bit unsure about it and it does take a bit of getting used to but I love that the kitchen is always cosy and you never have to wait for an oven to heat. Previous owners had put an electronic oven in too but we have used it once in the 18 months we've been here. We just open doors or Windows in the summer if it gets too hot.

[EmGee]

My parents have an oil-run AGA and it is great. So warm and cosy. They could not envisage living without it (had it for 25 years now). Takes a while to adapt to cooking in it (e.g. baking etc) but not long.

My mum also uses it for 'ironing' clothes (on the hot plates - very effective!) and airs clothes/linen on the sheila-maid above.

[41coffeeslater]

Love love love my Everhot.
More efficient than an aga. Great for ironing (i.e. not actually ironing) and drying clothes. So easy to control and keeps house warm and damp free.

[Crumbs1]

Cooking is as someone said, a doddle but you just have to get used to maximising time in oven rather than time on hob. Pasta/rice are easy and time exactly the same as on a hob. No nasty cooking smells at all but you do have to get used to using a timer as initially it's easy to forget and burn food. I like cooking and think Aga allows for easier 'proper' cooking. i use base of roasting oven as a large hot plate/hob.

[EnidButton]

Christmas lunch for 22!

[EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard]

This thread's over six years old

[Alwayscheerful]

I decided on an Everhot half the running cost of an Aga and no servicing costs. Commercial grill and hob. If you move house you can take it with you. No installation costs if you have 2 sockets.

[DEB061]

Hi would u know what its costs apx to run your electric Aga?