Aga or Rayburn?

[MissLemon18]

The house we're buying has an old solid fuel Tirolia range that I'd like to replace. Do I go for an Aga or Rayburn? Won't be used for heating. Plan would be to eventually convert Aga to Electrikit by Blake and Bull or equivalent for Rayburn by CC Conversions.

Which would you go for and why?

You can get electric Agas iirc, so why not go for one straight off? Alternatively, there are Stanleys www.waterfordstanley.com/stanley-cookers/stanley-cookers/cooking-only/induction/supreme-deluxe-110cm, the cooker only is the link I've given. I have one of these, but it's oil fired and does ch, hw and cooking www.waterfordstanley.com/stanley-cookers/stanley-cookers/cooking,-hot-water-central/oil/brandon. The Stanley was much cheaper than a Rayburn when I bought it to replace my old Stanley and has bigger ovens.

Look up Everhot cookers. They are electric but I think are preferable to electric Agas.

The Blake and Bull Electrikit conversions are more efficient and cheaper to run than the 13amp electric Agas, so that's the reasoning behind that.

Looked at Stanley and Everhot but really for me it's down to Aga or Rayburn.

Have a look at reconditioned Agas from Avec.

Rayburn. I grew up with one. Loved it and would have another in a heartbeat.

I thought the whole point of an Aga was to use solid fuel or oil and produce hot water and for cooking. So good if you were off grid And a Rayburn was the same company now, but also pumps hot water to radiators? Why electric? Do you have a good source of cheap electricity?

We have an electric Aga and it’s insanely expensive to run. I also have a love hate relationship with how it cooks, it’s great everything is ready to go instantly but cooking in the ovens is completely hit or miss. It’s a joy to look at but I’m not sure I would replace it if something happened to it!

Our house came with an Aga and after 20 years we are getting the hang of it. Part of that is having a normal oven and hub too. At first that was for midsummer but with rising fuel prices the Aga is only on in midwinter now.
I’m feeling poor just thinking about an electric Aga.

Not off grid, so not needing it to run hot water or heating. The existing solid fuel range used to heat the radiators, but previous owner installed central heating and stopped using it. Not been used for 10 yrs and parts are v hard to find, so my plan is to try using it but if it's broken then to replace with solid fuel Aga or Rayburn off ebay. Want it mainly for cosy winter use rather than hardcore every day use.

When looking into it, have found that oil is most expensive to run, and whilst I'm at home at moment, in yrs to come, I won't won't be in all day to keep a solid fuel version going, so my plan is to eventually convert a solid fuel Aga or Rayburn to electric using the Electrikit, which is the cheapest way to run either.

Do you have mains gas? Surely that’s a lot cheaper way to run an Aga? Otherwise just get one made of mdf and turn up the radiators, shred some bank notes every now and again?

@beyondtheshed, why do you prefer Rayburn?

@byvirtue, is yours the 13amp electric or an electrikit conversion?

Electrikit still seems cheaper than gas Aga - hope this doesn't sound off, but feel like I'm having to justify why I want one, rather than getting feedback on the Aga V Rayburn.

I think if you have an alternative source of heating in your kitchen (ie it's not the only way of keeping a kitchen warm) , stay away from electric agas. They are, as others have said, insanely expensive and while very nice to lean on etc (I'm leaning on mine now), they're a bit... Daft. We can't really get rid of ours as we have a kitchen built (not by us) in an extension with high ceilings and no other heating. Oh and stone floors. We've installed another normal oven for summer and like others only run the aga Nov - March

I've used both, I preferred the Rayburn as the rectangular cooking surface gave me more flexibility! However I am now very happy with an electric built in double oven/grill and a mains gas hob. If I had lots of room I'd install a Rayburn as a comfort zone in the kitchen, also bottom oven very good for sloooooow cooking.

If we were off grid, which I was as a child, definitely solid fuel rather than oil or LPG, but I do not miss the chore of stoking the boiler and would definitely choose a version with a simple on off button.

I always think these things are baby names at first glance .

Hi Miss Lemon, sorry I didn’t mean to be quite so definitive. I haven’t bought an Aga or Rayburn for decades, so I don’t know the latest.
That company, Blake and Bull, may make a wonderful product in 2019. But it looks like they had to make a lot of ..umm... assumptions to make the “electric cheaper than gas” slide. Those assumptions might be fine by you. They seemed to include no heat to the hob, for instance. Maybe review and see if the product does what you think it does and if it meets your needs.

@Neighneigh, is yours 13 amp electric or electrikit? There's already a conventional oven and hob in the kitchen, so won't be only cooker. The range is in the chimney breast of another another room and will not be sole source of heat.

Looking at the costs you posted above I think we have a 13 amp (Its an AIMS one probably about 10 years old) and that’s about what it costs us a year to run and we only have it on Nov to March. If you want all the Aga positives find the Aga Lovers Facebook group.

We have another double oven and hob to use the rest of the year when our Aga isn’t in use.

MissLemon I prefer a Rayburn because it's smaller really, but still a lovely warm thing to sit by and great for cooking also. They can be solid fuel - ours took 'coke' (a smokeless coal) and we had it running all winter. It was the only source of heat in the house because no central heating. You could dry your clothes in front it, put muddy boots to dry beside it etc etc. Just lovely.

@oneepisode, thanks - that's useful to know about the infographic. A few months back, I did post on here asking for B&B electrikit reviews, but no luck. Do you still use an Aga/Rayburn and if you do, what does yours run on? would you mind me asking how much it costs to run for comparison?

Parents have had an Aga for 31 yrs. It's expensive to run (gas) and it can make the house too warm in summer. But we love it and it still looks as good today as the day it was installed (assuming you look after it)

I have an ancient two oven two hob Aga now on mains gas. It is in a very large room with solid floor and lots of windows and doors and is the main source of heat when on. I don’t really know how much of my gas bill is on this and how much is on the rest of my drafty house! Maybe an extra £20/week? We enjoy the baking and roasting etc when it’s on. And they are large hobs and deep ovens so your cooking capacity is much larger than you’d expect. They are supposed to be serviced every year.. It's for the thermocouple. We try and service ourselves. That service might not be necessary for an electric version? Don’t know.

@MissLemon18 it's a 13amp one, about 8/9 years old we think. Rough cost is about £4 - £5 a day, they really aren't cheap to run. Maintenance is v low though, in 6 years of living here we've only had one tiny issue. I realised my first reply to you wasn't answering the question too - I've never used a rayburn but do wonder if it's a similar story to Betamax... Maybe rayburns are better but aga had better marketing? Having a square hob as someone said would be pretty useful, there's always something hanging off the Aga circular ones (I try to only have one side open at a time. Husband is more hung ho)

Thanks @MoaningMinniee, @beyondtheshed @Neighneigh and @oneepisode for the pros of the Rayburn or feedback on fuel type v cost. 👍

Electric everhot. Costs about £13 a week. Easy to control, has overnight eco mode, no maintenance and keeps a large kitchen diner warm so no central heating on during the day. My parents have had 2 oil fired agas and a couple of different solid fuel cookers This is their favourite.
I’ve got an old solid fuel Rayburn but only because I get free wood and can’t afford an everhot.