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Original poster

Anyone got a Rayburn or Aga?

80 replies

SirSamVimesCityWatch · 01/01/2023 13:31

Does it cost a zillion pounds a day to run?

Just back from a holiday cottage which had an oil fueled Rayburn in the kitchen. It was amazing. We are playing idly with the idea of one now - there is a space in what is now our dining room where the house would have had a range of some kind originally. We are already thinking of putting the kitchen back into this room so now wondering about putting a range of some kind back in as well.

Probably wouldn't buy new, so it's not the initial outlay that's the financial concern, but whether the running costs are crucifying.

OP posts:
ednatheevilwitch · 01/01/2023 13:39

I had one and loved it but it cost a fortune to run and we needed another cooker for the summer months when it was turned off. I should imagine now it would easily add £500 to your monthly energy bills.

jevoudrais · 01/01/2023 13:45

Are you talking about for cooking only? You can also run central heating off a rayburn which is why some prefer them.

GatherlyGal · 01/01/2023 13:45

We have a gas aga. It is about 40 yrs old and was here when we moved in. I loved it at first - cosy kitchen oven hot all the time so no pre-heat required when you get in after work and need to get dinner on. BUT I am sick of it now.

You need another oven anyway unless you want to sweat through the summer months. Plus It is inflexible and actually a bit of a pain to cook on compared to a modern hob / oven. Also - most importantly - it costs us probably between £250 and £350 a month to run. It just blasts out heat day and night.

In summary lovely idea but makes no real sense.

prampushingdownthehighst · 01/01/2023 13:48

We have an oil fired rayburn for heating and slow cooking, airing clothes etc electric oven for cooking
Oil has increased so very much over the years but but but, You'd have to remove my rayburn from my dead cold hands!

bilbodog · 01/01/2023 13:54

Ive had an aga for over 20 years and love them but they are expensive both to buy (even second hand) and run. Modern versions can be controlled but then to me thats not an aga.

look up blake and bull - they do reconditioned controllable agas. Evehot are quite popular now - made in UK - but still expensive.

www.blakeandbull.co.uk/

everhot.co.uk/

Outlookmainlyfair · 01/01/2023 13:56

We have an aga-it costs about £200 for oil a month in the winter ( we only ever have it set to the lowest setting), but we don’t need a tumble drier, an electric kettle and we heat the house minimally as the AGA takes over. We do turn it off in the summer so need another cooker too. It is a luxury and you need a big kitchen! Much as I love it, I am not sure I would buy one if the house had not had one when we arrived. I think Which did an article on them recently.

Janedoe82 · 01/01/2023 13:57

I have a four oven oil aga. I absolutely love it and dread it being turned off for the summer. It is so handy and great for traditional style cooking!

Original poster
SirSamVimesCityWatch · 01/01/2023 15:00

Oh no, you lot aren't giving the right answers at all! I may need to let the dream go. 😥

OP posts:
Callingallbutterflies · 01/01/2023 15:11

I have a oil rayburn that provides our central heating and hot water. Rarely use the two ovens and hob. We have an electric aga that has electric hob and fan oven along with a small oven /grill that is in use all the time. Could not cope with the rayburn being on for cooking all year round. Lovely in the winter for Christmas and when we have friends around but other wise... Nope! If I had a choice I would remove the rayburn and aga and install a boiler and get a big electric range cooker with four ovens. However, cost of removal is ridiculous so we are making do. I do love it when the rayburn oven is on and the kitchen and nearby rooms are toasty but the need for this is
infrequent. It chews through oil when used for cooking too!

2bazookas · 01/01/2023 15:17

I had one and adored it , but they are on all the time at a fixed temperature (you never adjust it) so expensive to run. I still miss mine decades later. So cosy and THE best for cooking.

Aga provides cost estimates for each model and fuel type.

tedgran · 01/01/2023 15:18

Rich friend had a gas one, turned it off after discovering the running costs!

HowDoYouOwnDisorder · 01/01/2023 19:15

It's impractical and expensive and not energy efficient....

But I LOVE my Rayburn. In summer I switch it off and use an air fryer. In winter it heats the kitchen-diner and makes the centre of the house lovely and warm

It means the teens are happy to come and hang out with us in the kitchen. The dogs love it too. It makes everything cosy

Apart from the gas bill (ours is gas), we decided we'll pay for winter heat instead of going on holiday this year (not a joke)

I think a full tank of oil for an oil fuelled one costs around £900 now

HowDoYouOwnDisorder · 01/01/2023 19:17

I dry some washing on it too Grin

And folded piles of laundry (is more or less like ironing it)

byvirtue · 01/01/2023 19:21

They are rubbish for the environment, who needs a cooker on 24/7!

I am an aga owner and this is the first Christmas we haven’t used ours. They are so overrated it’s untrue. The small advantages are knocked out by the massive downsides. We will replace ours eventually, I loved mine initially but totally over it now.

Neighneigh · 01/01/2023 19:22

Ours is electric and after one year in our house we installed a second oven so that we can turn it off in summer. I spend a lot of time leaning against it and the dog is a big fan. Cost wise it's about £5 /£6 a day (our electricity costs are locked till next October) BUT we have no other heating in the kitchen and stone floors, so I'm not taking those up to install heating. Our house gets warmer the further downstairs you go....I am not sure I would recommend one tbh on cost alone (do not go by the official Aga marketing schpeel) but it all depends on costs and budgets

I think if I told my husband about this thread he'd sell you ours!

hanahsaunt · 01/01/2023 19:24

We've had a four oven aga for ten years and absolutely love it. Probably about £335/month in oil but that includes our hot water and central heating. I love cooking and love Aga cooking but if I had to replace it would go with an Everhot probably. We don't turn ours off in the summer and don't own a tumble drier.

EnamelWoman · 01/01/2023 19:36

If you're considering an aga it's definitely worth looking at Everhot. Electric range cooker but completely controllable ie can have each bit at a set temp or off, and can have one with an induction hob as well as hotplates. Best of both worlds!

Nightmanagerfan · 01/01/2023 19:41

Just back from staying with family for Christmas who have a four oven Aga. It's currently costing £100 a week in oil! It's off from May to November, but it's still a huge cost

FreddieRocks · 01/01/2023 19:42

We currently have an electric four oven from Blake & Bull. It’s massively flexible, so we can have the two main ovens on, or just the hobs individually or the whole thing.

At the moment we have the two ovens on from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning and use the hobs as and when (need to allow time for them to warm up). This is to keep our electricity bills down until we can install solar panels. Run this way out bills are around £250-£300 pcm for all electricity, including tumble drier. But we have a biomass boiler for heat, so that’s not included.

We used to have an older two oven electric model that was either on or off, and to be honest I did prefer that. It meant it was always ready to go - to boil the kettle, cook supper, dry washing, ‘iron’ clothes, make toast etc etc etc. I do miss our old one, although it was definitely more expensive to run. The current one feels like a slightly unsatisfactory halfway house - it doesn’t have the cheapness of a normal cooker or the flexibility of a full on Aga.

All this being said, I’d still hate to be without one. And we are planning to install solar panels to make it more affordable to run our current Aga more traditionally. It is a lifestyle thing for me - we’re a busy farming family and the side benefits of it are really worth the expense for us.

LesLavandes · 01/01/2023 19:49

I miss my 4 oven Aga (oil)

It was the heart of the house.

I moved into a city.

I guess I don't miss the bills!

NellyBarney · 01/01/2023 19:52

I once heard that someone invented something called 'the radiator'. Supposedly, it makes rooms warm😁. Sorry, but given that most kitchens have radiators or even ufh, what is so special about an AGA? An AGA has an output of about 0.3 to 0.7 kwh, depending how many ovens it has and how hot all ovens and plates are. A radiator can easily have an output of 1 to 2 kwh, so will make a room much more cosy. Underfloorheating will exclude all coldspots and is just lovely. You can get amazing 4 oven electric range cookers (Rangemaster, Falcon, Wolff etc) and ufh installed at a fraction of the cost of an AGA.

Elsanore · 01/01/2023 19:57

Just did up kitchen in old house and seriously looked into putting in a reconditioned aga of some sort where the original range would have been.

The cost of the thing itself was eye watering and now I know the running costs mentioned by people of this thread I am even more glad we didn't! Also I agree with Pp that the modern energy efficient electric agas aren't really Agas anymore.

We put in a £2000 rangemaster Kitchener 1100. It has 6 gas hob burners, 2 electric ovens, separate grill and a drawer thing (not sure what it's for). It's really good looking and brilliant for cooking. And so many visitors say "ooh I like your aga"!

walkinthewoodstoday · 01/01/2023 20:06

byvirtue · 01/01/2023 19:21

They are rubbish for the environment, who needs a cooker on 24/7!

I am an aga owner and this is the first Christmas we haven’t used ours. They are so overrated it’s untrue. The small advantages are knocked out by the massive downsides. We will replace ours eventually, I loved mine initially but totally over it now.

Really? I love just opening the top and popping a whistling kettle on, or using it to toast bread, also pop clothes on top to dry. The rest of the house stays warms by the heat generated and we spend most of the time sitting in the kitchen as it's the cosiest room.

DeathWinsAGolfish · 01/01/2023 20:09

We have a 50 year old oil fired Aga, for cooking only, it costs £200 per month to run.
We also have an inbuilt oven and induction hob for when it's too hot to run in the summer, but really look forward to going back to the Aga as things just taste better.
Another thing to bear in mind is the regular serving that's needed, DH learned how to service ours which is obviously cheaper as he only has to buy the bits, it's also a lot more convenient.

Exasperatednow · 01/01/2023 20:12

We have an aga. It costs us less than the £200 quoted. We don't have the heating on often.