Anyone got a Rayburn or Aga?

[SirSamVimesCityWatch]

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.

We have an oil 2 oven Aga ( just moved house ) which also does the hot water
it’s expensive and inefficient , and will be going asap
there is no control on the hot water , so the hot water tank has no cover on it , the water just gets hotter and hotter !

We moved into a house with a Rayburn last year. I really love it! Haven't noticed much of a difference in bills from it tbh. We can turn ours on/off throughout the day so we have it on for an hour in the morning, then 4pm/7pm at night.

I moved into a house with a 2 oven gas (converted from solid fuel) AGA more than 22 years ago. Totally rubbish. It heated hot water, I could hear it bubbling boiling in the tank so we ran it off, and it melted butter in the kitchen while we froze at the other end of the house.

On the plus side, we managed to find someone to pay us £400 for it and they took it away. Then we got a proper kitchen installed with lots of electric sockets, a gas hob and an electric fan oven and grill.

See, you're all talking sense but I still want one!
Look at this beauty. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155336239406?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=6OHkXUqiTcu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=brgM_-lURuq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Running costs depend on model. I had a 13amp electric four oven Aga which used to cost £300-400 per month to run and that was 20 years ago before energy prices went silly

I have an oil fired Stanley, looks very similar to the Rayburn you have just posted.
waterfordstanley.com/cooking/cookers-buyers-guide/range-cookers-heating

Ours is 23 yrs old and is my only source of cooking, also hot water and C heating. Stanley is programmable so I have the cooking burner on all day during winter months as this keeps our large kitchen aired but its well insulated so doesn't get over warm. Heating is programmable, serviced once/year.

Oil has become expensive (filled up in Sept - 2000L) and that should take us through til May time.

My mum has a LPG Aga and I wouldn't swop.

My inlaws have one similar to your find on ebay , they are in a 3 bed thatch cottage and I have just worked out oil consumption as they use it for heating and cooking ,
I have been buying their oil for the last couple of years which has averaged 280 litres per calender month over the last couple of years they also have and use electric kettle and tumble dryer
I would happily smash it up but they love it . It would be far more efficient to install a new oil boiler outside and just let them use it for cooking turning it on and off when they need it
Absolute madness !!!

I keep looking at Everhots but I know it will cost a lot in electricity.

I did a kitchen for some clients a couple of years ago who insisted on an electric aga

I bet that is making their eyes water now

I used to have that green rayburn above Had it removed 3 years ago and changed to a condensing boiler - my gas bill reduced by 2/3. Can't imagine what it would cost today. It was lovely though and we had it for twenty years. Great for drying clothes when kids were at home

I miss my Aga, I left it when I downsized. It was installed in 2000, not sure how efficient it will be now but used to use 50L of oil per week.

I remember taking the kids on holiday and having a gas oven - stupid me didn't set the temperature, Dad's birthday cake was a pancake!

I have had one for 20 years (gas). It actually is amazing and I would never take it out. The running costs aren't excessive especially as we cook, dry washing / ironing on it and it keeps the whole house cozy.. We turn it off when we go on holiday and if there is a very hot week or 2 ij the summer (doesnt happen often). I hate the normal cookers when we go away.

When I read the title I just assumed this was on the baby names thread and thought 'I'm not keen on Rayburn, but I do like Aga...' 😂

Ha! I'm crazy enough to want a £500/month Rayburn in the kitchen, but I'm not so crazy to want to have a baby Aga coming out of my vagina! 😂

We have a four oven oil Aga, it only does the cooking.
It heats the kitchen breakfast room and does the drying as well.
It probably costs a bazillion pounds a week but I love it. Kitchen is always warm, we have a draughty farmhouse and only put the heating on for a few hours in the morning then use Aga and a wood burner in the evenings.
I love that it's always ready to cook
We do turn it off for about six weeks in the peak of summer and I just use an airfryer and a single electric hob thing.
If you want one, get on the Aga Facebook pages, the second hand market has collapsed and people are selling glorious ones for practically nothing.
The electricity conversion seems the way to go , but I'm keeping mine as it is while we can afford the bills.

We had an oil one for 25 years and now have an electric one. You can just have the top hobs on which is brilliant so can cook all summer without it actually being on. You do need either a separate cooker or combination microwave though. I absolutely love it, it's on low now even though it's minus 5 outside, we also have a small radiator in the kitchen but otherwise it's warming our good sized kitchen in very old cottage. I love it totally.

My mother has an everhot, she’s had other range cookers in other houses but she says the everhot is the best. I have a solid fuel Rayburn. Wouldn’t be without it.

they seem to be an expensive way of doing things

I like "we all gather round it in the kitchen because its cosy".

The subtext being that the rest of the house is effing freezing because we can't afford to heat it due to the vast bill caused by the Aga.

@GasPanic yep, that is true 😁

Well what do you know , In laws rayburn that they have just had fan replaced on has still got a smell when the cooker is on of kerosene and plumber doesnt think its economic to repair

So we are now looking into pulling it out and replacing with a Greenstar boiler and a worktop and hob cost will be circa £5k but the saving on oil means it should pay for itself within 3 years

We have a 2 oven Gas AGA, I don't think it is particularly expensive to run, but we turn it off in the summer for a couple of weeks at a time and use an electric Hob and Microwave/convection oven. It is definitely a lifestyle choice item and you have to learn how to use it.
I'd second the poster who suggested you look on the Blake and Bull website they give lots of info about costs for both instalment and running.

Stupidly expensive and inflexible. I’m sure I have ptsd from my mother forever telling me to get the lid down. Her Aga boosts the hot water and heating and costs about £300 a month to run. It’s a trauma in a suburban semi, massive and far too hot. She doesn’t have another cooker.

I have a multi fuel Rayburn (wood and coal) it runs up to 7 radiators and would heat our hot water if we had the right hot water tank! It's fantastic, it costs 600€ a year in wood (September to March) we have a 2 ring induction hob and a multi microwave which is an oven too for the summer, it's FANTASTIC!!

We has an oil fired Stanley for many years. It was costly to run and oilwas cheaper then, but we loved it and would never have got rid of it. It made the kitchen lovely and cosy and great for drying clothes etc. Amazing for casseroles, curries, soups etc. Overnight porridge in the bottom oven. Warming plates. Making toast. We love food and adapted our cooking but we did have a separation oven/ hob for summer. We’d probably just have a George Forman and an air fryer now!

we still had a boiler for heating and hot water.

We moved to the city and it’s one of the things I miss about our country life.