Aga - oil fired. How does it work?
Discussion
I got rid of mine in 2013 when oil was something like 80p pl then it dropped to 20p odd!!! It cost me fortune to run but was nice.
I replaced it with a woodburner, my gf agreed to my actions (but although she said she agreed she didnt really) she's now my ex.
WTF don't they just say what they mean? Why is it so hard to understand what "I'm fine" means?
But no we are expected to be feckin mind readers.
I replaced it with a woodburner, my gf agreed to my actions (but although she said she agreed she didnt really) she's now my ex.
WTF don't they just say what they mean? Why is it so hard to understand what "I'm fine" means?
But no we are expected to be feckin mind readers.
loskie said:
I got rid of mine in 2013 when oil was something like 80p pl then it dropped to 20p odd!!! It cost me fortune to run but was nice.
I replaced it with a woodburner, my gf agreed to my actions (but although she said she agreed she didnt really) she's now my ex.
WTF don't they just say what they mean? Why is it so hard to understand what "I'm fine" means?
But no we are expected to be feckin mind readers.
Would you like a cuddle?I replaced it with a woodburner, my gf agreed to my actions (but although she said she agreed she didnt really) she's now my ex.
WTF don't they just say what they mean? Why is it so hard to understand what "I'm fine" means?
But no we are expected to be feckin mind readers.
I help friends imagine what it's like to own an oil-fired Aga by suggesting they turn on their gas/electic oven to 220 degrees in mid-September and then leave it running till late April....
When oil was 60p+ a litre its a bloody pain, at 20p a litre its the best thing since sliced bread....which you will get used to eating since baking is one of the few things it's good for.
You will also need the services of "the Aga man" who will come and check several times a year why the bloody thing has randomly lost heat and then won't fire-up properly.
When oil was 60p+ a litre its a bloody pain, at 20p a litre its the best thing since sliced bread....which you will get used to eating since baking is one of the few things it's good for.
You will also need the services of "the Aga man" who will come and check several times a year why the bloody thing has randomly lost heat and then won't fire-up properly.
ST12AT said:
loskie said:
I got rid of mine in 2013 when oil was something like 80p pl then it dropped to 20p odd!!! It cost me fortune to run but was nice.
I replaced it with a woodburner, my gf agreed to my actions (but although she said she agreed she didnt really) she's now my ex.
WTF don't they just say what they mean? Why is it so hard to understand what "I'm fine" means?
But no we are expected to be feckin mind readers.
Would you like a cuddle?I replaced it with a woodburner, my gf agreed to my actions (but although she said she agreed she didnt really) she's now my ex.
WTF don't they just say what they mean? Why is it so hard to understand what "I'm fine" means?
But no we are expected to be feckin mind readers.
They can be kept on in summer just heating up the hot water tank. Theyre insulated too.
For fish fingers just throw them on the permanently hot plate and turn them over after a couple of minutes.
Use a frying pan if you like but the hot plate self cleans.
How did you want the vegetable? Roasted or boiled?
For fish fingers just throw them on the permanently hot plate and turn them over after a couple of minutes.
Use a frying pan if you like but the hot plate self cleans.
How did you want the vegetable? Roasted or boiled?
I used to live opposite a guy with a big 4 oven job - huge kitchen/family room with old stone flags straight on to the muck. He kept it on all year round, and it went through 500 litres a week of oil.
Very wealthy guy, but he hated the thing because of the bills - wife loved it though, and she did all the cooking on it. I think she was cheaper to run than the Aga was.
Very wealthy guy, but he hated the thing because of the bills - wife loved it though, and she did all the cooking on it. I think she was cheaper to run than the Aga was.
loskie said:
it is a bit like leaving your car outside with the engine running 24/7 on the offchance you want to go for a drive sometime. Totally inefficient but nice from October till April
I've always seen them exactly like that too, and they don't make much sense to me either. 
I do know a few people who love them though, but to be fair they are much more wealthy than I am...so that certainly plays its part I reckon!
guindilias said:
I used to live opposite a guy with a big 4 oven job - huge kitchen/family room with old stone flags straight on to the muck. He kept it on all year round, and it went through 500 litres a week of oil.
Very wealthy guy, but he hated the thing because of the bills - wife loved it though, and she did all the cooking on it. I think she was cheaper to run than the Aga was.
500 litres a week? The thing must have been running like a blast furnace. Very wealthy guy, but he hated the thing because of the bills - wife loved it though, and she did all the cooking on it. I think she was cheaper to run than the Aga was.
loskie said:
They use a lot of oil
That was the main thing that struck me. Looked fabulous as the centerpiece of our farmhouse kitchen when we moved in but it was our first experience of oil-fired heating and I genuinely thought it must be leaking or something due to the rate we went through oil when it was on. We quickly moved on to a large range-style electric oven and hob and have had no regrets. Agas are great but inflexible as has been said. They're either on or off and take a few days sometimes to get from one to the other.
However a Rayburn or Marshall or any other of this type is sort of the best of both worlds. Off to cooking is about 20mins, you can turn it up or down, and as it's the same cast iron construction it retains it's heat for a long time.
Personally ours is great. We have a local man to fix it and yes it's quite high maintenance but we don't have a boiler so ours has 2 burners, one for the cooker and one for the heating/hot water and they are completely separate. If one goes down the other will still work.
Might be an option if you like the idea but not the inflexibility of an Aga (but yes it swopping it out).
However a Rayburn or Marshall or any other of this type is sort of the best of both worlds. Off to cooking is about 20mins, you can turn it up or down, and as it's the same cast iron construction it retains it's heat for a long time.
Personally ours is great. We have a local man to fix it and yes it's quite high maintenance but we don't have a boiler so ours has 2 burners, one for the cooker and one for the heating/hot water and they are completely separate. If one goes down the other will still work.
Might be an option if you like the idea but not the inflexibility of an Aga (but yes it swopping it out).
We have a modern electric one. On the current tariff (!) it’s just over £20 a week to run. For maybe 7 months a year, October to April (ish).
I’d have another one.
Somebody mentioned floor loadings. Ours weighs about 500 kilos, and the people who put it in had a structural engineer sign off on the calculations.
I’d have another one.
Somebody mentioned floor loadings. Ours weighs about 500 kilos, and the people who put it in had a structural engineer sign off on the calculations.
We have the 4-oven sort (it came with the house, although we did get it refurbished). It is completely manual -- it does not even have the "electric top" to the metering valve, but did start out as oil-fired rather then being a conversion.
There is no other oven, not even a microwave, in the house. We would not be without it, but then we cook quite a bit and there is nearly always someone at home.
The reason they use so much oil compared with a modern oil central heating boiler is that they have a remarkably simple, and inefficient, vapourising burner. This, as others have said, requires servicing every 6 months (although it is possible to do it yourself).
One problem with many of them that they were badly installed: this accounts for the inconsistent performance in windy weather, etc. They really do need a liner to the flue and an anti-downdraft cowl at the top. And they are far better without the central heating/ hot water boiler.
There is no other oven, not even a microwave, in the house. We would not be without it, but then we cook quite a bit and there is nearly always someone at home.
The reason they use so much oil compared with a modern oil central heating boiler is that they have a remarkably simple, and inefficient, vapourising burner. This, as others have said, requires servicing every 6 months (although it is possible to do it yourself).
One problem with many of them that they were badly installed: this accounts for the inconsistent performance in windy weather, etc. They really do need a liner to the flue and an anti-downdraft cowl at the top. And they are far better without the central heating/ hot water boiler.
loskie said:
it is a bit like leaving your car outside with the engine running 24/7 on the offchance you want to go for a drive sometime. Totally inefficient but nice from October till April
This seems to me what they're like, but more like having it at 3000 revs ready for when you're on the motorway. I can imagine having a wood burning one if I lived in a hut in the forest in winter, able to fuel it myself and heat the whole home with it. I might just see what it's like to leave my oven on 220c constantly in case I urgently need a pizza.
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