Been looking for a new house for a while and just found a great place with an oil fired AGA that heats the water only - not the radiators. There's a separate boiler for that.
I've been reading some horror stories about the running and servicing costs. Does anyone have personal experience of such beasts.
Info appreciated.
Dave G
My grandmother had an AGA, and my aunt still does.
They're fantastic. Kitchen toasty warm, slow cooking food amazingly well, perfectly suited to old school English cooking based around roasts, pies, soups, etc. Stick stuff in one of several different temperature ovens, and leave for as many hours as required. Job done, and honestly, I've never had better roasts than the ones my grandmother used to do. Ditto things like fruit crumbles and pies. Sunday cooked breakfasts are a dream too, once you understand how to use the different hobs and ovens. Ideally, you bake or roast stuff, rather than fry it.
They're expensive. Lust objects for upper middle class families. There are numerous tricks to reduce running costs, but the bottom line is these were designed (a) when solid fuel/oil was cheap and (b) at a time when the person in the kitchen was cooking pretty much all day. They work by storing heat in the huge amount of metal, and aren't good for quickly heating things up (stir fries are a nightmare on AGAs).
Cheers, NeMo
Can't help on oil fired AGA's as I've no idea about oil costs. I've got a gas fired AGA [inherited when I bought the house three years ago] and it is a cooker only- no hot water. Yes the costs are higher than a conventional gas cooker [but not massively so] and you really do need to change your cooking techniques and get to know exactly how to use it. It is a bit frustrating in the summer when the thing is simmering away in the corner and the sun is blazing down [we don't have a back up cooker as many people do] but you forgive all that in the winter when you come down to a warm kitchen - we leave the kitchen door open at night and the heat circulates through the house. Ours has the AIMS system which allows a considerable degree of control and it is only five years old. Annual servicing is around £140.
The real benefit is the food that it produces. I am an keen, but amateur, cook and I still can't believe the difference in the taste of food cooked with the AGA.
There is plenty out there about running costs and you'll need to make your own decision. I did say when we moved in that I'd give it six months and then decide whether to replace it with a range cooker .At the end of the six month period I received a petition from three family members asking me to keep it so I did. Only trouble is that on a cold day I can't get near it! (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/45/thumb_13377.JPG) (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=13377)
You would have to be a heartless brute to shift those three family members :D
I can just imagine the sad looks on their faces when you try :smiley-laughing: :smiley-laughing: :smiley-laughing:
cheers John.
Never bother about Agas just enjoy the pic of the 3 Labs.
agree with all the above. A big expense is the black lab you need to with it... then the wellies to take the lab....
It will probably need servicing once a year too... this can be quite expensive. Summer for us begins when we switch ours off and winter starts when we have it serviced and switch it back on.
( we have a back up electric cooker )
Household fuel oil prices have (like petrol / diesel) gone through the roof ... check out BoilerJuice for price tracking over 3 years. Just over a year ago, the cost was 65p per litre, today it's around 55p - but when we bought this place 8 years ago it was around 30p ... ... ... You need to factor in that it will be running 24/7/365 ...
As for the Aga itself ... as people have said they're great - until the thing goes wrong ... they tend to be very expensive on repairs ...
Many thanks for all the info and advice, including Labs and wellies!
Looks like the AGA will have to go - the guy says he gets it serviced twice a year. Hope there's a market for used ones.
On a brighter note, I may well be back to having a layout by Christmas :claphappy:
Dave G
Quote from: daveg on June 23, 2014, 10:11:38 AM
Looks like the AGA will have to go - the guy says he gets it serviced twice a year.
Well ... get the
other boiler checked for efficiency while you're at it, make sure it's quite new ...
Hopefully it's a good one and can be easily modified to take on the hot water requirements; if not, you may end up replacing this as well with one that can do
all the heating / hot water for you.
it's worth phoning your local AGA dealers...
second ones are worth ££££
Quote from: MikeDunn on June 23, 2014, 12:25:53 PM
Quote from: daveg on June 23, 2014, 10:11:38 AM
Looks like the AGA will have to go - the guy says he gets it serviced twice a year.
Well ... get the other boiler checked for efficiency while you're at it, make sure it's quite new ...
Hopefully it's a good one and can be easily modified to take on the hot water requirements; if not, you may end up replacing this as well with one that can do all the heating / hot water for you.
Thanks for the heads-up. Five year old condenser and FSH so that's a relief. :thumbsup:
Not sure if the boiler would be up to doing the HW as well and given its location, pipe routing would be a bit of a nightmare. There's a Triton type 'instant' shower unit - we don't use the bath (not even for coal NPN :D) and the washing machine is cold fill anyway.
Dave G
yer may still need a black lab though...
an a wax jacket.....