Topic: AGA SAGA

[calendula]

many thanks Tim - will do this for bonfire night methinks, if I can wait that long  ;D

[betula]

so agree about the drying of anything you fancy, even socks  8) an alternative view, just for betula  ;D

Just having another little tiny look................so lovely,
mind you I have not got any tiny lambs to warm up nor would I put Jims riffy old socks in it :)

[artichoke]

Aga - Rayburn differences: the Rayburn can be fired with almost anything, newspapers, wood, anthracite, rubbish - have cooked bread using a bundle of newspapers and twigs from the garden in my many Rayburn years. The Aga is more specialised and has to have the right fuel.

I had a Rayburn for 13 years because the space in a small cottage was not QUITE big enough for an Aga. It heated our water and ran a couple of radiators (not very efficiently as I did without a pump and they were downstairs).

[tim]

And Oil.

Time comes when loading a cooker becomes too much of a chore. I also have an Esse & Charnwood woodburner to cope with.

[Hyacinth]

duh! I thought the 7hr lamb in the bottom of the Aga was straight from The Archers  ;D

When we moved to the UK the house we rented in Banbury had an Esse....then, when we moved to Glos we had a Rayburn. Loved it!

Most of all tho, I specially love my gas cooker now....so economical, so quick, so reliable.....not missing for an instant the ranges I've left behind....well, not always :-\

[flossy]

   Oh no !   :o   Now you've got me hankering after a wood burning stove !!

   I know what it is, all those years watching dancing flames - no tele, the radio, a packet of sweets on a Friday [ payday ],   the  ' play ' on the radio at 8 [ special treat ], red and toasted knees and freezing
backs of legs !  ;)

   Have always been drawn to these stoves, the red glow through the doors and a very cosy heat.

   Met many of these when we lived for years in Devon - and the I O W Ace    :-*

   [ been around ]    floss  --  In the nicest possible way !!!  

[tim]

This is just one of them.

Taken to show that even airflow doesn't always work!!

[flossy]

   That looks really smart tim,

   How do you get the air flow in under the fire though ?   Without the little open and shut vent at

   the bottom front - like the old fire grate, and I bet you dont resort to a sheet of newspaper to

   draw it up !

   Have seen so many of the pot bellied wood stoves that are black with bendy legs - roaring away

   but I suppose they dont provide house heat ?

   Yours looks like more ' man for the job ',

   Thanks tim,

   floss x

[froglets]

I love my wood/coal burner in the front room & OH loves the excuse to play with his chainsaw.
Downsides are, you still get some soot in the room & they still have to be cleaned out so ash gets carried through the house.  We have a big wood shed at the bottom of the garden which is also now a wildlife haven, so there's always the odd queen wasp or large creepy thing that gets carried in to the front room now & again.

It really only heats a small area of the front room, which is great if you just want to stretch out on the floor with a book, but it does trip the central heating thermostat, which is at the far end of the room so afer an evening of toasting in front of the fire, the upstairs & bathroom are freezing.

Wouldn't swap it for the world though

[flossy]

 

   I'd put up with a cold bathroom too, and sleep downstairs in front of the stove in the winter -

   wrapped in a sheepskin rug of course,  a little glass of something warm ........ someone in a red check

   shirt to bring in the logs .........  good book   ....  music....


   froglets !  I gotta go shopping - thanks Bye

    floss x

[tim]

Flossy - there are gaps underneath - or somewhere. Supposed to keep the glass clean You'll be lucky!!

And Esse? Much like the AGA - family had a 4 oven one, with water boiler, in the '40's.

Also then there's this sort of delight - we've had it for 50 years & it was my grandfather's before that!!

24/7 during the winter. A hod of Anthracite p/d.

[flossy]

   Ah ---  Anthracite, now didn't that warm you up , those little coal eggs ?

   Then there was Coalite , think that was coal with the gas taken out  --  or was that Coke ?

    After my Dad died , my Mother had the coal fire replaced with a ' ---------- ------- ' cant remember what it was called, but it looked like your Grandads but more boxy,   was a glassy blue colour with two glass paneled doors.  Gave out a lot of heat, thankfully ---- no other heating in an old Victorian house, except
an ornate electric fire in the front room, that was more for show.

   Remember the old coal bucket and shovel that was replaced with a hod, was a blessing to shoot the fuel straight in !.

   Did you ever have a gas poker tim ?   our cat used to burn her wiskas on it when she would give it a sniff when it was still hot  --  then the end broke off and you got a marvelouse jet of flame instead of it popping away out of the holes  , much more effective!!

  An Esse sounds a wondrous thing -- with four ovens and a water boiler, could have run Buck House
I would say !!

  Thanks for sharing that with me,

 floss x

[tim]

Gas poker? Used one but don't have/need one.

Anthracite? We actually burn Stovesse - same sort of thing. The eggs are Phurnacite. Very ash productive.

Just put new mica windows in this one, so we'll be able to see the fire better.

[flossy]

  Remember the ash  and I hated dusting - still dont !

  You'r right ,  it wasn't glass was it and you do need to see the fire - for the gazing !

  Do you suppose there is a Museum  with a collection of all these wondrous stoves
  somewhere ?    Would imagine it is more connected by the history of fuel maybe.

  Remember we had the gas poker - there was a lovely brass tap at the side of the hearth
  that you pushed the connector onto, before we had the stove.  We were all designated
  as ' Smokeless Zones '  and had to change from coal, as this was lit by newspaper and wood
   it was difficult to get the new fuel to catch by the same method.   How do you get on with
   lighting yours ?

   regards, floss 

[Hyacinth]

Two tips for those of you using kindling to start the fire...

1) Alternative use for all those loo rolls :D...place a kindling stick inside one of them....the tube of cardboard actually creates a whirlwind of fire once the stick catches fire and if you've a decent updraught to help things along, you're home and dry - and warm 8)

2) Stop glueing those wine bottle corks to the wall for a handy pinboard ::)...mix a few with the kindling - gives a slower burn...

[tim]

Here's one designed for the AGA. From 2 Fat Ladies.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/cooking/stew.jpg

[calendula]

we could all get fat on that  ;D

but thanks Tim that sounds divine and on the list, feels like winter could be a long one and one could live off recipes like these