Hi all. Perhaps this is sacrilege to some but I'd be interested to hear your views... I know you like your kitchens!
We inherited an old but functional 2 oven Aga (conversion from anthracite, now burning kerosene) when we moved house. I love cooking in it and don't even burn my hands or every meal any more but I reckon it's costing around £1k a year to run - more than I spent on food when I was a student! Admittedly this gives some hot water and a lovely heat to the room as well. We're in the middle of changing the heating system to wood pellet and solar thermal so won't have oil central heating any more and the easiest plan is to get rid of the Aga too. Two people have looked at me in amazement when I've said this.
Do you think we'll regret getting rid?
I had a 2 oven AGA in my previous house,Ive now had to use a conventional fan oven,I would stick with the AGA if i were you,I've told her that must be obeyed that when we move again I'm having a AGA put in whether she likes it or not (i do most of the cooking),I believe that it is better to have a AGA even though it might work out more expensive,please let us know what your decision is,good luck
£2.70 a day is comparable with other fuels for cooking and hot water, I expect you have over estimated it to convince yourself to get rid of it. In the summer some people turn them off and use a leccy kettle, halogen oven etc. You might save a few pennies but I doubt it. Check your area for a domestic oil buying group, if there ain't one start one. You can save a fortune.
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/oilclubs/oilclubs-info.htm (http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/oilclubs/oilclubs-info.htm)
Thanks both. I know I'll miss it (her?) and we could work around keeping it. If every decision you make in life was the most sensible on paper then life wouldn't be worth living - and I don't know what price you could put on the character that an Aga adds to the kitchen, as well as the convenience of cooking with one. It's not really a decision that you can go back on very easily either.
Shall continue to mull it over...
If you have the space, keep it. You don't have to use it for heating or water and it will still be good for cooking.
Quote from: Obbelix on February 07, 2013, 12:13:11
If you have the space, keep it. You don't have to use it for heating or water and it will still be good for cooking.
Can you get them turned right down then? Surely otherwise it'll still be the same fuel usage? Interestingly I was speaking to another boiler guy who reckons the run at 4kw which would mean it's nearer £6 a day. Considering it probably only heats one room out of 18 that still looks a bit pricey to me!
I did wonder if a smaller log stove providing space heating and some cooking might make a good compromise.
You'd have to check with an Aga expert or read the manual. i did look at buying an Aga or a Rayburn for our farmhouse kitchen years ago but they were very expensive to buy new. As we have a serious central heating boiler and didn't need the heat function I ended up buying a range cooker.
You could also ask about converting your Aga to be a wood burner which may work out cheaper to run.
If you run them through the summer the kitchen can get very hot. I remember my Grandmother getting rid of hers because of that.
But her cakes and roast dinners were never quite the same.
Is there any way of converting it back to solid fuel and would it then be able to burn logs?
Oil is expensive and I am surprised you only get through £1000 of fuel a year. We have a central heating boiler and spent £2000 on oil last year! We also have solar power water heating but it only really works in the summer. We bought a multi fuel stove for our lounge last May and have used that throughout this winter instead of the oil central heating. We had free logs for the first two months but are having to buy solid fuel now as our large pile of logs were not enough. We are now intending to turn all our waste paper into brickettes.
I would wait until you have been in the house for a lot longer before making such a big decision. An Aga will add value to your property.
All good, helpful points, thanks! The reason for the rush is that you are entitled to two interest free loans of £10k per green technology but being a scheme invented in Holyrood it ends at the end of March - and installations have to be commissioned before then. I'd been taking my time - what idiot would change all their heating in the middle of winter but have now had to start panicking! The asbestos coat on the old boiler might make it all take too long anyway.
We're going to probably get a pellet boiler - partly for environmental considerations but more for the RHI scheme payments that look too good to be true.
As I say, it's a rather rough estimate of our cost - over Christmas when we had guests so wore one less jumper and got the house a bit warmer it was between £20 and £25 a day but all from the same tank. Now the heat isn't on as much but it's still over £10 a day.
Here's the boiler for anyone interested - a true classic! : (http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g207/Big_Cheesus/April2012033_zps950ef5c9.jpg)
There's a similar scheme here in Belgium though they've brought forward the end date to February. You have to have placed the order and paid the deposit in order to qulaify and then it has to be installed by September 30th. Maybe it's the same with you too so not such a panic.
Quote from: Obbelix on February 07, 2013, 15:40:36
There's a similar scheme here in Belgium though they've brought forward the end date to February. You have to have placed the order and paid the deposit in order to qulaify and then it has to be installed by September 30th. Maybe it's the same with you too so not such a panic.
That was what I'd originally assumed with this one but no, it definitely has to installed by the end of March - it's nuts!
This is not going to help your decision but I would do almost anything to get an Aga here, we have looked into it but they are practically unheard of .. oh I am so jealous, the thought of an unwanted one makes me almost cry..good luck with your very tough decision.
XX Jeannine
Do you know Jeannine, these ones only fetch around £100 on ebay if they go at all - ours is like this one that didn't even get an offer of 99p.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aga-2-oven-oil-fired-little-use-/261164920382?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Kitchen_Ovens_Hobs_Cookers&hash=item3ccea46e3e&_uhb=1
Such a shame as they are wonderful to cook with - it's a battle between head & heart. If I'd made up my mind one way or the other I wouldn't have posted the question. I do wonder at the running cost - is it fair to spend more on cooking than most of the world has for food?
Ive always fancied an AGA but it is unlikely in a kitchen so small it is not much bigger than and aga is! However there are so many wood burners available now which also have hot plates and ovens, so they make more sense. But if I had one I would find it hard to get rid, not easy to decide Ollie, I remember a Radio 4 programme saying they are the kitchen equivalent of a Range Rover as regards the environment!
Ollie what a shame criminal I thought, but then I looked closer and the bidding was pulled by the woner, still I dare not look closer..I might start thinking about shippers..must not, cannot, will not..mmmm
XX Jeannine