What would I do with an Aga?

I've often thought the same as you, GK. I wouldn't know where to start with an Aga or Rayburn.
Could you sell it and get a hob and built in oven instead, or it is part of the decor too? Is there an independent heating system?

I think it is the cast iron oven that is supposed to cook in a specially delicious way. I would love to try one.

Well, you can lean on it and keep warm

A friend has an electrical Aga - I call it the 'beast' but she loves it and I'd love to have it as well! She also has a gas hob set into the work surface beside it for instant cooking. Best of both worlds.

They're a way of life, Grannyknot, We had one years ago when we lived in a large farmhouse and I still miss it. If the kitchen is large enough you can still have an ordinary oven and hob to use in the summer when you don't need the Aga for heating.

Mary Berry has written an Aga cookery book and depending on how many ovens it has you just use the correct one for the temperature you require. The slow oven is wonderful for casseroles, jacket potatoes etc. The kitchen in winter is where everyone will want to be.

My only experience with an aga was as 'bum warmer' in a very draughty highland croft at my Aunts after we had been out picking the fields or feeding the animals. Made lovely casseroles or lemon meringues but apart from that....Not sure they as 'controllable' if solid fuel types.

If its not too old, maybe it could be sold to an agaphile to finance a new cooking arrangement but how much it would help pay towards heating if it is the main source of heating for the property...

As someone who has had a few failed viewings, I went with a tick box attitude, what I wanted, if I got more of them than what I didn't I went back. i can't believe I finally got (fingers crossed till signed off)a property that ticked more boxes than I had put on my list.
I remember thinking how well we did on our first week of looking, I am so pleased that it took me a while longer.
all the best, hopefully an Aga expert will be along to give you a more helpful answer...

It rather depends what kind of an Aga it is. Does it heat the whole house or is it just for cooking?

I was brought up with an Aga but my mum wasn't a very good cook so I don't remember it being special apart from the porridge cooked over night in the warming oven.

The one which was here when we moved in had just two hobs on the top which could be turned on to small, medium or large rings and we had to squash all the pans on somehow. The ovens were too small to get a large turkey in and we hated it so replaced it with a lovely range cooker with gas hobs and electric oven, we love it.

If you do buy the house and get rid of the Aga I recommend advertising it on eBay (collection only) as we got more for ours than we paid for the replacement including laying on the gas and fitting!

My Nan had one but I barely remember it. Given the cost of gas and electricity now, I had thought about getting a multi-fuel one that would also heat the water and radiators. Not sure how you cook on them though!

Depends on whether it is just for cooking or does the heating and hot water too.

I have a Rayburn which is oil fired. I can set a timer so the cooker comes on at a set time (also the heating and hot water), the main thing to remember is that it does take a long time to heat up so I usually have mine switch on half an hour before I need to use it (I then switch off early and the meal cooks in the residual heat). It does take some getting used to but when it stopped working for 2 weeks I really missed it.

sunseeker - out of curiosity, would you go back to gas/electric central heating and hot water now?

Am I having deja vu? I thought there was a thread with almost the same question recently? I'm pretty sure I posted on it about hypothermic lambs

There! I knew I hadn't gone mad!

www.gransnet.com/forums/house_and_home/a1204371-Aga-anyone

Phoenix thank you, and it just goes to show that entire threads can pass a person by! I never saw this one at all, or, my memory is worse than I imagine

Will read it now.

I've always believed that the main purpose for a AGA was for cats to sit on it, but I believe you can cook with them as well
My friend bought a house with one years ago and went on an AGA cooking course which she found very useful.

We had a Swedish item that was similar - but solid fuel. It was heavily dependent on the wind direction and I had to coax and cajole it into cooperating. But I did take some delight in putting disposable nappies in there and cooking dinner with them! Heaven knows what that was doing to the environment, but we were in a state of blissful ignorance on that subject then.

It was also very useful for drying washing over - I had one of those wooden daisy racks that you hauled up on a rope. Not only did the frying pan have nappies for fuel, but also wet socks dripping down and adding flavour!

The gas ones are more efficient. Maybe stick with it for a while and see if you become converted. You can always change to something more familiar to you at a later date.

Firstly, how big is the kitchen and how cold is it? I was brought up with a solid fuel Aga and moved to houses that had oil-fired Agas and you really don't want them going at the height of the summer unless you have a cool kitchen, so everywhere I have been has had an electric cooker for summer use. As our summers can be pretty short that is fine as long as you have the room for an additional cooker. However, there is nothing nicer on a cold winter's day than an Aga or Rayburn, to put the clothes airer in front of, have constant heat and not worry about slow casseroles using electricity and yes, bum warming. Is it mains gas or propane? Because if it is propane, that could be very expensive. I use it for my cooking, but would never use it for heating, even oil is cheaper than propane when it comes to heating a house. If you make bread, there is nothing like it for making wonderful bread. The last house we lived in was a Mill house, horribly damp, I wouldn't have coped without that Aga. Frogs hopping across the floor early in the morning is not my idea of fun, with bare feet.

John Lewis has some really nice cooking ranges, I would go and have a look at them. It may be that you just need what has been mentioned above, a gas hob for summer use inserted into the worktops.

Thank you, thank you everyone. We wondered when we saw the air-conditioning units in the adjacent lounge! Will do some of my own research too.

had an oil-fired aga two houses ago
pros -
good for toast, keeping kitchen warm, drying clothes

cons -
d--n expensive, had to turn off in the summer as too hot and then faff around relighting
not controllable (at least the old model I had wasn't)
still needed a boiler for hot water
needed the gentle ministrations of the 'aga man' each year - was about £35 twelve years ago

but I am sure they have come a long way since then

Deeda I do have a nice cat recipe if you would like it?

You DID say that you can cook with them?

Many Aga owners have a conventional cooker as well. I believe that Aga even sell a model which includes a conventional cooker.

Personally when we redid our kitchen 15 years ago I decided to dispense with the cost of the Aga and have a conventional range cooker, so much cheaper!

re expensive mollie my friends that work in the energy efficiency industry tend too go all red mist at the word Aga. I would urge, when viewing houses, to ask the agent for the EPC (energy performance certificate) which will give an indication of how much you are going to spend to heat the house. They do not of course include appliances but I can find out if they include Agas as they are a really a cooker/heater because they are on all the time. If there was one installed in our energy efficient rental flat we would have to have all the windows open all winter long.

Jess and everyone else, thanks a ton for info, we were not handed a printed flyer when we viewed this cottage, and have now checked details online and the energy efficiency indicators are all the red i.e. not good at all. So that, and the tell-tale aircon units in the house, have made us decide against it.

Phew, I'm actually relieved.

Bit off topic, but I am struggling with the energy performance certificate stuff here. We have double glazing and good quality insulation everywhere in this house. We heat with wood-burners and back-up oil. The young man who came to do the survey wanted all the fuel bills, which we gave him. He first gave the house a G which was a bit of a shock. We worked out that he had used two years of fuel bills to calculate annual costs so he redid it and made it an E. Is that it? Just how much you spend on fuel? If we froze all winter would that make the house more energy efficient? The guest cottage, which is not as well insulated, but has a pellet stove and is hardly used in the winter got a C.
All seems very unscientific to me, though I am prepared to believe that the French system is just bizarre!
Back on topic, I wouldn't bother with an Aga, we have a Lacanche range which is fabulous.

Grannyknot I will recount the story of the house with the Aga and the Aircon to my energy efficiency mates, next time I want to wind them up.
mamie EPCs are scientific but there are limitations in what they are allowed to take into account. e.g. a really detailed calculation would include things like what part of the country you were in and whether your house was on a mountain top or in a sheltered spot. Also they are not allowed, if I remember correctly, to drill a small hole the walls to check the presence of cavity wall insulation. This is because it is an indicator and not a full, gold plated energy survey.
If you have the loft and the cavities insulated, I suspect it might be the wood burners and the oil that are bumping it up. However there is scope for human error and your house is not a standard form of heating.
It is possible though that he has made a mistake. He might never have done a house with wood burners + oil before or he could have entered the data wrongly into the software. Did you commission it yourself or was it done through an estate agent?