I am bittersweet about this change; we have primarily done the change for oil prices. They are turbulent and I will freely admit that I keep forgetting to get more oil.
Let’s start off, with why I love Agas; on all the time – ready to make a cup of tea whenever, clothes dryer, dog dryer, bum warmer, kitchen warmer and general hot box to keep things going through the year.
The one thing I was worried about loosing when going into the conversion, was the warming fo the room. I will be honest and admit that we have lost the intense warming of the room. It is warm, the aga is warming the room, but not in the same way as before. Not in the intensity as before.
We have gone from a four door, oil aga and converted it by Electrkit. This was the best recommended one and the most reliable, as per our research. The middle door at the bottom – where the fire is usually – gets taken out and a thermosat and dials replace the fire.
You have a knobs on the left that manages the heat on the plate warming and simmering ovens. The hobs have separate knobs that be can set separately and the right handed two ovens are on a thermostat. At the moment, during winter, we have it on slumber at 200 and then if I need to raise it for anything, it’s easy. I tend to leave it though and let the magic happen.
During the summer, I will drop it right down to 120 ish and then warm it up when we need it. This will be where the money saving and the planet saving bit happens. That said, at the moment, 2 months in, we have not had an electric bill to compare costs.
Things that are different and I haven’t got used to
Remembering to turn the aga on. The aga is on a slumber mode all the time, at a base temperature as a rule and then you turn it up when you want a specific job. For example, warming some milk, you can warm it at base temperature and get a few more jobs done /scrolling the internet done whilst the milk warms. Or turn the hob up 5 minutes before you put the milk on.
The general rule is not to have the hobs at a high temperature all the time because the hob tops can burn, due to the intensive heat. I am constantly opening middle door to check what the dial is one!
The look of the hobs; they are a much more concrete look than the flat previous hobs; this is obviously an electric convector requirement but it’s odd to look at! Purely aesthetic
Random but I have noticed that the from bar – that you hang your tea towels on, lean against with your cup of tea – doesn’t seem to warm up. The rest of the oven is but the rail is not. Odd.
The aga doesn’t warm the room as consistently, it doesn’t push out as much heat. I now wear slippers and we have put some draft blockers in place, simply to keep the ‘kitchen is the hub’ vibe going, with three external walls.
Things that I though would be different and I have got used to
Cooking – the cooking style is the same, it is not any more reliable than the oil aga but the heat in consistent.
The heat doesn’t get lost the more you use it and therefore you don’t have to start cooking a big meal that much earlier!
The thermostat clicks when it is too hot, this is helpful, so I know when to turn it down more than I have on slumber. This is mainly when it’s ticking over. When I am using it, it doesn’t appear to tick.
Clean your Aga more, the heat does not burn off the oil or spilt cooking – so it does require more consistent wiping down.
That all said, I am pleased with the change, or rather I am relieved with the outcome. It is nice to know that it is costing a bit less, and it cannot suddenly turn off. As ti did when I forgot to fill the oil tank…
Being away from the house with it low may also be a peace of mind, we have not yet experienced that!
Let me know if you’ve changed yours, or would ever?
What are your key things about the aga owning experience?