[Fluffywelshsheep]

AGA are offering a reward to find ALL the AGAs in the world

There’s a reward for everyone that gets in touch and a chance to catch up on all the news about the iconic cast-iron cooker that has the same good looks and legendary cooking performance, yet has moved with the times more than you could ever imagine.


not sure if this is for realy but you can give them a call

http://www.agawanted.com/

08457 125 207

[pegusus pig]

Thanks for that Linz, Best cooker ever. 

Congratulations on your good news, Take it easy and enjoy it the time will fly by. Emma

[carl]

my parents have always had an AGA and I love em. we are just about to have one fitted, but with a special timer fitted to switch it off while we are out or asleep, and turn it on just in time for when we cook. I'll have no excuses for not baking.

[sandy]

My Ex had a plumbing business and as we had an old house he bought an old Aga and had it done up, he still uses it now to cook on, dry stuff over and to heat the rad in the bathroom and hot water. It is not enough to heat the house but he plumbed it in so it would be useful rather than for just cooking on. I used to put things in to cook and forget them as the door had such a seal that you could not smell things cooking. When we moved I had to be let into an Aga shop in Glasgow, it was locked and as they had a sale on I thought I would browse, I wanted a solid frying pan as we have a very robust range cooker here and, in the sale the cheapest and very small frying pan was over £40....I bought one from Lidel and it is fine!!!!!! Anyway, loved my Aga.

[sellickbhoy]

never had one, and don't fancy the major overhaul to my house, heating and hot water system to get one in

i heard about the agawanted thing on the BBC you and yours environmental programme. Basically they are trying to find all the aga owners so they can sell them a new more efficient machine (credit crunch leads to innovative marketing ideas!)

the guy on the programme was saying how bad they were regards carbon footprint. Basically an aga uses more energy than ALL your other household items put together BY A LONG WAY

even the new ones which can be put in "sleep" mode are still greater energy users than any other method of heating your house, water, cooking etc

I know they are pretty, but if you have environmental concerns, you probably shouldn't get one.

(oh, and thats not to mention what goes into making and shipping them - they aren't easily shifted!)

sorry to be a party pooper.

[Fluffywelshsheep]

lol but would it not be worst the the environment to remove it and get a new system ?

I don't have an arga but always wanted one. but if you reclaim an old one and renew it it's not as bad lol

[sellickbhoy]

lol but would it not be worst the the environment to remove it and get a new system ?

I don't have an arga but always wanted one. but if you reclaim an old one and renew it it's not as bad lol

i dunno

if you assume you are gonna use it for 20 years, total up the total energy use and then do the same for a new system - including the cost of making it. who knows.

btw, the figures given were for the new efficient machines - the older ones are much worse!

if i ever get round to builind my house from scratch i might put one in, but it will have to be offset by something like a wind turbine, solar power and ground source heating so that i don't use energy from ANYWHERE else - except keeping the aga running!!!!

and i'll make sure i have my own forest to keep it supplied from!

[carl]

a refurbed model is less than half price, and are better made. you add the timer as a retro fit. sorry i am unable to make my own stove from clay and burn dried dung. I will just have to hide my head in shame. . they do however last a lifetime and help reduce other costs. i accept my gas bill will rocket and that I will have to plant more and more trees to offset my carbon footprint. but hey, we have the coldest kitchen ever and a really poor boiler. i would have liked a woodburner but it did niot work out logistically. i am also looking at a heat exchanger as our barn conversion is like a huge fridge for 7-8 months of the year. i had sussed that the reward an aga owner promo was a scam. they are stuck up their own behinds at the aga shops ( we do not offer a discount as our product sells itself?) I am buying from a local independant fitter who refurbs old agas and was short of work so has cut his margins to meet my budget. i have 2 woodburners which ican just about keep stocked with logs, but are cold by the time we get home in the evening.

[doganjo]

Is it possible to install a ground source heat pump retrospectively?  How much would that cost - would it be offset by the saving in electricity.   

I have to admit I think one system is as good as any other for the different pros and cons.  I don't think there is a perfect system yet invented that is low cost to install, low running costs, works efficiently and is environmentally friendly to the nth degree.  I have been having this argument with my friend for the last four years.  I built a standard timber framed kit house, saving on time and labour on build, put in extra insulation top, bottom, sides, and internally, keep ehat glass doors adn windows, managed pineforest internal doors and fittings, installed underfloor heating (had to be oil as we were miles from gas mains), laid down fruit trees and raised beds for vegetables, had a purpose built poultry run made with low energy lighting throughout.  She has gone fro totally envirofriendly no heating with reclaimed blown air circulation, aga to burn fallen branches but no other heating, glass fronted to catch the rays etc etc.  Mine cost £145,000 hers is costing £287,000 and isn't finished after 2 years, mine took four months.  I was warm and toasty, I think she will freeze in North east Scotland with no heating except their own body heat.  Time will tell.

[sellickbhoy]

yeah, it's possible to retrofit a ground source heat pump.

the advice i got was to do things in stages

1. double the loft and wall insulation everywhere
2. Lay underfloor heating 1st and run it from my current oil fired boiler
3. install a wood burning stove to replace the existing open fireplace (this involved installing a back boiler water tank too)
4. fit solar panels to the roof and use that to heat the water
5. install a windturbine and a system to sell it back to the grid if i generate more than i use.
6. install ground source/air source heatpump, removing the boiler completely and running the underfloor heating and hot water from it. connect the solar panels up to a bank of batteries and use that to supply electric along with windturbine (selling excess back).

the wood burning stove was really only because i wanted a fire in the lounge for winter - more aesthetic than anything else!!! But at least it could be practical.

but the above process takes a long time and is messy and i don't want to live in a building site!

if i ever build from scratch, the ground source pump, underfloor heating, solar and wind turbine will all be 1st in - along with as much insulation as can be fitted into the place

i'll also have all the plumbing set up to feed a large water tank that can be used to water the garden/plants.

and for the garden i'd have a Walpini!! http://www.bensoninstitute.org/Publication/Manuals/Walipini.pdf

[ballingall]

We've never had an aga, but we did use to have a solid fuel Rayburn which heated the hot water and the kitchen. It was good to cook on too, but when we moved out, we left it behind to be scrapped because my mum's asthma was no good with the ash from a solid fuel fire. Then we inherited a "Stanley Range" similar to an Aga, but very inefficient, used so much oil it was unreal. So we have just had it taken out, and a external combi boiler put in in stead. Plus we still have an open fire in the sitting room which we might change for a log burner at some point.

Beth

[sandy]

On combi boilers, we bought a house with a newish one, less than 2 years old, and after a year in the house started having problems, we had it sorted several times before it gave up the ghost, then we had to have a new one, a point I am making is, we were without any form or hot water and only had an open fire for several weeks at a time and as well as the expense it seemed loads of people I knew at the time had the same problems and  lot ended up in debut due to buying one over priced from British Gas. I swore  that  if I had a comb again would have some back up for hot water and something like a log burner for heat. My Ex said that a lot of the new boilers although very efficient have problems as the electric circuits etc are always in high temperatures and it causes problems. All those weeks of boiling kettles and pans....never again!!!!! P.S my keyboard keeps missing out letters on purpose!!!