The War of the Kitchen - The Husband vs The Wife

With 'efficiency' and 'economy' being the buzz words on everyone's lips, its evident that Aga owners are looking to reduce expenses and save money....who wouldn't right?

With price of oil popping its head above the 74p per litre mark, back in November 2010, it caused a wave of murmurings among Aga owners across the country that had suddenly took an interest in how much their cookers were costing to run.

It was further escalated by the media attention, there was article after article written in the national papers claiming the 'gas guzzling' Aga is dead - as they could no longer provide the efficiency required to please most home owners, that statement being partly true but mostly hot air!

The truth lies somewhere between the 2 sides of the argument. If you're looking for total efficiency then you'll need to scrap the Aga, buy yourself and eco-home made of paper and twigs and uproot and move to a forest in Greenland!

If on the other hand, if you're not bothered by the oil prices and have too many other, more pressing things to spend time concentrating on, then you'll find that you will probably continue along your current path until either oil becomes extortionate or your income drops low enough so oil prices do become an issue (unless of course your lucky dip lotto rollover winner!)

The most interesting thing about the whole debate is the gender divide. I've noticed that the opinions of a customer is expecting from an Aga differs depending on which gender is buying the Aga. Generally the women (who I'm presuming in most cases are in charge of the house) will not budge on what they want from an Aga, they like the constant warmth and the reliability of having it on all the time, the economy of the cooker falls very much into second place.

The men, on the other hand seem to be obsessed with turning the cooker off or onto shutdown for as long as at all possible, to make maximum savings. Yeah sure, they appreciate the heat and the meals that may come from it, but they seem to be driven by turning the cooker off more than having it on!

I get the feeling that Aga's 'Total Control' was designed by the male gender possibly for a customer which probably doesn't yet exist! - What are your thoughts?

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The Electric Conversion - Q&A's

We had a few questions in particular which customers seem to be asking frequently so I thought they it would be good to share them with you.

Have a look below...

Can you convert my 2 Oven Oil fired Aga to Electric?

The answer is undoubtedly YES, we have converted lots of Agas over to electric firing. These Agas range from the 1930's models up to the present day cookers.

The older cookers are just as easy to convert and very similar in performance, some people may say the heavier cast backings (of the older cookers) lend themselves to this type of stored heat cooking, although I think the difference is minimal.
Just to clarify, you can convert Oil, Gas and Solid fuel cookers over to electric firing, all of which have been successful.

How long does it take to convert my Aga to Electric?

A typical conversion takes between 5-7 hours from arrival to completion. It requires a part rebuild of the cooker in order to install the new insulation pack and to run the cables internally.

What sort of power supply is needed for the conversion kit?

The conversions kits we use require a 16 amp supply with twin 13 amp switched spurs.

*Note: Please call us with any questions and we can talk directly to your electrician. Normally customers will get the sockets installed low level, either on the right or left hand side of the Aga

How long does it take to heat up from cold?

The 2 oven cookers take 5 hrs 40 minutes to heat up to full temperature, however you have full temperature on your hotplate after 1 hr 50 minutes.
The 4 oven cookers take 6 hrs 10 minutes to heat up to full temperature.

How much do they cost to run?

The weekly running costs for an Aga which has been converted to electric firing (without a boiler) is as follows,

2-Oven - £15 -17.50 per week (Prices for the more modern Conversion kits differ)
4-Oven - £19- 24.50 per week (Prices for the more modern Conversion kits differ)

* Based on a electricity tariff of 11p per kWh

How much does it cost to convert my Aga to Electric ?

Give us a call on 01508 499764 and we'll give you a verbal quote over the phone or we can email a quote to you.

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A day in an life of a Norfolk/Suffolk Aga Engineer....

7.00am - Alarm goes off - The worst imaginable noise in the world interrupts your dream of sitting on the beach in Walberswick eating ice creams, drinking Spindrift and listening to Phil Collins.

7.09am - Snooze alarm - Just in case you slid back into the Coastal dream... BANG!! The snooze alarm brings you back down to Earth. The alarm ringing is the only time you ever look at your iPhone with disgust - Jump up and head to the bathroom.

7.30am - Breakfast - Warm Porridge for the Senior Engineers, Pop Tarts for the Trainees

7.42am - Media intake - Senior Engineers watch the News, the juniors log on to Facebook

7.50am - Grab the lunch box and jump in the van, 7 minute dash to the office. Past the butchers, down the dip, around the chicane at the Surgery. Past the European Trade Center, swing around the Boyland Corner, hit the anchors at the 3rd post at the garden center, past the pond and you're there, smooth as Jenson Button at Monte Carlo!

7.57am - Arrive at the office, hesitate before opening the office door, the day hinges on the next few steps. Is the boss stressed or is he calm??? hopefully the later.  If you can smell bacon then you're safe, if you can't then tread carefully.

8.07am - Say a quick 'Hello' to Jay as he strolls in with a Swagger only a Chief Engineer could get away with.

8.10am - The Start Line - Jump in the van, tune the radio into radio 1 (Juniors) Radio 2 (Seniors) Radio 4 (The Boss). Look at the first worksheet, grab the postcode punch it into the Satnav and hit the road.

8.15am - 4.30pm - The guts of the day - This is where the autopilot kicks in, work mode!! Get from job to job with the least aggro and keeping every customer as happy as possible. Lunch in here somewhere, Cheese sandwiches (ham if you're lucky), an apple, satsuma, Walkers Prawn Cocktail crisps, Muller Corner, Breakaway bar.

NOTE: By 11.30am flick onto Radio 2, that Radio 1 playlist does your head in. Sorry Fearn I want to listen to you, but I can't do it to myself.

Dream about that elusive lottery win, didn't buy a ticket but doesn't stop you dreaming! what car would I have? The Money wouldn't change me.....!! Would I buy a boat?... why not with 43 million I could have 2..... No, be realistic 1 boat would be fine!

4.31pm - The Call - Finished all the allocated jobs, but still 1 hour to go before the day finishes. Do I ring the office now?....or Do I call in 20 mins time when I'm nearly back to the office? An early call could result in another job, the late call could just mean I'm delaying the inevitable, and I get the job anyway!! Tough call, depends on a few things, who's manning the office, whether can think of a believable excuse.

4.57pm - Look Busy - Back to the office open the van doors, make it look like I'm having a clear out. Kill 7 mins by making and drinking a coffee, new Nespresso machine is slow...brilliant.

5.15pm - Thinking on your feet - Second excuse of the day needed, 'Can I leave now coz I have to feed the dogs/walk the cat/work on the house /its my Mum's birthday/I've got man flu.

5.22pm - Back home - Arrive back unscathed, now to get rid of this horrible kerosene smell!

5.22 - 9.15pm - TV - Hoping for a re run of TOWIE or maybe a documentary about polar bears, if we're lucky maybe a really poor England Friendly to watch on ITV, just to curb those optimistic feelings about winning the Euro's.

9.16pm - Bed time - No late nights on a school night.

The END

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