(24) comments
Add Your Reply
Here is a list of things that are different between a 13 Amp AGA cooker and a 30 Amp AGA cooker. (Updated April 2020)
If you are looking at the these two in comparison then it is likely that you have been offered one of them by someone who no longer wants it or you've found one on eBay for sale. As both cannot be bought new anymore.
Both of these AGAs run in the traditional way. That is they are on all of the time and give lots of radiant heat. So you'll get a very cosy kitchen and it will heat a lot of your home. They both look like a traditional AGA.
The 30 amp AGA only came in either a 2 oven or a four oven configuration. The 13 amp can be found in 2 oven, 3 oven and 4 oven configuration.
Cost to run a 13 Amp AGA Cooker
The first thing you need to know about the 13 Amp AGA Cooker is that they are very expensive to run. Not so much as an LPG gas AGA cooker but nearly there. The cost to run per week for a two oven AGA is about £35 per week, for three oven AGA £37.50 a week and for a four oven £40.00 a week. This cost can be even higher if your kitchen has high vaulted ceilings or poor insulated walls because you will probably not realise that your kitchen looses so much heat and run the AGA very hot.
Also it may have AIMS (AGA Intelligent Management System) which is just a timer though I have been told by AGA renovators that they are waste of time as the amount of electricity saved to heat back up to heat after being off is the same as that as you saved by having it in slumber.
The AGA doesn't need a service (like an oil or gas AGA) as such but I am now seeing AGA engineers offering this service - but what they do in the 'service' is a mystery. There has been a common problem with the 13 Amp in that the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fails. In warranty they are replaced for free in the first year but after year one the part is free but the cost to replace it still costs about £200. Out of warranty the replacement board and cost to replace can be very expensive. They seem to fail every few years or so. When the engineer from Spillers came out to fix my 30 Amp he told me that most of his calls was fixing the PCB problem on the 13 Amp.
Cost to run a 30 Amp AGA Cooker
It's one of the cheapest AGAs to run - even compared to the newest AGA Dual Control and AGA Total Control. This AGA will give you the traditional AGA kitchen warmth without the extortionate running costs of the 13 Amp. Cost to run a 2 oven AGA (on 24 hours a day) is £15 a week. For a 4 Oven (there is no 3 oven) it's about £20 - again on all the time.
This AGA doesn't need a service but there are some common issues with it. We've had our 30 amp since December 2007. it was fitted just after my son was born 10 weeks prematurely!
Here it is after I cleaned it in February 2020:
We have had to replace the fan three times (cost about £200 each time). And we have replaced elements - about three at a cost of £150 a time.
Cost to install the 13 Amp AGA Cooker
To install is easy. It can be located anywhere in your kitchen. It doesn't need a chimney or outside wall for the flue. The flue is actually a 15 mm pipe that runs to a fan that is located on an outside wall. It can be run under the floor, around the back of kitchen cabinets etc. It is best to have a dedicated 16 amp spur from your circuit board installed to save overloading a standard 13 amp circuit you may have in your kitchen.
This AGA and the 30 amp AGA don't heat water. They can't have a boiler in them. So no plumbing in is required. It's just a cooker.
If you are buying a second hand AGA it needs to be dismantled. If you see one on eBay look to see if it has already been dismantled. If it has then that's good news. Ideally it needs to be on a pallet ready for transporting. If it needs dismantling the cost is about £300. There is also a cost to transport it - again say another £200, and a cost to install it. This takes a day and costs about £300. If it's already on a pallet I recommend the company www.sendapallet.co.uk to pick it up and deliver it to you.
The 13 amp AGA Cooker has to be built on site. It's need a plinth ready to make sure its the same level as your adjacent kitchen cabinets. You can make this your self or better buy a steel one with adjustable feet. It adjusts between 60mm and 90mm. Expect to pay about £100 for one of these - they sell them on Ebay.
Note: If you do decide to buy one you can bring the running costs down by getting an AGA engineer who installs it to fit a full ceramic insulation pack. The reason they are expensive to run was when they brought them out AGA just replaced the gas burner with the heating element. So it had the same insulation as all the other AGAs. Since then newer AGAs have had more ceramic insulation to reduce the running costs. This insulation will obviously increase the cost of insulation but bring the running costs down.
Don't forget to get it professionally cleaned. Give OvenGleamers a ring on 0800 802 1037
Cost to install the 30 Amp AGA Cooker
The 30 Amp works by heating up at night using off peak cheap electricity. So you need to have an off peak meter installed. You'll need a 30 amp dedicated connection to your kitchen for the AGA. You'll need a timer - usually located in a kitchen cabinet next to the AGA.
Again you don't need to worry about where the AGA is installed. A 15 mm pipe runs from the back of the AGA to an outside wall where the extractor fan is installed.
If you see one of these on eBay there is some more thought required to move it. The AGA may seem cheap but it has a core of insulation that can easy break when it is moved. The cost for this new insulation pack is approx £3,000. I've heard of people moving them by lifting them with a hand pallet truck (as a whole) and then putting them onto a van and then moving them into position at the new house, again with the pallet truck. But find someone who has experience of doing this. They need to be careful!
The way it should be done -i.e taking it all apart and transporting the bits and then reinstalling it is going to cost a lot. As a new insulation core is going to be required.
The company that installed ours - Mr Cooker - told us that once a 30 amp is in position it's there for life. But they do dismantling and reinstalling. Contact them for advice.
Don't forget to get it professionally cleaned. Give OvenGleamers a ring on 0800 802 1037
Cost to buy a 13 Amp AGA Cooker
Cost of buying one: New the 13 Amp was about the same cost as a gas or oil AGA and that is about £8500. On Ebay today I think you'll pick one up for less than a £1000 because the seller will just want to get rid. Even less if they haven't had it professionally cleaned - a grubby AGA on Ebay doesn't look a good buy.
But don't forget those dismantling, transporting and assembly costs. It will cost about £300 to £500 to dismantle, £300 to transport, and £500 to install. And call us to get it cleaned back to a gleaming shine.
Cost to buy a 30 Amp AGA Cooker
For a 30 Amp they were selling new in 2018 in our local AGA showroom for about £11000. We bought our reconditioned 30 Amp from Mr Cooker(www.mrcooker.co.uk) which was like new for £5500 eleven years ago. They are now selling them for £6500 which to me is still good value. You can get the colour you prefer and it will be as new. This price includes installation (including plinth) and a years warranty. I think this is a very good price.
Don't forget you'll need to install the 30 amp line from your fuse board to your kitchen, an Economy 7 Meter and arrange for this tariff. (in March 2020 we were using Bulb to supply our electricity).
Jan 2021 Update: We also have a SMART meter installed. Seems to be working well. Our model is E470 Type 5424. Here is a video I've found on YouTube to show the two different type tarrifs - e.g. overnight and day.
Don't forget to get it professionally cleaned. Give OvenGleamers a ring on 0800 802 1037
Related articles
- How to Start a Cozy Fireplace Fire (artofmanliness.com)
- Counting Particles from Wood Stoves (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.
