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This week we have cleaned lots of AGA cookers all over the place. I do think this hot weather is helping as people are prepared to switch their AGA off and get it both serviced and cleaned.
We have provided our AGA Cleaning Service to homes in Bristol, Devon and Wilthsire this week. So if you are looking to get your AGA cleaned now might be a good time.
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This is an article that I have copied from the www.lillie-selkirk.co.uk site. If you are looking for an AGA cooker in Scotland or a Rayburn Cooker Scotland then this is the company to contact.
I therefore quote from their article which describes their AGA enamelling process which I presume means the AGA enamelling process at their plant in Telford in Shropshire:
AGA Vitreous Enamel
Thursday 7th February 2008
Many customers are amazed by the enamel finish on the front and top of their Aga appliances and want to know more about how it is created. Below is an in depth guide as to how the final product is made:
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I'm currently working in Cardiff cleaning ovens for student accommodation which unusually all have 90cm range cooker in each house. As it has been hot I've been starting very early in the morning and getting three a day done and then finishing at lunch time. It's been so hot but I'm still carrying on, drinking lots of water, as the job has to be done by a set deadline.
Student accommodation cleans seem to be popular at the moment as its the time to get all the accommodation 'spick and span' before the new students arrive next month. I've got some more to do on Saturday in Bristol and the rest of the team are working on student accommodation ovens too.
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I thought I'd make a comment about the plinth for the AGA cooker ((AGA stove if you are in the US). I have read on some forums that some people are trying to make difficult choices re the plinth for their AGA cooker and are thinking about not having one and the other thing is which type to get.
We have cleaned hundreds of AGA cookers over the years and only a few haven't had plinths. Most of these were original ones from the 1930s before fitted kitchen cabinets came along. The addition of the plinth is a modern addition to make the AGA higher and easier to use.
When AGA cookers haven't got a plinth the AGA really does look odd. I have seen one recently where the whole kitchen had been refurbished with new cabinets, new stone floor etc but the AGA was sitting there without a plinth looking quite peculiar.
To put this right would mean a complete strip down of the AGA, then some time to build the plinth (if concrete) or if you use a metal plinth then it would be just a case of putting it in and then the AGA would have to be rebuilt. So not an easy or cheap job.
So the AGA cooker really does need a plinth to get it to the same height as the kitchen cabinets.
So if you are thinking of not having a plinth please reconsider and have one.
So two tips for the AGA cooker plinth.
1. Measure the height of your kitchen cabinets and decide on how high you are going to have it (i.e the same height as your kitchen cabinets or slightly higher). If you are building it yourself from concrete make sure that you make it well before the installation day (I have built two concrete plinths for my AGAs and built both the night before the day of installation - though AGA recommend three days see AGA plinth data page. I used fast trying cement and in both cases the plinth was fine for the next day and nine years later is still fine. Although it has never been finished off so at the front it is still rough. It would benefit from the addition of tiles.
2. Think about the metal plinth. For my 30 Amp AGA I didn't build a plinth but I ordered a AGA metal one. The mat black painted one looks very smart and you don't have to worry about finishing it off once the AGA is fitted.
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I have just been informed that Hytech the AGA Enameller have changed their website to www.hytechenamellers.co.uk. So if you are looking to get your whole AGA cooker enamelled to look like new again then they are the people to contact on 01278 794481.
Hytech are based in Highbridge in Somerset so it is just a case finding a plumber or an AGA specialist such as Spillers of Chard to take the bits off the AGA that need renamelling and then getting it to Hytech. They enamel bits or the whole AGA and they also can spray paint the sides to match the colour that you choose. The price I was given for the whole AGA was about £1400 (two years ago).
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I've just found this the offical AGA running costs. This has a date on it of August 2008.
The weekly running costs from this are:
2 Oven AGA Cooker (see their site for 3 oven and 4 oven running costs)
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After seeing the TV programme Raising the Bar on Channel 4 I went in search on Willie's chocolate in the local Waitrose store but it had a slot for it but said 'out of stock'. I went back again that week then the week after and the week after and finally I bought some of his chocolate. Anyway fabulous stuff and I have now been going back for more every couple of days but more often than not it is 'out of stock'. I went yesterday and it was out of stock so have to be content with Green and Blacks but really after trying Willie's chocolate nothing compares.
On the Apprentice Final on the BBC recently they had to make a chocolate box and there were some comments about men not buying chocolate for themselves. I was in the queue for the '10 items and less' till with my just my box of Willies Delectable Cacao Venezuelan 72 to pay for and the bloke in front of me had one too. So there you go who says men don't buy Chocolate for themselves. My wife can't stand it, she likes her milk chocolate, so I get to eat it all...
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We clean lots of AGA cookers in the Bath and North East Somerset area. So please give us a ring if you are looking to get your AGA, oven, range, hob, fridge cleaned or commercial cooker cleaned in this area.
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Here are 6 ways to reduce the running costs of your AGA cooker:
1. Have the cheapest AGA cooker to run which is the 30 Amp AGA cooker which costs about £11 a week to run. The others cost about £25 a week to run with the 13 Amp maybe higher.
2. Fit AIMS to your AGA so you can program your AGA energy use - you can now fit retrospectively to GAS and OIL AGA cookers. See Discover the The New Smart Way to Programme Your AGA. Though as an aside I think they have spelt 'Programme' wrong. In the UK when we program in the computer sense it is spelt in the same as in the US. Perhaps they thought they are going to give the AGA a schedule and therefore it should be spelt 'Programme'.
3. Do not keep the lids up for long periods on the AGA as it looses heat. If you follow the standard AGA cooking rule of using the top for 20% of the cooking and the ovens for 80% then you are doing it right and the AGA will retain its heat. If you are spending all your time cooking on the top of the AGA then you are doing it wrong.
4.Turn it off in the Summer. It's lovely and hot today and in our kitchen where our 30 Amp AGA sits it is 40C. Hmm I must remember to open the door and windows. But if I really wanted to reduce the running costs I'd switch the AGA off.
5. Turn the AGA down. You may want to put it on a lower setting but this will mean that it will take longer to cook everything.
6. Get your AGA cooker cleaned and serviced regularly. Get the AGA cleaning carried out in the morning and then serviced in the afternoon.
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What do you do with your AGA cooker if you are going off on your holidays? The first thing you are going to do, of course, is make sure that you are going on a UK AGA cottage holiday so you can have all the comforts of home whilst on holiday. :-)
So switching off the AGA cooker for the holiday period and the different types:
Continue reading "Do You Switch The AGA Cooker Off For Your Holiday?" »
