I have rarely seen a Rayburn in such good used condition, and it has made a great electric conversion from solid fuel for the owner, who has been having problems getting good fuel and emptying the ash.
I recently had some very detailed feedback from a customer whose 2 oven Standard aga I converted from oil (although it was originally solid fuel) over a year ago. It has two conventional electric hobs (not induction) During that time he has been closely monitoring the running costs of the hobs and ovens at different settings, and experimenting to get the best out of the conversion In his most recent email (which he has kindly given me permission to copy below), he talks about running costs, performance of the Electrickit conversion, the amount of heat given out by the aga after conversion and how modifying the flue can reduce running costs amongst other things. It is well worth a read if you are looking for real customer experience and feedback on whether converting your aga is going to be worthwhile.
Here is what he said:
‘Just an update on our AGA which you converted just over a year ago.
When I first read about people converting their AGAs to Electric I was quite sceptical. I couldn’t see how running such a high energy consumer as an AGA on a fuel that cost approx. 22p per KwH could be anything other than ruinously expensive when compared to oil at approx. 6.5p per KwH.
Our oil fired AGA suffered very disappointing performance since the spec of home heating oil was changed in 2016. We had to do something and our choices were Propane, electricity or to scrap the AGA altogether, all of which we carefully considered. We are so glad we decided on an electric conversion.
Having run it for a year now we have re-learnt to cook on the electric AGA because in many ways it is quite different, just as you said it would be. Now that we are familiar with it we really appreciate the completely reliable temperature and consistent results. When it was oil fired the temperature would fluctuate with a combination of ambient temperature, the strength of the wind over the chimney, and how clogged up the burner had become. We miss the instantly available heat from the left hot plate but overall it is a better cooker than before.
As I mentioned above I was ready for this to come at a cost so I am really surprised at how economical it has been to run. For 7 months of the year we will run the ovens at 200C for 16 hours a day and we will on average have the top plates on for 4 hours a day mainly drying clothes. As you know I had separate meters fitted to the Ovens and Plates so we have a more accurate idea of what the AGA costs to run separate from the electricity we use in the rest of the house. We find this is costing us a fairly consistent £90 per month so £630 for the 7 months we run it. For the other 5 months we tend to use our ceramic hob and Neff oven which are more suited to occasional Summer use.
Our oil fired AGA pretty much heated the whole of our cottage on its own with the boiler cutting in during cold spells. There is no doubt that the electric AGA does not provide the same amount of space heating but it does still provide quite a lot. Everyone asks you how much will it cost to run and I can see that is a very difficult question for you to answer because everyone will use their AGA in different ways. However, when considering how much it costs to run it is important to take into account the contribution it makes to the overall heating of the property.
When you converted the AGA you left the chimney in place for the ovens to vent. When we had that chimney capped the builder was surprised at the amount of heat that was drifting up the flue so we stuffed some mineral wool up the bottom of that flue. You advised that we should make provision for the ovens to be able to vent into the kitchen and advised that we would notice more cooking smell. We have not found cooking smell to be any problem and would recommend blocking the flue as this reduced the running cost by over 20%.
It is hard to believe that running the AGA on 22p electricity could cost less than 6.5p oil but that has been our experience. I don’t fully understand the science of this but I can only think that a vast amount of the heat generated by burning oil ends up going up the chimney. Also, when an oil fired AGA is sucking in air to burn it is sucking in the warmest air in the house, that being the air right next to the AGA and this is replaced by air from outside. With the electric AGA all the heat it generates stays in the kitchen so long as you have blocked the old flue.
Overall we are very pleased with our electric conversion. It is not better in every respect but the plusses certainly outweigh the minuses and our lovely old AGA has a new lease of life.’
I am delighted to let you know that 1.6 and 3kw induction hobs are now available for retrofitting to Electrickit conversions. This means we can replace your left-hand hob with an induction hob. The hobs will fit all 2, 3, 4 and 5 oven agas that have been converted to Electrickit already.
The 1.6kw induction hob is a straight swap for the existing left hand hob with no additional power supply needed, but if you want a 3kw induction hob it will need an additional 13 amp power supply.
I have been trialling a 1.6kw one for about 3 months in my 2 oven aga and am very impressed with its performance. It gives almost instant heat for cooking and is very energy efficient. When cooking with it, we tend to use it to heat pans quickly then transfer them to the righthand (conventional hob) for simmering, or use it on its own if only using one pan. Stirfries are now easy, and boiling a pan of water takes seconds! The only disadvantage I can see is that it does not produce heat through the hob lid, so less heat is available from the aga to warm the room which may be important to you.
Below is a picture of one in place (in my aga), and some questions and answers which might help you decide whether you would like one.
Please get in touch if you would like to know more.
1, How much will it cost to install?
£440 (incVAT) - within 60 miles of Hamble, Southampton.
2. Is it economical?
An induction hob is more efficient than a conventional hob, because of the way it works. Time to be able to be cooking is almost instantaneous, and it is very responsive to adjustments of the controls. Because of the rapid heat up time, it will use less energy than a conventional hob getting food to a desired cooking temperature. Once up to temperature, both the induction and conventional hobs will use approximately the same amount of electricity to cook.
3. Why would I want one?
The induction hob gives almost instant heat and is very energy efficient. In combination with the conventional right-hand hob, the induction hob will provide flexible and efficient options for both methods of cooking.
4. How quickly does it heat up?
The heat available from an induction hob is almost instantaneous, so it will heat food quicker than a conventional hob if both hobs are started at the same time.
5. How does the power compare with the conventional Electrickit hob?
The conventional hob is rated at 1.4 kw, and the induction hob at 1.6kw, but the power is available much faster with the induction hob.
6. Can I use any pans or casserole dishes on it?
To cook on an induction hob, you can only use pans with magnetic properties, so they can conduct electricity. All your pots and pans must have bases of ferrous metals. Ferrous metals are those that contain iron – that means steel and cast iron.
Pans made of glass, copper, aluminium or low ferrous metal alloys (including some stainless steels) are not compatible with an induction hob and will not heat up. Enamelled cast iron pots work fine.
A simple way to test your pans is to hold a magnet to the base of the pan. If the magnet is attracted strongly, it will work on an induction hob. If it is loosely or not attracted to the pan bottom, the pan is unsuitable for induction hobs.
Your cookware also needs a flat base so it can properly receive the magnetic charge. You can use an induction hob adapter plate, which will enable you to use any non-ferrous pan on an induction hob. They are widely available online.
7. How does an induction hob work?
An induction hob works using magnetic conduction. Under the glass surface of an induction hob is a copper coil. When a pan that can conduct electricity is put on the hob, an alternating electric current passes through it and heats up the base of the pan.
The pan becomes the heat source for your food, which is why induction cooking is so efficient. You’re not using energy warming up the air around the pan.
8. Will I still be able to get three pans on the hob?
The induction hob is designed with a single zone for one pan, which is marked on the glass surface. You will still be able to get two or three pans on the right-hand conventional hob.
9. How do the controls work?
The controls are on the hob itself, so the left-hand hob control in the existing control panel is removed and blanked off. There are touch sensitive positions on the control panel to switch the hob on or off, and to increase or decrease the power available. There is also a timer facility.
10. Will I still get heat from the hob lid when it is shut?
No. The hob is designed to be turned off when not in use. It will turn itself off after a while if the lid is shut while the power is on to the hob. A requirement of fitting will be to ensure that the lid liner (the underneath of the lid) is aluminium, and these can be fitted either singly or as a pair during installation of the hob if needed.
11. Can I still cook toast on this hob?
No, because of the way the hob works. You will still be able to make toast using the right-hand conventional hob.
12.. How is it best to use it – heat things up on the induction hob, then transfer to simmer plate, or keep on the induction hob?
You can cook fully on either the induction or conventional hob, or use both in combination, according to your preferences. The induction hob heats things up quicker as it does not have to heat the hob before transferring heat to a pan.
13. Can it be retrofitted to my existing 2, 3, 4 or 5 oven Electrickit aga?
It can be installed it as a replacement for your existing left-hand hob, or on installation of a new conversion.
14. Does it need another power supply?
No. It uses the same power supply as the conventional left-hand hob, so no new power supply is needed for it.A 3kw induction hob will need a separate/ additional 13 amp supply.
15.. Can I have both hobs as induction hobs?
No, just the left hand hob. Together they make a practical, flexible combination
16. Is it easy to clean?
The surface of the hob is glass, so is easy to wipe clean after cooking. There are many cleaning products available for keeping glass hobs clean.
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