aga on dutch barge

[fudd]

Hello everyone. Its my first post here and I'm new to bargeing so please bear with me. I got the bug about 2 years ago and am planning on having a new build replica dutch barge and retire early on it. One question, among many is, has anybody installed an Aga as a means to heat and cook on. Seems to me that it wouldn't be particularly expensive to run and I'm pretty sure one could be used to good effect. Thanks Steve P. Herts.

[ChrisPy]

have you asked the same question on the barging forum? http://www.barging.co.uk/

[fudd]

 

Have now thank you.

[barge sara]

Could also try the DBA (Barge Association) http://www.barges.org

Agas on barges are not uncommon.

 

John MV Sara.

[carlt]

Double postings across forums?? Are the mods hibernating?

 

This sort of thing shouldn't be allowed to carry on!

 

Seriously, though, I had a caledonian (predecessor to the Esse ranges) aga size range on Lucy for many years. Toasty warm, excellent roast dinners and even better bread.

[Gary Peacock]

Well we have done it in the past.

 

This example is a on something a bit more modern looking than a replica dutch barge and it looks a bit like a Aga but is actually an Heritage Duo and it runs on fuel oil.

 

 

 

Anything is possible but I doubt Aga will endorse their products for marine use so that will probably mean plenty of thought and planning followed by some DIY.

Edited December 11, 2007 by Gary Peacock

[BarnBrian]

Well we have done it in the past.

 

This example is a on something a bit more modern looking than a replica dutch barge and it looks a bit like a Aga but is actually an Heritage Duo and it runs on fuel oil.

 

 

 

Anything is possible but I doubt Aga will endorse their products for marine use so that will probably mean plenty of thought and planning followed by some DIY.

 

Gary

Was the Heritage an easy installation? Are they assembled on board or do you have to get them in at the early stages of building.

 

Brian

[Tomska]

I know several people who have Agas or Rayburns on their narrowboats and they all swear by them. One of them just bought a boat with a Rayburn on it & he's already moaning about how he's going to manage if a future boat doesn't have one installed, now that he's got used to the luxury. They're brilliant things.

 

So I'd say go for it. I have a dutchie and I'd put an Aga/Rayburn in there in a heartbeat if I could. But it would mean taking the roof off, so I'll be settling for an Epping (not exactly a hardship).

[Gary Peacock]

Gary

Was the Heritage an easy installation? Are they assembled on board or do you have to get them in at the early stages of building.

 

Brian

 

It's not that hard to install basically it's a purely domestic installation with a few tweaks to meet the marine regulations. The main difficulty for a DIY installation is that the asumption from the manafacter is that it will be installed by a qualified central heating installer so the cookers don't come with very much in the way of installation instructions.

 

The plumbing and electrical installation is based around the Honeywell "Y" plan so once you get your head around that it isn't too difficult, there are also a few tricks and bits of kit available to make that simpler too.

 

One little pitfall is the unit needs to be commissioned by a OFTEC qualified engineer who basically uses a gas analyser to set up the burners, however OFTEC recently changed the guidance to their members on commissioning other peoples installations so some refuse to do this for you if they did not do the installation. We now have approval from the manufacturers to install and the OFTEC now do a visit to service rather than commission the unit. (Basically they adjust the burners but do not take responsibility for the installation or commissioning.)

 

We get the cooker on in the early stages because they are very heavy but the manufacturers will at a cost assemble it for you on the boat.

 

If anyone does fancy one of these I can let you have the wiring diagrams I had to draw for our technical file that would provide you with the info to install one yourself without the brain ache.

 

The Heritage cookers are extremely impressive products but without getting into the politics the VINTAGE RANGE COOKERS are an alternative with slightly more advanced features from the creator of the Heritage.

 

 

Both products are very impressive and we leave the choice to the customer.

Edited December 11, 2007 by Gary Peacock

[fudd]

It's not that hard to install basically it's a purely domestic installation with a few tweaks to meet the marine regulations. The main difficulty for a DIY installation is that the asumption from the manafacter is that it will be installed by a qualified central heating installer so the cookers don't come with very much in the way of installation instructions.

 

The plumbing and electrical installation is based around the Honeywell "Y" plan so once you get your head around that it isn't too difficult, there are also a few tricks and bits of kit available to make that simpler too.

 

One little pitfall is the unit needs to be commissioned by a OFTEC qualified engineer who basically uses a gas analyser to set up the burners, however OFTEC recently changed the guidance to their members on commissioning other peoples installations so some refuse to do this for you if they did not do the installation. We now have approval from the manufacturers to install and the OFTEC now do a visit to service rather than commission the unit. (Basically they adjust the burners but do not take responsibility for the installation or commissioning.)

 

We get the cooker on in the early stages because they are very heavy but the manufacturers will at a cost assemble it for you on the boat.

 

If anyone does fancy one of these I can let you have the wiring diagrams I had to draw for our technical file that would provide you with the info to install one yourself without the brain ache.

 

The Heritage cookers are extremely impressive products but without getting into the politics the VINTAGE RANGE COOKERS are an alternative with slightly more advanced features from the creator of the Heritage.

 

 

Both products are very impressive and we leave the choice to the customer.

Thanks all. Gary, they are a bit expensive at nearly £10,000.00. Twice the price of an aga.

[Gary Peacock]

Thanks all. Gary, they are a bit expensive at nearly £10,000.00. Twice the price of an aga.

 

Well it's sort of an Aga with pricey bits in it!

 

I never thought anyone would go for one when I first saw them but we have done quite a few now.

 

I suppose if you consider it replaces the cooker and hob, central heating burner and gas installation then it does begin to look slightly less painful!

[Yoda]

Well it's sort of an Aga with pricey bits in it!

 

I never thought anyone would go for one when I first saw them but we have done quite a few now.

 

I suppose if you consider it replaces the cooker and hob, central heating burner and gas installation then it does begin to look slightly less painful!

 

What have you used to power these devices. I had on in the farmhouse and I know how good they are.

Edited December 11, 2007 by Yoda

[Gary Peacock]

What have you used to power these devices. I had on in the farmhouse and I know how good they are.

 

You need a good AC electrical system, the one in the picture will be fairly landline based so thats just got 3kva of inverter power and 3.5Kva of generator alongside a fairly large battery bank.

 

Most of the others have been around 6kva of inverter and 6kva of generator providing AC on demand and automatic charging of the domestic batteries.

 

The electrical system on a lot of them is mainly for the aircon so heavy consumer items become less of a problem.

 

The use of a small induction hob and convection/grill microwave along side the range cooker is fairly common practice too.

[Chris Pink]

Hello everyone. Its my first post here and I'm new to bargeing so please bear with me. I got the bug about 2 years ago and am planning on having a new build replica dutch barge and retire early on it. One question, among many is, has anybody installed an Aga as a means to heat and cook on. Seems to me that it wouldn't be particularly expensive to run and I'm pretty sure one could be used to good effect. Thanks Steve P. Herts.

 

Worth bearing in mind the difference between an Aga and a Rayburn.

 

The Aga is a heat storage cooker is always the same temperature hence the number of ovens - each oven runs at a different temperature whereas a Rayburn is a range, has one main oven and its temperature is adjusted according to need, probably an easier beast to manage on a boat if used for cooking or hot water in the summer.

[magnetman]

I've had a Rayburn MF in a narrow boat for 5 winters and i swear by it **** its ****ing good cooking my dinner right now. As for getting it into the boat, all you need is 2ft wide doors about 3ft high and a bit of ingenuity.

[Chris Pink]

I've had a Rayburn MF in a narrow boat for 5 winters and i swear by it **** its ****ing good cooking my dinner right now. As for getting it into the boat, all you need is 2ft wide doors about 3ft high and a bit of ingenuity.

 

When my Rayburn went in, suspended from the ancient and venerable wharf crane that the person who de-commissioned it left in exactly the right position to use as a derrick, all the clothes were taken down, the cabin sides (underneath) not having been built, and it p'ed down like i've never seen it go, 3 inches of water in the hold and a Rayburn, but like yours mine is cooking my dinner while I surf and is the most wonderful winter companion.

 

So put the Rayburn in first, then build the boat.

[fudd]

Well it's sort of an Aga with pricey bits in it!

 

I never thought anyone would go for one when I first saw them but we have done quite a few now.

 

I suppose if you consider it replaces the cooker and hob, central heating burner and gas installation then it does begin to look slightly less painful!

I suppose so if you take all that into consideration it's not too bad. Thanks.

[Rick-n-Jo]

If anyone does fancy one of these I can let you have the wiring diagrams I had to draw for our technical file that would provide you with the info to install one yourself without the brain ache.

 

 

Gary, I would love a look at your diagrams. Am just in the process of installing one in our narrowboat (your shop's supplied some of the plumbing bits too, ta muchly).

 

It's the compact host model. Bit smaller. Bit cheaper. Still b***** heavy! We basically had the boat built round it.

 

Rick

[Gary Peacock]

If anybody wants the wiring diagram you can download it in PDF form HERE.

 

It only really covers the electrical side but if you get stuck with the plumbing I will eventually have a drawing for that too.

 

 

Don't do plumbing! So someone else is drawing that one!

[mickspangle]

has anyone got any figures on fuel consumption for the fuel oil ones? I

 

t seems to me that if, as a previous poster mentioned some of the installations are reliant on automatic charging of the batteries (which I assume to mean a generator kicking in when the batteries drop to a pre-set voltage) then this might not be viable for anyone on a BW mooring where you're not supposed to run gennies or engines after 8pm. Wouldn't be popular with me if you were my neighbour either.

 

Whether a cocooned, hospital silenced generator is less offensive than a mikuni or eberspacher firin up in the morning I'll leave to another thread...

[Strads]

has anyone got any figures on fuel consumption for the fuel oil ones? I

 

t seems to me that if, as a previous poster mentioned some of the installations are reliant on automatic charging of the batteries (which I assume to mean a generator kicking in when the batteries drop to a pre-set voltage) then this might not be viable for anyone on a BW mooring where you're not supposed to run gennies or engines after 8pm. Wouldn't be popular with me if you were my neighbour either.

 

Whether a cocooned, hospital silenced generator is less offensive than a mikuni or eberspacher firin up in the morning I'll leave to another thread...

 

 

 

gary -

 

appreciate yr making that set of wiring diagrams available - my hertiage Uno gets delivered next tuesday..

 

off to the plumbing merchants this weekend to sort the pipes / pumps etc out...

 

hertitage have sent a useful manual - not sure it covers everything but alse been giving advise on the phone..

 

 

noting the various comments re commisioning will check out a suitable engineer to assist / commision.

 

cheers john

[moggyjo]

Thanks all. Gary, they are a bit expensive at nearly £10,000.00. Twice the price of an aga.

The Rayburn I had on my last boat cost £200 delivered from local reclamation yard. Cooked food just like my Gran used to. had my gas cooker as well though for the summer. Unfortunatly couldn't get it into new boat, the door frame to small, you can take them to bits but this one being built in the 50's didn't want to come apart.