Cookers such as an AGA on board

[Wyn2joy]

I am engaging in research so I can begin planning my narrow boat. I live in the U.S. and only recently discovered the amazing AGA style cookers. I've seen a couple in boat galleries but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who actually has a similar range in the galley. Is it on all the time? What about during summer? Why did you choose such an opttion for your galley?

Edited December 14, 2009 by Wyn2joy

[carlt]

I've had a Solid fuel Caledonian and a Rayburn Royale.

 

Best way of cooking and heating your home, imo, and I miss it loads.

[Wyn2joy]

I've had a Solid fuel Caledonian and a Rayburn Royale.

 

Best way of cooking and heating your home, imo, and I miss it loads.

 

So yours was coal/wood fired?

[carlt]

So yours was coal/wood fired?

Either but I ran mainly wood, with a shovel of smokeless, before bed, to keep it in, overnight.

[Athy]

Wyn, an Aga is on all the time, a Rayburn is not. A Rayburn can run central heating, an Aga cannot.

New ones are not cheap but reconditioned ones are easily found and of course cheaper. We have a Rayburn in our house. Have a look at web sites called Tradcookers and Snugburners, run by Barry Sharman who converted the 1970s Rayburn Royale, now oil-fired, which is happily heating our water, running our radiators and cooking my bacon as I write.

[starman]

Some boats use oil-fired Aga style cookers which are built around modern central heating type pressure jet burners. This means they can be controlled by a programmer to switch on and off both the cooker and the ch boiler as required. They are more fuel efficient and also heat up much more quickly -- unlike an Aga which is either on or off, doesn't do ch and heats up slowly. (We've had Agas at home and now have one of this type and it's much, much better.) Take a look at this site though there are others. I've seen the small Heritage Uno version on a number of boats.

 

Because they're very heavy location on the boat is important - transversely across the centre line is normal.

 

I don't have any experience of a solid fuel Rayburn on a boat but I'm interested to know how much fuel it would use and whether it would be practical on a holiday boat or continuous cruiser rather than on a more static live-aboard

[deletedaccount]

Wyn, an Aga is on all the time, a Rayburn is not. A Rayburn can run central heating, an Aga cannot.

New ones are not cheap but reconditioned ones are easily found and of course cheaper. We have a Rayburn in our house. Have a look at web sites called Tradcookers and Snugburners, run by Barry Sharman who converted the 1970s Rayburn Royale, now oil-fired, which is happily heating our water, running our radiators and cooking my bacon as I write.

 

I grew up with both and I love em, not on a boat though. We'd run them in the winter and use a normal cooker in the summer. Running one in the summer is madness imo.

 

My dad runs his heating off an aga.

[soldthehouse]

Wyn, an Aga is on all the time, a Rayburn is not. A Rayburn can run central heating, an Aga cannot.

New ones are not cheap but reconditioned ones are easily found and of course cheaper. We have a Rayburn in our house. Have a look at web sites called Tradcookers and Snugburners, run by Barry Sharman who converted the 1970s Rayburn Royale, now oil-fired, which is happily heating our water, running our radiators and cooking my bacon as I write.

Hello there , i,m confused i thought rayburns and agas were the same in principle, the oil ones certainly share the same burners, I need educating here as we have an oil fired aga in the house and were considering a solid fuel rayburn on the boat purely down to the logistics of keeping an oil one supplied, but if they are easy to keep at operating temparatures while being turned on and off i would be very keen to learn about it. We find the oil fired agas the best all round having experience of oil, gas and solidfuel, you just light them and leave them, I only service ours every two years and we have no other form of cooking , not even a microwave...

[richardf]

Hello there , i,m confused i thought rayburns and agas were the same in principle, the oil ones certainly share the same burners, I need educating here as we have an oil fired aga in the house and were considering a solid fuel rayburn on the boat purely down to the logistics of keeping an oil one supplied, but if they are easy to keep at operating temparatures while being turned on and off i would be very keen to learn about it. We find the oil fired agas the best all round having experience of oil, gas and solidfuel, you just light them and leave them, I only service ours every two years and we have no other form of cooking , not even a microwave...

 

My understanding is that oil AGAs are a continuous burn appliance, whereas Rayburns have pressure jet burners and are hence able to be turned up when required rather than just providing coninuous heat. That would make them a better bet for boats IMHO. It will also provide for better economy - don't forget that AGAs were designed when fuel was much much cheaper - not the case these days. I believe that there are quite a lot of electronics in the Rayburn so it might be awkward to fit into a boat that doesn't have constant 240V supply.

Heritage have a unit designed especially for boats - and whilst they are almost a competitor of mine (our ranges are all electric and therefore not boat friendly), they are a good company run by honest ethical individuals! I would give them a look.

[soldthehouse]

My understanding is that oil AGAs are a continuous burn appliance, whereas Rayburns have pressure jet burners and are hence able to be turned up when required rather than just providing coninuous heat. That would make them a better bet for boats IMHO. It will also provide for better economy - don't forget that AGAs were designed when fuel was much much cheaper - not the case these days. I believe that there are quite a lot of electronics in the Rayburn so it might be awkward to fit into a boat that doesn't have constant 240V supply.

Heritage have a unit designed especially for boats - and whilst they are almost a competitor of mine (our ranges are all electric and therefore not boat friendly), they are a good company run by honest ethical individuals! I would give them a look.

There is the optiom for both types of burner in both appliances and the pressure system is on all the time just at a different level so the on off principle doesnt apply. the older rayburns were certainly not pressurised and a friend of mine who has a pressure system is considering a conversion back because he has had both and reckons the old pot is far better, after all the idea of these cookers is the simplicity. The running costs are good when all the advantages are taken in to account. Our oil aga runs 24/7 365 days and cost £580 to run last year.

Edited December 14, 2009 by soldthehouse

[andywatson]

I am engaging in research so I can begin planning my narrow boat. I live in the U.S. and only recently discovered the amazing AGA style cookers. I've seen a couple in boat galleries but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who actually has a similar range in the galley. Is it on all the time? What about during summer? Why did you choose such an opttion for your galley?

 

If you are considering an oil fired AGA, Rayburn etc why not also include the Dickinson and Sigmar diesel cookers in your list.

They are proper marine cookers, much smaller and lighter (which will help with siting and installation and I am told can be started from cold in about 20 minutes.

 

The boaters I've met who have range cookers also usually have other cooking arrangements for use in summer..................

[luctor et emergo]

If you are considering an oil fired AGA, Rayburn etc why not also include the Dickinson and Sigmar diesel cookers in your list.

They are proper marine cookers, much smaller and lighter (which will help with siting and installation and I am told can be started from cold in about 20 minutes.

 

The boaters I've met who have range cookers also usually have other cooking arrangements for use in summer..................

 

ooohh, those are nice cookers. And they heat your water. Very tempting indeed....

[carlt]

ooohh, those are nice cookers. And they heat your water. Very tempting indeed....

I've got a Dickinson waiting to be fitted in the lifeboat.

 

Eventually I'll be able to give a report...

[andywatson]

I've got a Dickinson waiting to be fitted in the lifeboat.

 

Eventually I'll be able to give a report...

 

I look forward to your report.

I started a topic requesting views on the Dickinson/sigma cookers and didn't get much of a rsponse.

 

They look pretty good to me although, due to the start up time, getting the quick early morning cuppa when boating in summer might be their weakness.

[starman]

There is the optiom for both types of burner in both appliances and the pressure system is on all the time just at a different level so the on off principle doesnt apply. the older rayburns were certainly not pressurised and a friend of mine who has a pressure system is considering a conversion back because he has had both and reckons the old pot is far better, after all the idea of these cookers is the simplicity. The running costs are good when all the advantages are taken in to account. Our oil aga runs 24/7 365 days and cost £580 to run last year.

 

I'm not up to speed on the latest Agas - they may well have different burners now to comply with latest energy regs. The OP was querying fitment in a boat and I think the big advantage still of Heritage and others such as our Sandyford is that you don't have to have them running 24/7, 365 days a year which could become suffocatingly hot (or require an extra conventional hob for non-winter use) - the cooker and heating are entirely programmeable.

Our Sandyford which has a condensing type oil boilers runs central heating rads, plus underfloor heating downstairs for a 4 bed house, is used for all cooking and costs about £600 a year in oil.

Personally, though, on our boat we're quite happy with a sixty quid Ikea two burner gas hob and a Midi Prima grill/oven!

[Chertsey]

Wrigglefingers is getting one - I think a Rayburn - in her new boat and did a lot of research into it so would be worth PMing.

[magnetman]

I look forward to your report.

I started a topic requesting views on the Dickinson/sigma cookers and didn't get much of a rsponse.

 

They look pretty good to me although, due to the start up time, getting the quick early morning cuppa when boating in summer might be their weakness.

 

I ran a Rayburn MF (Multi Fuel) for about 5 winters on a narrow boat. It made the boat very comfortable, engine room kept really warm with a radiator and a big tank of hot water on demand. However as i was burning 50% wood 50% smokeless it did cause a high amount of airborne dust in the cabin which I found unpleasant.

 

I wouldn't fit one again, I prefer to have a gas cooker and an efficient and manageable multifuel stove such as the Villager Puffin or Becton Bunny.

 

If you were to run a slow start diesel range there is always the option of running a small electric kettle off an inverter (Kenwood do a 650w one) for the early morning cuppa.

[Pickles2]

We've got a Rayburn Royale solid fuel burner on our 70 footer and it works very well. A bit dusty but runs the central heating as well and we wouldn't be without it now. But it wouldn't suit everybody and cooking is a bit of a black art.

 

I reckon that it will use about 12 25kg bags of smokeless per month.

 

It was fitted and lit last month and it'll stay that way until April.

[Smelly]

I reckon that it will use about 12 25kg bags of smokeless per month.

 

That's quite a lot of coal, certainly compared to the brunel/villager/little wenlock/epping experiences I've had... Most I've ever burned in a month was 10 bags, and that in deepest winter.

[sueb]

We had a Rayburn burning wood or solid fuel. It served its purpose (cheap heat and hot water, we collected wood) for 15 ish yrs. It was dusty as has been said, it took ages to heat the boat from cold. We had/have a gas cooker as well, needed for the summer.

We now have a small solid fuel stove that heats the boat and water much more efficiently, takes up far less room and I wish we had got this instead of the Rayburn in the first place.

Sue

Edited December 14, 2009 by sueb

[noff]

we bought a 10 year old Rayburn to run hot water & cooking, had it craned aboard our old dutch barge , did not pass straight through the hull .. you never know.

Not fitted in yet but intend to run it on Kero as it was designed to, will let you know how it all goes over coming months. It has two pressure jets in the same as a 'modern' domestic baxi type boiler so can be serviced by oftec engineers (I hope).

They weigh approx a third of a ton so siting is important. Ours is still in temporary situ on wooden dowels ( the same way they moved the pyramids blocks)until we permanently fix it down, so easy to move as the moment.

I feel a new learning curve coming on..

[Wyn2joy]

Excellent! All of this is very helpful, and is leading to more research for me, which is fine. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for everyone weighing in. It's marvelous not to have to reinvent the wheel every time one is learning something new.

[soldthehouse]

I look forward to your report.

I started a topic requesting views on the Dickinson/sigma cookers and didn't get much of a rsponse.

 

They look pretty good to me although, due to the start up time, getting the quick early morning cuppa when boating in summer might be their weakness.

When Iwas considering a boat in the early nineties I was adamant that it was to be a Dickenson as I wouldnot have gas anywhere. They were relatively new to the canals then, but seemed to peak then disappear, or is that just my perception, something to do with the faff of flues and difficulty in regulating them. i would love to here from any dickinson die hards as I am going cold on the rayburn idea even though we wouldnot be without an aga in the house.

[bristol & argo]

That's quite a lot of coal, certainly compared to the brunel/villager/little wenlock/epping experiences I've had... Most I've ever burned in a month was 10 bags, and that in deepest winter.

 

I recon our Rayburn Regent averaged 1.5 bags a week, but we topped up with dry wood an hour before any serious cooking.... taybrite to keep it in, normal housecoal when we were in.

 

It was only really dusty if i was careless in re-fuelling and emptying.

 

It's amazing how much smoke can escape when that log won't quite fit in the firebox

 

Loved it - but then the only gas we had was a camping stove.

 

Simon.

[Strads]

Re Stoves / Ranges - The comments and confusion ( all well intended) show that there are a variety of stove manufactures out there Raeburn / Aga / esse etc etc and from my own knowledge (parents have had oil and gas fired agas for over 30 years) they do provide central heating and cooking for houses and of course boats,,, subject to suitably carefull installation.

 

 

As I have stated on several other threads we opted for a heritage Uno - as suitable for a boat - can be installed in one peice (subject to door size) and although a fair weigh ( we have positioned centrally is usefull ballast - we removed 2 palets of bricks)

 

Ours runs on a mixture of diesel(red) and kerosene ( as Ok'd by heritage) so we can take advantage of kerosene being @0.10 p per litre cheaper..

 

Recent running costs have been @ 20.00 squid a month for heating/hot water and cooking although we stick on for 15 munutes in the morning to warm up whilst we shower we dont cook in the mornings -..

 

so if you were to run abit longer etc an cook during the day then - pro rata to say 30/ 40 max ,,,, and we have a warm snug boat ( 5 Rads)

 

Re hertitage - they most helpfull and patient in answring questions / support - we are just satisfied customers....we also found an excellent local oftec engineer who enjoyed the "commisioning" challenge - he advised what he wanted to see - left me to install, returned toc heck / test and show me how to clean and service/fault find..

3 visits 150.00 squidd and 6 teas... well worth it