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Hello I am under great pressure from my other half, to install an aga in our new boat that we are purchasing next spring as a sailaway. Does anyone have any ideas as to which model (second hand) would be most suitable for a narrow boat? Can our dream become a reality or are we just two young romantics?

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I know of one boat that had one fitted. 13f/t wide beam built in Bristol. It had to be craned on the boat before the upper steelwork was finished. Total madness IMO A steel boat is hot enough in the summer without heating it internally too with an AGA. There are smaller models like Rayburn which I've also heard have been fitted to boats.

 

I believe the one fitted to the Bristol boat (RLL Boats) was a wood burning unit. The chap who owned it called Steve was an Eco friendly type of guy. Nice chap though, always wondered how he got on as he was finishing his fit out on the water with family on board, we last saw him on the K&A Bathampton 5 years ago.

 

If you're out there Steve, give us a shout cheers.gif

Edited by Julynian
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Hello I am under great pressure from my other half, to install an aga in our new boat that we are purchasing next spring as a sailaway. Does anyone have any ideas as to which model (second hand) would be most suitable for a narrow boat? Can our dream become a reality or are we just two young romantics?

 

The most suitable AGA model for a narrowboat would be the Agathermic cooker, unfortunately they've not been made for (guessing) 40 years or more and even if you could find one there are no spares. So absolutely no help to you, other than saying I think a full-sized AGA in a narrowboat would be too big. Look at smaller range cookers, though I know they are not the same and cooking is less satisfactory.

 

Tim

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Well have considered and looked at the Rayburns as well as the aga's. I was considering getting a kerosine fuelled aga rather than a solid fuel and having an oil tank fitted to fuel it. I realise my shell builder will have to put her in before the roof goes on! Did you have any problems with the flue and was it a drain on your batteries? Also do you know what model Rayburn you had?

 

Thanks Tim, we were looking at a two oven model round about 900x670 , there are quite a few old models on eBay at very reasonable prices, but as you say if you can't get the parts then not much good to us.

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Thanks Tim, we were looking at a two oven model round about 900x670 , there are quite a few old models on eBay at very reasonable prices, but as you say if you can't get the parts then not much good to us.

Remember it's not just parts, AGA's are expensive to move/transport, I local chap to us charges £500 + to move an AGA from one property to another if he can complete it in an 8 hour day.

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AGAs kick out a lot of heat, so you'd need an alternative means of cooking during the summer or you'd end up cooking yourself, specially in a narrow boat! But they are lovely to cook on :) Not sure about current models, but I think the boiler versions only provide hot water so you'd need something else to do central heating. Though my parents one also heats the towel rail radiator in the upstairs bathroom.

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I think if its just a boat for leisure use I wouldn't bother, we have a Rayburn that was already installed but rarely have it on in the summer apart from a few cool days, its great during Easter cruising but we don't do much winter cruising, so you can be paying for something which looks nice but takes up space. Model we have is a Rayburn Royal. For a liveaboard it makes much more sense.

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On the RCD thing, one installation I know of has the pump running continuously because that is the only way that guarantees the heat is taken away in the event of the oven running away. Naturally the pump plays havoc with the batteries in the summer

 

Has anyone else come across this?

 

Richard

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Hi Matthew, thanks for the reply. We are planning the boat as a live aboard and although we love the look of them we also want to use it as an everyday means of cooking. Is yours multi fuel? Also do you have any problems with the flue? Someone told me the flue would be to short for a boat!

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Both Agas and Rayburns (which nowadays are made by the same company) come in a variety of widths. The key differences, as I understand them, are:

- A Rayburn will run hot water and central heating. An Aga will run hot water only.

- An Aga needs to be on all the time. A Rayburn does not. So it need not cook you in summer.

- A Rayburn is not quite standard worktop height, so needs to be mounted on a plinth about 3 or 4 inches tall. I am not sure if the same is true of Agas.

 

We currently have a Rayburn 460K (oil fired) at home. It is about three feet wide. Previously we had a reconditioned Royal which was slightly narrower. Less powerful new models are, from memory, a few inches narrower, and you would need a less powerful one for use on a boat. Both the models mentioned have two ovens but, whereas on the Royal the smaller over was just for keeping things warm and heating up plates, on new models it gets hotter than that, half the temperature of the main oven.

 

For expert advice on reconditioned models you could contact Barry Charman who trades as Tradcookers and as Snugburners. Somewhere in N. Wales. He knows what he's talking about.

 

Single-width range cookers are also available, the best known being the Heritage brand.

Edited by Athy
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We had a Hancock & Lane boat here a few years ago with an Esse oil fired wick type in it complete with tailor made front well oil tank ect. The owner was forever experimenting with different grades of fuel, trimming wicks, extending chimney lengths to try and get it to burn properly ending up with a chimney sticking up about 10' above the roof.

However he could never get it to work satisfactory and got me to remove it which i did by winching the thing up scaffold planks up and out of the front doors. The ensemble is still kicking around here somewhere.

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Having lived with and used both AGA and Rayburn cookers, if you are going to have one, go for Rayburn. Agas are not suitable for boats, as they are heat storage cookers. They work by having a relatively small fire/burner that slowly heats the cooker up over several hours (in the case of the 3 oven ones overnight). They retain most of this heat for use in cooking. The cool-down period is as long.

 

Rayburns on the other hand can heat from cold in 20 minutes or so.

 

Its feasible to run a Oil or gas fire Rayburn on a timer, this is NOT so with an AGA.

 

The Rayburn is considerably lighter (I know I've moved many of both types).

 

As others have pointed out the Rayburn can produce hot water for central heating as well as for domestic use. The AGA is not designed for this.

 

Don't get me wrong AGA's are brilliant machines in the right setting (Large farmhouse kitchens).

 

Both have serious drawbacks for the modern cook (No grill for instance)

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Both have serious drawbacks for the modern cook (No grill for instance)

So, grilling is a recent invention?

You can grill food in a Rayburn, by putting the oven tin (which comes with a removable rack or griddle) on the top shelf setting. It's a bit slower than using a gas grill, yes, because a Rayburn heats its oven through the iron lining of the oven, not by means of an element. In practice we rarely use this facility; but we have a ridged stove-top pan (not sure of its real name, we call it the oobly-doobly pan) which does a similar job - you can pour off any fat or liquor as it drips down between the ridges.

I have looked up the width of the less powerful 300-series Rayburns. They're 2'9" wide. Yes, a longer flue chimney will give better burning qualities, but as you would rarely cook on the Rayburn whilst on the move, erecting one should not be a problem - just as you see people erecting ten-foot-tall TV aerials when they have moored up for the night.

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