In message , Handsome Jack
writes
Muddymike posted
No need for electric kettle, toaster, oven or hob.

Actually lots of houses around here have Agas or equivalent, and
virtually every one also has an electric cooker as well. The Aga is
just so inconvenient for so many things.

We used an electric kettle as well as the range, and had a conventional
cooker, but that cooker was only used when the range was shut down for
cleaning, in the summer.

Not sure about the claims of wasted heat. Wasted in the sense that part
of the heat was not actually cooking anything, but that extra heat kept
our hot water hot, and meant the house was never cold. The flue ran up
through the centre of the house, and kept the chill off.

Our son was a baby then, and putting all those countless cloths and baby
grows around the range meant that drying was quick and easy.

Cooking was a pleasure. A range functions much like a slow cooker in
that casseroles and the like could be kept going almost forever without
spoiling. Baked apples were a dream. Daily attention was minimal - I
added fuel first thing in the morning and at night, removing ash at the
same time. That was it. Wifey opened up the fire before cooking late
afternoon, and closed afterwards, the range doing no more than ticking
over 20+ hours a day.

The range was fairly ancient when we bought the house, and I suspect had
been used by clueless owners. The water tank eventually cracked, so the
water heating side was disconnected, and the water tank filled with dry
sand. ISTR a discussion here about that, 15 or 16 years ago.

Things like ranges and open fires are not for everyone, but those like
us who love them would not be without them.
--
Graeme