The subject of todays Aga range cooker re-enamelling blog post was in sunny Worcestershire. Installed in the late 1950's we don't believe it had had any attention since. The job involved the following elements. Replacing the hob was complicated by the hot water pipes that were staying in-situ as they were too difficult to move!
- I replaced the Aga range cooker's hob and lids with re-enamelled versions
- While the hob was off I topped up the insulation.
- I replaced the hob caps (and the screws below them) with new ones
- I replaced the door liners and insulation and also added seals for a little efficiency boost.
- I replaced the door washers
- I deep cleaned the front of the Aga range cooker
Here is the first pic before I started, the scale of the job is apparent! I had to remove some of the tiles to the rear, these are going to be made good by the customers granddaughter!
The hot water pipes, headed to a storage tank above, can be seen more clearly in the pic below. This corner section of the hob cannot be removed without messing with the hot water pipes. We didn't want to do this so instead I drilled out the 3 screws that attach the two sections and removed the main hob separately.
I didn't quote to replace the smoke box plate and spin wheel so thought I'd have a go at cleaning it, you'll have to read on to see how I managed!
The front of the cooker was to be cleaned only too, you can see the scale of the challenge after 60 odd years of hard work!
So here goes, first job is to get the hob off. I could remove only one lid on site so the second came off with the hob! You can see the corner plate with pipes happily in situ. There is actually quite a lot of insulation here, albeit the old fashioned 'talcum' like material called kieselguhr. I've made a start on the deep cleaning in this pic and the front looks a little better already.
The roasting door was actually cracked thanks, the current owners were told, to an exploding potato that caused the oven door to fly open with tremendous force. Can a baked potato really cause this?! Terrifying...
So here are the results of my cleaning efforts, quite the difference and VERY satisfying albeit not perfect. I could not remove the thermometer to replace so it is staying as is.
New top is on! What do you think of my cleaning efforts on the flue spin wheel and plate?!
Here is a zoomed out version of the whole top. I also cleaned the enamel plate around the pipes to back left of course. It doesn't match the new piece perfectly of course but as that area gets little wear it looked surprisingly good when cleaned up perfectly.
I never can resist a zoomed in arty enamel shot ;)
And finally this is where I was working, love my job!
