Our Reimagined Aga range cookers vs new; the pitfalls?
We LOVE Aga range cookers and buying a brand new AGA is never a bad plan. We have plenty of fabulous accessories from chef pads to cookwares for you after all!
Buying a Blake & Bull Aga range cooker instead is not the second choice, just a different choice. It's a way of owning a piece of our industrial heritage brought up to date and reimagined for a second chapter in its life.
Aga range cookers are designed to last decades and they do. The main structure comprises large chunks of cast iron which, as long as they are not dumped at sea, will last almost indefinitely. It’s these that we restore and re-enamel to give yet more decades of service. The age of the cooker we recondition for you simply does not matter.
We build our cookers to order, so you get exactly what you want. Our electric system is controllable, flexible, reliable and cheap to run. Install wherever you choose with room venting. With our our 5 year warranty there are no surprises.
"Won't the cooker you renew be 30+ years old and contain parts from many cookers?"
Oh yes, in fact a cooker from Blake & Bull can be 80 years old! If you choose a ‘Standard’ model it could have originally been made as early as 1941, fabulous! It simply does not matter at all. All cookers are made of different parts of course, they weren’t made ‘as one’ in the factory, and most of ours are no different. We will occasionally keep older cookers together though, it just feels right to do so if they have a long history with one family for example.
"Will all the parts used be original?"
On a Blake & Bull reconditioned cooker all the cast iron parts will be original castings from the, now sadly closed, Coalbrookdale foundry (more on its 300+ year history). The electric system is independent and consumable parts like the lid liners for example, are Blake & Bull ‘Originals’. You can see the quality of these for yourself from our thousands of reviews!
"Will any of the insulation used be harmful?"
We use no dangerous insulation. Our modern mineral fibre insulation is bio-soluble. We wouldn’t want to work with anything dangerous on a day to day basis quite apart from it being silly to use it in our customers homes!
"Are your staff trained by Aga Rangemaster Ltd?"
Our team are not trained by AGA Rangemaster Ltd. We are installing our independent electric system. They are highly experienced and friendly!
"All cookers are different inside so will using a different fuel from that for which it was designed be successful?"
Our electric system has several variants specifically designed to work perfectly with any model of Aga range cooker made since 1941. Regardless of the original fuel your Blake & Bull reconditioned cooker will be efficient and safe. It was designed that way.
"Are new cookers cheaper to run than renewed?"
We'd pit our system against any in terms of efficiency. In our 'BIG survey' (March 2019) we asked 1367 owners for their annual fuel bill. Blake & Bull cookers were the cheapest to run when all responses were averaged for each fuel. Not much in it I'll grant you but still!
"Are the flue and cooker approved by the regulatory bodies?"
Well the flue is not an issue for us as we fit only electric cookers but the system itself is CE marked and meets all the relevant British standards.
"Is the cooker properly enamelled?"
A Blake & Bull reconditioned cooker is vitreous enamelled in one of our 57 colour options. It's done in exactly the same way as it would have been originally.
"A new cooker comes with a 1 year parts and labour warranty with another 4 years parts cover, how do Blake & Bull cookers compare?"
A Blake & Bull cooker comes with a 5 year parts and labour warranty just like our conversions. We are very confident in our work and the system itself. As your warranty comes to an end you can extend it indefinitely by joining our care plan. Blake & Bull are currently the only company offering care plans. It's a measure of the confidence we have in our workmanship.
"What is not included in the price?"
- You may need a plinth, we build our cookers in the traditional way, from the ground up. You can build an Aga range cooker on a fully level solid floor, or you can make your own level plinth to your desired height. We can supply a metal one for a little extra, and can even explore a bespoke colour or hand finished metal surfaces.
- We provide black side panels as in nearly all circumstances these are hidden, and will match the hob section. If you would like a colour, we can help. Be it a stock colour {25} or a bespoke colour. Charges apply.
- If you would like full enamelled domes on your younger model eCOOK we may be able to provide this - these will be extra.