I was wondering if anyone has experience cooking on an AGA legacy range? We went to look at some today and found out that the depth is about 3 inches shorter than some other ranges (wolf ect). We really like the look of the AGA but the salesman just kept hammering the loss of space with the difference, so I would love to hear any real world experience.
The other range we were considering was a Blue Star mainly because of the high BTU along with the customization choices:
BTU’s
15000 Aga
16000 Wolf
18-22000 Blue Star
Does this difference show itself when used in real world home cooking?
Also on the AGA the numerous ovens had us thinking we might have to get a wall unit to supplement for large items (turkeys ect)
I think we would buy the AGA if it’s at all practical, but some of the differences have me wondering?
The other range that caught our eye was a Thermador. After talking to him about it found out you get a free dishwasher with purchase (which we need). So now its definately one to look into.
Any thoughts on these ranges in particular?
My only comment would to bring in a full and half sheet pan to the showroom. If you cannot fit the former you may be irritated - if you cannot fit the latter you’d be wasting your money.
Then, I’d measure from the bottom rack on the oven to the top and see what that correlates to on your current oven and finally if there is a backsplash on the model you want to buy, see if you can set 2, 14" skillets on a burner back to back.
if you cannot hold two instruments like that on the top of the range, then, well, I’d be irritated and imagine you would be too.
My $.02, YMMV.
Good luck. Oven/range shopping can be fun!!
Chris, thanks for the input. Regarding the skillets the layout is one I havent seen much of in that the burner layout is like this:
The big burners are the x’s which would certainly accomodate big skillets, but the 0’s are much closer and no way your getting 4 big ones on there. Can you see benefit or downside to this layout? the - – – are just spaces
This will be our first gas burner and real range of any kind so its all new to us…most anything will be an upgrade to the irritation I receive on a daily basis now, but for the cost of these things I want to make a wise decision.
Robert,
We looked at quite a few before we built our kitchen. The ranges were unacceptable for large dinners, having so much heat coming from a single unit was intolerable for the cook and anybody else hanging out in the kitchen. We redesigned and went with a Thermador home/commercial gas cook top in a center island, and two Dacor commercial sized regular/convection ovens, stack mounted in the wall unit directly behind the center island prep area. The Thermador unit is six burners and a grill. The Dacor units take full sheet or commercial sized pans. The hood over the range really reduces heat and of course smoke.
Our sister-in-law has a Wolf range at her house. The kitchen becomes intolerably hot when cooking for 8 people and the adjoining dining room uncomfortable. It may be that her range hood is inefficient but I have to wear shorts to her house to survive the heat. If you go with a gas range, be sure to have good ventilation.
The heat from some of the professional ranges can also be a fire hazard. You need to check with your fire code and the specific unit installation specs. Some professional stoves require heat resistant tile and/or insulation, with adequate air space between the unit and walls and cabinets.
You also want to consider service.
I had been looking at Wolf, Aga, and Viking. A big part of my decision making process was influenced by asking, “What happens when the thing won’t work?”.
I went with a Five Star cooktop in my recent kitchen remodel. All 6 burners on the cooktop go from 300 btus to 22,000 btus. Pretty awesome.
Also, paired it with a Venta-Hood that will crank out 900 cfm, very quietly.
I haven’t had problems with the kitchen overheating – however, I think that is largely due to replacing all of my incandescent light bulbs with flourescent. While the flourescent bulbs have various drawbacks (I only bought them because I couldn’t find any new incandescents), they certainly drop the temperature in my kitchen.
If you are going to go full commercial you need to have a good strong hood that vents outside. The pop up center island ones don’t move enough air. It is not only smoke but like other said it is the heat. I have 6 15,000 BTU burners that I can run at the same time with little or no impact to the overall temp of the kitchen. THe more BTUs the better IMO.
GH
We have an AGA and it is fabulous … but unusual. You need to learn an intuitive way of cooking.
Anthony.
I haven’t looked, but what’s this about the depth of the range? Standard counter depth in the USofA is 24", so I can’t imagine anyone making a 12" range for the American market.
Randy,
Do you mean that the oven(s) in the range are causing the excess heat? I’d never considered that…
Bob,
This was one of my main questions. The 36" Aga is 24" deep. The salesman kept saying how much that lack of depth compared to the 48" Wolf would hurt us (it is 28 1/2"). When I looked it up the 48" Aga is actually 25 1/2" so apples to apples is about a 3" difference. Not sure what that all means as far as counter depth, the Wolf must stick out a bit from the counter?
