Why does my Aga keep going out
There is nothing more infuriating than waking up to a cold Aga! Here we are going to go through some of the possible causes. We by no means advocate any DIY work on your appliance, that should be left to the professionals. This post is to outline some of the causes.
Why has my oil Aga gone out
Oil Agas are a delicate breed, once they are set up correctly they shouldn’t need adjusting.
The telltale sign of an oil Aga needing a service. The Aga starts to lose its temperature (mercury retreating towards the black). And you may notice you can smell the Aga a bit more than usual.
In this scenario, the burner is almost completely blocked (carbon). And requires a visit from your local Aga engineer to give it a service.
Another reason for your Aga losing its heat is there is a fault with the oil supply. This could be as simple as running out of oil, or the external filters need replacing. Or it could be something more sinister such as water in the oil tank or a faulty fire valve.
Why is my Gas Aga losing heat?
There are 3 different types of gas Aga that I’m going to talk about. I will break them down into subcategories. Making the navigation easier for you
Conventional flue Aga
A conventional flue or open flue Aga is one with a pipe coming out the top and into a chimney or flue system.
Common reasons for these to go out is the thermocouple. Which is a safety device designed to keep the burner lit. And to shut the gas supply off if there was a situation where the flame went out. When The thermocouple has failed the pilot will go out as soon as you take your finger off the control knob.
Depending on the age of you Aga you may have a flue spillage thermostat. This again is a safety device designed to shut the gas off if there is an unsafe situation. These parts can become faulty and ‘nuisance trip’. Or they can fail altogether and give the same symptoms as a failed thermocouple.
Rarely it can be the gas valve its self which has failed and in which case needs replacing. In any of these cases its best to call out your engineer who can get you going again.
Balanced flue Aga
A balanced flue is situated on an outside wall and the flue goes straight through to the outside. The burner and flue ways are completely sealed off from the room. It takes its air for combustion through the intake of the flue and the exhaust gasses out the other side of the flue. A balanced flue Aga can suffer from the same as above. In terms of thermocouple but they wouldn’t have a flue spillage thermostat.
From my experience, I have found that the most annoying way a balanced flue Aga can fail is when it starts to go out all the time for no apparent reason ( sound familiar?). Usually meaning the seals inside the Aga have failed. You will require an engineers visit to strip and rebuild the top end of your cooker. Replacing seals and repacking the insulation.
Power flue Aga
A power flue aga is pretty much what it sounds like. It has a fan within the shrouds at the back of the top plate. Which is there to push the products of combustion down the flue pipe to where it is terminated on an outside wall. Common faults on a power flue include the same thermocouple problems as above. As well as fan faults. You will notice your power flue fan is on its way out as it will get noisier and noisier. Until one day it jams and stops making noise altogether. If the fan isn’t making a noise and it has jammed. The Aga will stay on the pilot light and you will notice the temperature dropping.
A power flue Aga has more parts so potentially more to go wrong. If yours has gone out and you cant relight. Best to call your engineer