We are seeing a real increase in sales of Aderco 5000 as a fix for people suffering from Aga oil problems.
As a result I felt it was worthwhile writing a page to discuss the issue and also the topics associated with this problem.
There is no doubt about the level of frustration our customers experience as a result of an Aga or Rayburn actually going out as a direct result of poor fuel or simply just the new low sulphur fuels. It seems there is nothing worse than a cold Aga especially when the cause is not due to someone forgetting to order Aga oil or even forgetting to have their Aga serviced. It can take several days for a range cooker such as an Aga / Rayburn or Esse to return to full temperature following an outage. It appears that not all fuel is made equal and customers who have never experienced a problem and always use the same oil supplier can suddenly become afflicted – even when their Aga is only a couple of years old.
There are other products on the market but most of them contain solvents and organometallic compounds. Aderco, on the other hand, is 100% vegetal-organic, ashless and metal-free and so it is fundamentally different in its nature and operation. I am often asked the following “my Aga oil delivery already has an additive XYZ but im still experiencing difficulties, can I use Aderco at the same time ?” Officially we obviously cannot say that Aderco will work with unknown third party products, however the concentrations involved are very small, 1:5000 – and Aderco does not have a chemical action on the fuel, only a physical one; as such it is unlikely there will be any impact when using Aderco at the same time as another remaining product. Anecdotally I do know of many customers who have used the Aderco at the same time and to-date I have no reported incidence of problems. However it has to be said you do this at your own risk.
We also hear often from service engineers – plagued by carbon issues created from low sulphur fuels. I remember one guy in particular telling me he was thinking of leaving the business – despite 30 years of experience. He said he could no longer afford to let down his customers in the way he has in the last 2 years. Three weeks after visiting an elderly lady with her Aga who lived in a very remote rural location she calls him to say her Aga has gone out. He told me that the Aga was perfectly serviced and yet he is obligated as her engineer to return (a 120mile round trip) at his cost to clean the burner again as it is now completely clogged with carbon – after just 3 weeks. This is a common story and is forcing him out of a job. Fortunately I know that Aderco does fix the issue – the problem is just getting the word out to people so that they understand why it is happening and what they can do to fix it.