Installing oil heating, need advice on boiler

nic1811

I am moving into a new house next month which has storage heaters. We want to intall an oil heating system but don't know much about what to look out for/best boilers etc. I would really appreciate any advice anyone can offer.

In particular what are the best makes/models of boiler?

The house is a 4 bedroom, 2 public room stable conversion in Lanarkshire, Scotland (between Glasgow and Edinburgh)

I am in the process of trying to track down reliable trademen to give us quotes but the more i know beforehand the better i.e what to ask them etc.

Thanks in advance.

1woof

I am in process of looking to change from LPG to oil and am also looking at getting in quotes. One thing you can easily do is calculate the size of boiler you need. Try here:

Boiler calculator
www.
energysavingtrust.org.uk/business/Business/Housing-professionals/Interactive-tools/Domestic-heating-sizing-wizard/Whole-house-boiler-sizing-Tool

(sorry I'm a new user so cannot post links - you know what to do to get at it though )

I'm sure more informed folk will be along soon, but things I have picked up from here:
British Gas will be amongst the highest quote.
Talk to (future) neighbours to get recommended tradesmen to get local quotes from.
Hope of some help.

nic1811

Thanks for that, i'll check it out later.

Does anyone think its best to get a heating engineer to do plumbing, radiators and boiler or would you normally get a plumber to do the radiator and pipes bit and then a heating engineer to do the boiler bit?

owned_by_2_Siamese

Hi!
Welcome to the world of rural heating!

I live in a remote rural area off the mains and have a three year old system. My view is that you should get someone in who can do everything - that way any problems are not 'the other guy's fault' and everything is comapatable. Make sure you get an OFTEC reg installer (search for the OFTEC website and there will be a list of local installers) You will almost certainly find if you live in a rural community there is a 'local' guy (ask anyone with an oil tank in their garden - they will point you in the right direction!)

As regards boilers - I went for a conventional system (not a combi) as oil is not as instantaneous to fire up as gas! - I have a pressurised hot water cylinder (Telford Tornado or Mainsflo is similar) Make sure you ask for an oversized expansion vessle (if its not big enough you'll get a leaking tank (£1000 + in a few years) an installer will know what you mean !

I have a Worcester Danesmoor Condensing (robust) not been completely trouble free but Worcester fixed under warranty in the past and trouble free since, so I'd say I was happy. Grant boilers have also been recommended to me.

Things to think about! Dont be tempted to have the boiler in a living area (e.g kitchen) they are noisy - (like a roaring jet engine!) if you can garage is good bet - unlike gas many can be installed outside - (and are purpose made for this) also yo have to have something called a Tiger Loop (or similar) whcih gets the air out of the oil before it goes into the boiler - make sure this is installed OUTSIDE! (neighbours was put next to boiler in utility they will release the smell of oil as they work!)
The Tank! - get the biggest you can (but under 2500 litres as oil deleiveries over this amount get VAT at full rate not 5%). Rememeber oil is always cheaper (ha ha ha) over 1000 litres - our tank is 1300 litres so its hard to get 1000 litres in when the price drops (ha ha ha !) 2000 litres would be agood size.

Good Luck!