Another first timer with heating oil advice please

grey_lady

Our first time with heating oil and looks like we have let the tank run dry. We have a rayburn for heating 7 radiators set to come on for 6 hours a day at 21degrees and underfloor heating in one room, we only turned the underfloor heating on a couple of days ago. The rayburn also heats the hot water and we cook on it 5 nights a week.

6 weeks ago we noticed a problem with it tripping out when the cooker was on for a couple of hours if the heating was on as well, we also noticed that the oil level indicator device wasn't working and called an engineer out, he told us that the tank was just under half full and ordered a spare part. Think he then forgot about us until I happened to chase up yesterday.

But came home to no heating, rayburn not receiving oil and tank sounds empty although waiting for daylight to check.

So, is it possible that we have got through 500 litres of oil in 6 weeks?
The previous tenant told us that a tank lasted him over a year so i assumed that we had a few months, if we have got through that much then heating is going to be a lot more expensive than I thought and I guess we have to pay for an engineer to bleed the oil through now.

suki1964

grey_lady wrote: »

Our first time with heating oil and looks like we have let the tank run dry. We have a rayburn for heating 7 radiators set to come on for 6 hours a day at 21degrees and underfloor heating in one room, we only turned the underfloor heating on a couple of days ago. The rayburn also heats the hot water and we cook on it 5 nights a week.

6 weeks ago we noticed a problem with it tripping out when the cooker was on for a couple of hours if the heating was on as well, we also noticed that the oil level indicator device wasn't working and called an engineer out, he told us that the tank was just under half full and ordered a spare part. Think he then forgot about us until I happened to chase up yesterday.

But came home to no heating, rayburn not receiving oil and tank sounds empty although waiting for daylight to check.

So, is it possible that we have got through 500 litres of oil in 6 weeks?
The previous tenant told us that a tank lasted him over a year so i assumed that we had a few months, if we have got through that much then heating is going to be a lot more expensive than I thought and I guess we have to pay for an engineer to bleed the oil through now.

Perfectly possible - I went through twice that amount in the same time

home-heating-oil

Hmm.. What size is your tank? And was it really half full? When was the Rayburn last serviced? and how old is it? Do you have double glazing? Thermostatic valves on your radiators? Do you have a lock on your tank and is it solid? Sorry for all the questions but they all have a bearing on the usage. It would be very unlikely for any heating system to use less than 500ltrs per year. The average is 2-3 fills per year.

The not so bad news is that the oil price is dropping so it is a good time to replenish.

grey_lady

Thanks for the replies - the tank is 1000 litres, it was the service engineer who looked inside and confirmed that it was just under
half full 6 weeks (plus a couple of days) ago - it was, as far as I know last serviced in the summer.

Double glazing and valves on radiators - yes, but I possibly have the thermostat set a little to high at 21 - 21.5, its quite open plan downstairs and always seems chilly even at 21.

Just paid £485 inc vat for a next day delivery of 1000 litres - I guess though that the rate of usage drops off in the summer? Seems odd that the previous tenant didnt fill it in over a year, but I have a feeling he turned off the radiators in some rooms.

So if 2-3 fills a year is correct then we're looking at 485*2.5=1212 a year or budgeting £120 a month on heating oil which seems fairly high to me.

Suki - you really went through 1000 litres in 6 weeks? - sounds like your annual oil bill must be really high.

suki1964

grey_lady wrote: »

Thanks for the replies - the tank is 1000 litres, it was the service engineer who looked inside and confirmed that it was just under
half full 6 weeks (plus a couple of days) ago - it was, as far as I know last serviced in the summer.

Double glazing and valves on radiators - yes, but I possibly have the thermostat set a little to high at 21 - 21.5, its quite open plan downstairs and always seems chilly even at 21.

Just paid £485 inc vat for a next day delivery of 1000 litres - I guess though that the rate of usage drops off in the summer? Seems odd that the previous tenant didnt fill it in over a year, but I have a feeling he turned off the radiators in some rooms.

So if 2-3 fills a year is correct then we're looking at 485*2.5=1212 a year or budgeting £120 a month on heating oil which seems fairly high to me.

Suki - you really went through 1000 litres in 6 weeks? - sounds like your annual oil bill must be really high.

5 bedrooms and three receptions and three bathrooms - big house

Add two olds who are home all day - heating costs were heading to 50 quid a week

Yes heating oil is extremely expensive and three fills a year is about the norm ( we hit four our first full winter). Now however I have stoves installed, this means the oil only needs to be used part of the day to keep the non living rooms warm enough and parents and myself have control on how hot we want our living rooms - they like theirs around 24 whereas Im happy enough at 21. I also dont have the rads on in the rooms my parents dont use

devildog

2/3 times a year!! lol More like once every 10/11 months for me(and I don't scimp on the heating)

grey_lady

How come your much lower than the average Devildog?
I'm wondering how many hours a day in winter you have your heating / hot water on,
how many radiators you have and what temp?

suki1964

Also size of house and location, insulation etc etc all play a part in how much oil is used

I gather that 2000 ltrs is the norm ( dont quote me im just sure thats what those who know more then me quote) and the norm being a three bedroom house family of four scenario

Myself - bloody massive house in the middle of a field on the NE coast of NI with two olds at home all day - Im needing more then the norm

devildog

Hot water is on for 1/2 hr in morning and evening. Heating off in summer(obviously) in winter(like now ) it is constantly on, at night it is turned down to 15(one thermostat only-no seperate ones for rads) In the day it can vary between 15-19, sometimes going up to 20 in the evening. Nine rads running in total. 3 bed detached surrounded by fields!!

grey_lady

ah - I wonder if my hot water is on for to long then, I think its 5 or 6 hours a day and it only needs to do two showers and the odd bath.

devildog

Could be, that is quite a long time to keep the hot water going for a couple of showers I think it is all trial and error. The thread about whether to keep heating on constantly or to have it on for short bursts when it gets cold is a good one. What has worked for me is keeping it on but some would argue for not doing this.