Oil Tank refilling advice please?

aliasojo

Recently moved into a rented property. There is a large oil tank in the garden, takes 2500 litres.

We estimate (going by the levels suggested in the manuals we were left) that there is around 500 litres left in the tank.

We see a lot of people round about us getting their tanks filled up now, I assume it's before the cold weather sets in (which in this area could be anytime soon!).

Never having had oil before we have no clue how much we should be putting in the tank. There's a 500l minimum order for the suppliers here, do we get 500l or 1000l or more?

We're told if we get 500l now and need more in winter, the cost will likely be a fair bit higher.

The house is an old stone property with poor insulation so I'm assuming we will be using a lot of oil to heat the place?

Really haven't got a clue. I'd welcome any advice.

(Apart from wear more jumpers. )

Nile

aliasojo wrote: »

Recently moved into a rented property. There is a large oil tank in the garden, takes 2500 litres.

We estimate (going by the levels suggested in the manuals we were left) that there is around 500 litres left in the tank.

We see a lot of people round about us getting their tanks filled up now, I assume it's before the cold weather sets in (which in this area could be anytime soon!).

Never having had oil before we have no clue how much we should be putting in the tank. There's a 500l minimum order for the suppliers here, do we get 500l or 1000l or more?

We're told if we get 500l now and need more in winter, the cost will likely be a fair bit higher.

The house is an old stone property with poor insulation so I'm assuming we will be using a lot of oil to heat the place?

Really haven't got a clue. I'd welcome any advice.

(Apart from wear more jumpers. )

Hello aliasojo

Why not have a word with your neighbours and ask them for advice.;) If you explain that you've just moved in, they're bound to want to help you.

I saw something recently on tv (I think it was on countryfile) about a group of people getting together to purchase heating oil in bulk............to get their oil at a cheaper price.

It suits the heating oil supplier because they only have to deal with one order (rather than lots of people's orders per village) and they only make one delivery to the village, rather than lots of separate deliveries on different dates.

When you ask your neighbours for advice, find out if they've created a village bulk buying group................and if not, suggest that you have a meeting in the village hall to organise a bulk buying group.

Regards

Nile

welda

First of all, is the tank steel or plastic? If steel, you have to make sure tank is in good condition ie: capable of holding a full load of fuel.

When I used kero, I had 2500 litre tank also, I would purchase 2000 litres, which I knew would last me approx 1 year (weather Dependant)

The bigger the order, less I paid per litre. I am talking about pre 2004 prices, and I know purchasing 2000 ltres now cost a lot of money, fill it up if you have the funds?

HTH.

aliasojo

When I say people round us, I mean in the general area, not actually beside us. (We are in the country again and see the tankers disappearing up lanes etc.)

aliasojo

welda wrote: »

First of all, is the tank steel or plastic? If steel, you have to make sure tank is in good condition ie: capable of holding a full load of fuel.

When I used kero, I had 2500 litre tank also, I would purchase 2000 litres, which I knew would last me approx 1 year (weather Dependant)

The bigger the order, less I paid per litre. I am talking about pre 2004 prices, and I know purchasing 2000 ltres now cost a lot of money, fill it up if you have the funds?

HTH.

It's plastic.

Not sure if we could stretch to 2000l at the mo' tbh. Interesting that 2000 l lasted you roughly a year though.

paddy's_mum

www.boilerjuice.com

They may be the people who filled what is now your tank in the past. Why not email them (if they do cover your area) and ask if they can tell you what the average useage in previous years has been? It might give you some idea, a starting point.

You might also be well advised to find out about security of oil tanks as with the high cost of fuel nowadays, there is a growing trade in nicked kerosene. Your local police may have a leaflet about this very problem and be able to offer advice. HTH

welda

aliasojo wrote: »

It's plastic.

Not sure if we could stretch to 2000l at the mo' tbh. Interesting that 2000 l lasted you roughly a year though.

250+ yo house, 2 foot thick walls, secondary glazed windows, trv's on fitted to rads, boiler located in well insulated outhouse, all these little points go a long way to eeking out fuel.

We also work through the day, so no need for heat, have a frost stat installed, so heating would kick in during extreme conditions.

Important points I did not mention when stating duration 2000L would last (approx)

Regards.

PeggyAnn_2

Boiler Juice is an organisation that buys oil in bulk on behalf of its members. We've successfully used them in the past and it worked out cheaper than staying with the same supplier.

Because we've just bought a cottage with oil central heating we've also been investigating how much to buy. We found buying more at a time made very little difference to the price. What's far more important is what the likely price of oil is in the future, and there are various views on this.

However don't run down your tank down too low in case we get a prolonged cold snap. Not only will you use more fuel then, but the roads may be impassable.

As a new member I can't post links yet. Please could someone post a link to Boiler Juice? Thanks.

P.S. Just seen that Paddy's Mum has already posted a link to Boiler Juice whilst I was typing my reply.

Lotus-eater

There is a sticky thread on the utilities board about this.http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78

Boilerjuice does a decent price chart, but isn't usually the cheapest now.

Someone posted a list of suppliers on the sticky thread near to the end.

The main thing to do, is to ring round (or do it online) all of the suppliers you can find who will deliver to you and get the best price.

You want a minimum of 1000 litres. The price may well go up in the winter, that is the traditional way of looking at it. No one really knows what will happen.

If you've got poor insulation, you may be spending alot to heat the house, but thick stone walls will help. You may well have to get used to a lower temp than you are used to.

keep a sharp eye on the amount of oil you use.

aliasojo

Thank you everyone. All very helpful as usual. :beer:

Nile

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].