How to determine the oil type

april89

We moved into our house a few months ago and the oil tank has slowly been going down. It's currently on 3/8ths of a tank so there's no urgency but we wanted to work out what we need to do when it comes to refilling and we realised we don't actually know what type of oil we need to buy. We understand that there are two main types? But there are no lables on the tank. We might be being really stupid here but how do we find out what type of oil we'd need to order more of?

Thanks!

matelodave

Check your boiler instructions or handbook. If you dont have one, look for the boiler spec plate (make, model no etc) and look it up on Google or phone the manufacturer.
Or even put in on here and someone might help you

Ebe_Scrooge

Unless your boiler is very old, it'll almost certainly be Kerosene, or 28-sec - this is what pretty much all domestic installations run on. A useful little article here : https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/heating-oil/article/heating-oil-explained/what-is-heating-oil


But if you have any doubts, then follow the above advice from Matelodave.

dogshome

Welcome to Oil Fired heating - Things you need to Know.

If you don't have paperwork showing when the boiler was last serviced, and it needs to be done annually, get one done now.

Do not sign up with any supplier for automatic refills.
Build a list of Local Suppliers from Yellow pages, (4 or 5) and phone each of them for their price per litre on that day

Oil prices are tied to the worldwide market and are very volatile, but whatever the state of the market, the best prices will be offered in July when suppliers are desperate for orders

april89

Thanks dogshome. We've been spoilt by always having gas before so it's abit of a learning curve. I have no idea how oil compares in terms of efficiency to gas central heating but it's academic as we can't get gas!

I think we have about 500 litres left in the tank (my OH says its a 1800L tank and the gauge has just gone down to 3 out of 8 bars) but I'm not certain that will see us through until July as I think we've used two bars since October. It might do but I assume it's like anything. The more urgently you need it the harder it is to get a good deal?

I also saw on one oil website that the quote asked whether a standard lorry can access the property. This may seem like a stupid question but is a 'standard' oil delivery lorry about the same length as a standard 7.5 tonne lorry?

J_B

april89 wrote: »

I think we have about 500 litres left in the tank (my OH says its a 1800L tank and the gauge has just gone down to 3 out of 8 bars)

Do you trust the gauge?

Can you 'dip' the tank?

april89

Perhaps naively we have just assumed that the gauge is largely accurate. I'm not sure whether there's a dipstick built in. I'll have a look at the weekend. Otherwise I assume we can just get a stick to dip but being a horizontal cylinder how easy is it to get an accurate manual reading?

J_B

april89 wrote: »

Otherwise I assume we can just get a stick to dip

A clean garden cane perhaps? Broom stale?

april89 wrote: »

..... but being a horizontal cylinder how easy is it to get an accurate manual reading?

π R squared?

april89

J_B wrote: »

π R squared?

:whistle: oh my it's been a long day. I just didn't think about the depth being a segment of a circle! I know I've a lot to learn but I promise GCSE mathematics isn't one of them!!! :rotfl:

Ebe_Scrooge

april89 wrote: »

:whistle: oh my it's been a long day. I just didn't think about the depth being a segment of a circle! I know I've a lot to learn but I promise GCSE mathematics isn't one of them!!! :rotfl:

For all practical purposes, you don't need to get an accurate reading. Just use a garden cane, poke it all the way down until it touches the bottom of the tank. You can see where the top of the tank comes up to on the cane. Pull the cane out, you can see how far up the oil has come. It's then very simple to visually estimate whether the tank is 3/4 full, half full, 1/10th full, whatever. I usually order more when it's about 1/10th full.


Of course it'll never be accurate, as most tanks these days are cylindrical rather than square. But it's near enough in practice.


As to your other question : "is a 'standard' oil delivery lorry about the same length as a standard 7.5 tonne lorry?" A standard lorry is just the same as the petrol tankers you see driving down the motorway every day. If you live in a fairly "standard" house within a hundred feet or so of a road, then a standard tanker will be fine. Having seen loads of deliveries being made over the years in and around my area, those tanker drivers are very skillful, and can get their wagons pretty much anywhere. And they have very long hoses, so don't need to get right close to the house. It's only if you live up a farm track or suchlike that you'd need to order a smaller tanker. Hope this helps.

G_M

* most boilers take Kerosene also called 28-sec
* very old boilers may be different
* also Agas or similar may be different
* as suggested, identify the boiler make/model and use the internet
* probably worth getting it serviced anyway, and the engineer wll answer all your Qs. I service mine every 2 years or so. People recommend annually, and new boiler warrenties requre annual to maintain the warranty
* find a local OFTEC registered engineer
* when buying oil, start by getting a general idea of price with someone online like boilerjuice
* then shop around, phoning local suppliers - they often beat boilerjuice prices
* also look for local buying groups which club together for bulk purchases, but again, this does not guarantee best price so still compare
* I use http://www.oil-club.co.uk/ which has local syndicates, but again, it's not always the cheapest
* do NOT sign up to one company's 'automatic top up' scheme, or monthly payment scheme - they will top you up when they want (ie at high price points) as well as stopping you shop arround. Instead put a monthly amount away yourself in a savings account to earn interest till it's needed
* and as you've just moved in, consider the tank: is it old, steel and rusty? If so it may need replacing some time so if you have the cash, why not now fo peace of mind. Or is it new(ish), perhaps plastic, in which case - relax! If in doubt, ask your OFTEC engineer when he services the boiler.