Buying a house heated by oil, need advice

Stelladimare73

Hi, we are thinking of buying a lovely bungalow but it is heated by oil, boiler is Megaflo, no idea how old. The current owners have a large tank to the side of the house surrounded by a fence, again no idea of capacity and age. Having read a little about it, I have to admit it puts me off a bit, sounds expensive and a pain to maintain, like ordering the oil, bartering for the best price, cleaning the system, etc. I have only ever had mains gas and that is really straightforward and more environmentally friendly.
I am planning to check with British Gas to see if there is mains gas nearby.
Am I right or am I exaggerating? What options do I have if there is no mains gas? Do I just give up on the bungalow? Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks

Ebe_Scrooge

Oil heating is no problem to live with. In terms of maintenance, it's no different to any other system. The boiler should be serviced annually by an OFTEC registered engineer - that's no problem in itself, if you're in an area where lots of people use oil, then there'll be engineers about. And oil boilers are simpler beasts than gas boilers. As always, ask your neighbours for recommendations, or find a properly qualified person on the OFTEC website. The tanks itself does have a finite lifespan, but it should last for many years before it needs replacing. It might be a good idea to make it a condition of sale that the vendors pay for an inspection if you're at all worried about the condition.

If there is mains gas nearby then you can enquire about the cost of getting it connected to your property. It's likely to cost a fair bit, plus you'll have to factor in the cost of a new boiler and removal of the old tank. To be honest, overall oil heating is not that much more expensive than gas.

Buying oil - simply ring around half a dozen local companies each time you order and see who's offering the best price. The cheapest one time will invariably not be the cheapest the next time. Most will haggle a bit, and offer to price-match their competitors. The Boilerjuice website is useful to get a ballpark figure of the current price, but I've always found local suppliers to be cheaper. There may well be an oil-buying club in your area, where householders place one big order together and get a discount for buying in bulk. This works for many people, but of course it relies on several people needing to fill up at the same time.

Worth remembering that the price per litre is generally lower if you order a minimum of 900 litres at a time.

Don't be tempted to subscribe to these direct-debit automatic top-up schemes that most suppliers offer - as I said, the cheapest supplier will be different every time you order. Far better to put money aside into a separate bank account every month, then shop around when you need to order. People are always being encouraged to switch gas and electricity to get the best deal - with oil, you can switch every time you fill up :-)

I really wouldn't let the oil-fired heating by itself put you off. The buying of the oil is of course a different routine to simply paying a gas bill, but it really is no hassle at all once you've got into the swing of it. And - speaking from personal experience - I don't think it's really that much more expensive than mains gas. Marginally so, but not enough to make a huge difference. The only thing you will notice is that the prices fluctuate a lot more - they change on a daily basis, based on supply and demand, global oil prices and the exchange rate (oil is always traded in US Dollars). But I really wouldn't let any of that put you off, it's no problem at all.

Hope this helps :-)

comeandgo

You should be prepared for a big bill when you get an oil fill. At the peak prices it was costing us over a thousand pounds twice a year. I find oil very much more expensive than any other heating.

Cardew

Oil prices tend to be more volatile than gas but are currently around 50p a litre - see https://www.boilerjuice.com/heating-oil-prices/



A litre of oil contains 10.2 kWh so approx 5p/kWh. Gas is around 4p/kWh with daily standing charge.


https://www.confusedaboutenergy.co.uk/index.php/domestic-fuels/fuel-prices


Posters on MSE have been quoted huge sums - many £thousands - to have gas connected, even with a gas main fairly close. That cost together with a new gas boiler will mean a very long payback period.

J_B

comeandgo wrote: »

You should be prepared for a big bill when you get an oil fill. At the peak prices it was costing us over a thousand pounds twice a year. I find oil very much more expensive than any other heating.

Rather a sweeping statement, don't you think?

Cardew wrote: »

Oil prices tend to be more volatile than gas but are currently around 50p a litre - see https://www.boilerjuice.com/heating-oil-prices/

F-i-L paid about 45ppl in December IIRC

Stelladimare73

So from what I understand I have to pay in full for each fuel I delivery, I can’t spread the cost like I do now. Most people and my research on the internet tell me that oil is slightly more expensive, but it’s difficult to know for sure until I get my first bill. The village we are looking into has mains gas but only on the main road, it seems it doesn’t reach our side road yet.

Rodders53

Commission a local Oftec technician to inspect and report on oil tank, pipes and boiler condition. Just like you'll need to do with the Electrics in the home. Possibly drains, too. Separate from the 'building and valuation' survey. Based on that report you can decide if you need to budget for new tank or boiler in the near future.

Megaflo do not - as far as I know - make oil boilers. https://www.heatraesadia.com/products Likely that was the (probably unvented) hot water tank you spotted? Ask the vendor for Make, model and age of oil boiler, capacity make and age of tank via the EA?

Yes you pay for the oil - either when ordering or shortly after delivery (depends on supplier). Most want cash/debit/bank transfer as credit cards cost them too much.
You can get monthly payment schemes but they'll tie you to the one supplier who may monitor tank (mobile phone level metering, bit like smart meters) and top up when it suits them at the price at that moment.
Best/simplest is to put money away each month to cover the oil fills at your convenience. However beware of running too low; next day deliveries are a premium (many pence per litre extra).

Village oil clubs can be a very good way of getting cheap oil. Ask vendor check out the interweb for ones near your new home?

We moved to an oil fired house a few years ago. The parish council approached the Gas network and if 80% of the village would commit to taking gas they said they'd do it. (Fat chance of all wanting to replace their oil or propane gas boilers, plus removal of the tanks, plus a gas pipe install at £500 or so).

Fuel Tool today for my address is 45.09 per litre (plus 5% VAT) for 500 litres on a 5 working day delivery (500 is the minimum any Co. will deliver) = £236.72 inc vat. It's a penny cheaper @1000 litres usually.
It has dropped 4.1 p a litre since 22nd May or 3.3p from when I checked on 2nd May.

As long as you do some research and go in with your eyes open oil heating need not be a problem, nor especially expensive.

Nlb65

I have the same challenge at the moment. Am buying a mid terrace with oil central heating. There is no gas that runs to the street. The oil tank is so huge it takes up approx. a third of the garden. I'd like to get rid of it as I don't feel comfortable having my children play next to it, and would like the space back.

The boiler is 13 years old so will need to be replaced reasonably soon and I'm going to have to do something about the central heating soon.

What options are there that gets rid of the oil tank that are reasonably priced? Is it worth going fully electric?

Grateful for any advice.

LadyDee

I was recently converted from bulk oil from Calor to natural gas. My bill for the last five months is nearly half of what it was last year.

Nlb65

I was recently converted from bulk oil from Calor to natural gas. My bill for the last five months is nearly half of what it was last year.

Is that with a large gas tank in the garden or with cannisters being delivered?

Rodders53

LadyDee wrote: »

I was recently converted from bulk oil from Calor to natural gas. My bill for the last five months is nearly half of what it was last year.

What? You were on oil supplied by Calor? Then went to Calor Gas? and now to Natural Gas??

My oil bill for this year is nearly half what it was last year. Warm winter. (Plus maybe the new doors and windows cutting draughta).