Question on Heating Oil!

sujsuj

Moved to rural property ..dealing with 'strange' Heating Oil which is getting closer to it running out.!!
First issue was to understand capacity of  rectangular Tank!! measured H,W,D in  cm and converted to Litres  to understand capacity. Based on this calculation capacity seems to be  2500 Litres  Is it correct in assuming entire rectangular  tank is available to fill or capacity might be much smaller?  No instructions/any documents received from previous owner. Is it expected capacity noted some where in the tank or the heater system?? Looks like heating Oil companies delivery minimum is 500L.

Normally full capacity is filled ?? in an year approximate how much oil needed..?  mine is 4 bed.

Other question is what oil..? I saw there seems to be 2 types of Oil...Kerosene  (28-second oil) & Gas OIl ( 35-second ) ?? How I will find which fuel is needed for me?? I have no records saying what oil. Contacting previous owner vis EA is the best option..?? Thanks.

Davesnave

MSE has an Energy Forum with a sub section for heating oil etc.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/lpg-heating-oil-solid-other-fuels

Most of us with experience with oil have a trusty stick somewhere which we've annotated over the years to compare with the electronic thingy that might be plugged-in somewhere, purporting to tell us how much oil we have. If you haven't a thingy, don't panic; the stick is fine and over time it will become more accurate!

Having established you have lots of room in the tank and may be running low, I might start by ordering 1000litres of oil (probably kerosene 28, but you don't give any clues to what's using it). I wouldn't get any more because at this stage you don't know the condition of the tank, how much sludge or water is in there etc. The previous owners may have left you a pristine tank with years of life left in it, but the chances are against it.

Get the tank looked-at with your annual service, done by someone found through local recommendation. I pay about £80 a year to a local guy I trust. Oil is messier than gas, so servicing is needed more often, but otherwise it's a reliable fuel and relatively cheap at present.

greatcrested

Delivery drivers will not fill a tank to the brim. They have to leave a space at the top.

Having said that,you may indeed have a 2500 tank. Is there no sticker on it, or even some wording stamped into it? Look all over!

Like Dave and most users, I have a long garde cane I use. Yes, I have a fancy apollo Watchman electronic system, which is great as a guide and saves going out in winter too often to measure. But as soon as that starts indicating low level, it's the cane I rely on.

To callibrate your cane, get the tank topped up to 'full'. Insert can and mark where the oil reaches. I used a bit of red gloss paint. Then measure off halfway, and halfway again etc.

But as dave also says, you might want to get the tank checked before topping up.

Is it plastic or steel? Any idea how old? Have you inspected it for rust (especially underneath) if steel? Have you inspected the pipe coming out for drips etc?

It's hard to know if the bottom has a layer of water and/or sludge, and how deep so an option while it's relatively empty is to get a contractor to pump it out (they'll bring drums or similar to temporarily store the oil) and check/clean inside.

When you finally are ready to fill to capacity shop around (which you should do each time anyway) for a supplier willing to take an order "To fill", rather than a specific amount. They'll want a best guess at how much, but will put a bit more (or less) in if the tank will take it. But not all suppliers will do this especially when ordering via a group buying club.

Most household boilers use 28 sec kerosene. (or do you have an Aga?)

Is there really no paperwork at all, for boiler or tank?

Did you get a record from the seller of the last boiler service? If yes, that should show you. If no, get it serviced and talk to the engineer about the tank too.

geoave1

I would invest in an oil level monitor (ours is a watchman sonic about £80 on amazon) that you can plug inside the house and shows you how much you have left. We have one and when it gets down to 2 bars then we ring the oil company to fill up 1000L which fills the tank fully (certas energy). Costs about £500 but recently oil prices have gone right down because of the economy (our last lot in summer cost £300 odd for 1000L) so get as much as you can while prices are low! Don’t let it run too low because if you run out you’ll cause massive problems for yourself and it is a hefty sum to fix. We have a 3 bed and usually fill up every 6 months.

knightstyle

Talk to your new neighbours and see if they have a contract which gives a discount, sort of community all fill up at the same time thing, plus ask suppliers if any group in your area have one.

macman

When purchasing/selling a property with oil or LPG heating, isn't there normally an adjustment made to the price by the conveyancer, whereby the remaining capacity is measured before exchange and the buyer is billed for the remaining fuel at an agreed rate?
Or do most people just try to tun it as low as possible before departure and give the balance away?
I'd be surprised if the vendor did not leave a note or receipt stating 'we normally buy our fuel from Joe Bloggs Oil'?

Davesnave

macman said:

Or do most people just try to run it as low as possible before departure and give the balance away?

I'd think so. It's impossible to be precise about how much is in there, even with a Watchman or similar. Our vendor probably left 300l or more, but was vague about servicing etc. Round here nothing's private though, so we soon found the man who did it, and how to make an Aga run all winter without a second cleaning half way through.

AdrianC

Given that most oil tanks are around 1,000+ litres, and you think the external dimensions of yours make it around 2,500 litres... could it be that it's a double-skinned bunded tank?

Any chance of a pic?
Is it steel or plastic?

youth_leader

I had a watchman as our new Titan tank was raised up too high to get a stick into it any more.  If you have an aga you'll need additive or it will soot up, I used to buy Glomax.  Last oil orders around here are today as the roads get too bad for the lorries, do ask your neighbour if there is a local community oil bulk buying scheme and get your order in quick.  

youth_leader

Sorry, forgot to say, if it is in an exposed windy position it needs to be strapped down if it isn't already, my boiler engineer told me I should secure mine,  You can buy the straps in the hardware shop, buy 'ring top' screws to put into the ground for the clips, make sure they are on tight.  Also buy a padlock, lots of oil stealing going on sadly.

strawb_shortcake

Boilerjuice is always cheaper than our community scheme, think last time we ordered there was a difference of 10ppl. 
I like having my heating fuel paid in advance, so no real surprise bills.
We had our tank replaced earlier this year, went with a steel tank as it was quite a bit cheaper. It came with a fuel gauge on the tank so we've got rid of the watchman.