Question on Heating Oil!

youth_leader

I paid £100 per month for oil on a direct debit, sometimes had to pay more as it didn't cover the bill.  My five bed draughty listed building had an Aga, I allowed 200L per month for that, plus an additional 400L per month October to March.  I didn't turn the Aga off in the summer as we never got around to installing an electric oven in the main kitchen. 

Apintplease

greatcrested said:

Apintplease said:

Now you have your long stick and you know how much oil you have paid for, nows the time to mark out your stick and you need to be checking weekly for a while to get some idea of how much oil you are using ,
good advice.
Im now resigned to using 4000litres a year. Just had a fill today which with fingers crossed and a mild winter will keep us going till March
How massive is your house? 6 bed farmhouse with heated outbuildings?

Or just a massively old and inefficient boiler? That's not been serviced /cleaned in years?

I live in a 3 bed house with annexe, have the heating on all day, and use a full 2500 tank per year.

No, just 5 bedrooms, 3 receptions, 3 bathrooms and a triple heated garage.

Its also detached, on the edge of a field, high on a hill, in one of the coldest, wettest and windiest corners of the UK

Add an elderly not very mobile mother to the mix, the house needs to be kept warm

This year we had the heating off in April and May - and its been on at least part of the day ever since

House is 25 years old, boiler is 3 years old

I miss my middle terrace 2 up 2 down heated by gas when the oil tank runs low

sujsuj

Apintplease said:

Now you have your long stick and you know how much oil you have paid for, nows the time to mark out your stick and you need to be checking weekly for a while to get some idea of how much oil you are using , esp right now we are in the midst of a cold spell

When we moved here, our kind vendors left us with a completely drained tank so we moved into a house that had been empty and cold for 2 weeks, no oil, and the coldest winter in years

We go a fill and the driver was fit to bleed the boiler for us so we didn't actually freeze to death that night . 

I near enough fainted when 5 weeks later we were out of oil

Im now resigned to using 4000litres a year. Just had a fill today which with fingers crossed and a mild winter will keep us going till March

Living in NI most of us use oil for heating so theres an oil company on the corner of every road - or so it seems. So we dont have the hassle of ringing around, a penny a litre isn't worth it. We usually use a company up the road to us and they dont charge extra for next or same day delivery. They have even been out to us at 9pm to get us up and running

I didn't measure using stick when  when I added 1000L a month ago. Now I am getting worried I need to fill again..? I will check oil indicator and stick check tomorrow. But i am not going to depend on that because it not reliable or I am not used to those measurements yet.
Is there any chance 1000L can run out in a month..? Mine 4 Bed detached House in a remote area..? Or I am getting panic for no reason..??

sujsuj

greatcrested said:

Apintplease said:

Now you have your long stick and you know how much oil you have paid for, nows the time to mark out your stick and you need to be checking weekly for a while to get some idea of how much oil you are using ,
good advice.
Im now resigned to using 4000litres a year. Just had a fill today which with fingers crossed and a mild winter will keep us going till March
How massive is your house? 6 bed farmhouse with heated outbuildings?

Or just a massively old and inefficient boiler? That's not been serviced /cleaned in years?

I live in a 3 bed house with annexe, have the heating on all day, and use a full 2500 tank per year.

Mine is 4 Bed, due to lockdown heating is on whole day...Flled 1000L in Dec, Hope it will not runout soon. Going by your calculation at least couple of months it should be OK..??. Still need checks and decide when to order. Now its looks costs are higher than in December,  Even boiler juice costs £80 more compared to December price!!

sujsuj

Davesnave said:

We live in a detached 4 bed size bungalow and use anything between 1500 and 2000 litres of oil a year, depending on the cost of oil, the amount of sunshine in winter and how many free logs we have stashed away. When it's sunny, our aspect and a conservatory keeps the property warm all day in the colder months and we switch to oil or logs when necessary outside those times and at night. Water heating is almost always by oil, unless the price goes through the roof!

Interesting...Mine is detached 4 bed  but not bungalow.  Not sure this usage also depends on Boiler condition. Mine is 

Worcester Greenstar Danesmoor External 25/32 Regular Boiler , not sure its of efficient type..? Going by your calculation my 1000L may not run out in January...No other heating source than Oil now. Need to fit smoke/CO detectors in all rooms before using wood  heater..

sujsuj

youth_leader said:

I paid £100 per month for oil on a direct debit, sometimes had to pay more as it didn't cover the bill.  My five bed draughty listed building had an Aga, I allowed 200L per month for that, plus an additional 400L per month October to March.  I didn't turn the Aga off in the summer as we never got around to installing an electric oven in the main kitchen. 

ohh dear.. 200L per month, plus an additional 400L per month October to March

Slithery

sujsuj said:

youth_leader said:

I paid £100 per month for oil on a direct debit, sometimes had to pay more as it didn't cover the bill.  My five bed draughty listed building had an Aga, I allowed 200L per month for that, plus an additional 400L per month October to March.  I didn't turn the Aga off in the summer as we never got around to installing an electric oven in the main kitchen. 

ohh dear 2000L/Month....that scares me...I need to worry going by this..

No you don't. Because you don't have an Aga that's on 24/7/365. Where did you get 2000L/month from?

sujsuj

Slithery said:

sujsuj said:

youth_leader said:

I paid £100 per month for oil on a direct debit, sometimes had to pay more as it didn't cover the bill.  My five bed draughty listed building had an Aga, I allowed 200L per month for that, plus an additional 400L per month October to March.  I didn't turn the Aga off in the summer as we never got around to installing an electric oven in the main kitchen. 

ohh dear 2000L/Month....that scares me...I need to worry going by this..

You you don't. Because you don't have an Aga that's on 24/7/365. Where did you get 2000L/month from?

Oops I got numbers wrong..200L not 2000L/month

Apintplease

sujsuj said:

Apintplease said:

Now you have your long stick and you know how much oil you have paid for, nows the time to mark out your stick and you need to be checking weekly for a while to get some idea of how much oil you are using , esp right now we are in the midst of a cold spell

When we moved here, our kind vendors left us with a completely drained tank so we moved into a house that had been empty and cold for 2 weeks, no oil, and the coldest winter in years

We go a fill and the driver was fit to bleed the boiler for us so we didn't actually freeze to death that night . 

I near enough fainted when 5 weeks later we were out of oil

Im now resigned to using 4000litres a year. Just had a fill today which with fingers crossed and a mild winter will keep us going till March

Living in NI most of us use oil for heating so theres an oil company on the corner of every road - or so it seems. So we dont have the hassle of ringing around, a penny a litre isn't worth it. We usually use a company up the road to us and they dont charge extra for next or same day delivery. They have even been out to us at 9pm to get us up and running

I didn't measure using stick when  when I added 1000L a month ago. Now I am getting worried I need to fill again..? I will check oil indicator and stick check tomorrow. But i am not going to depend on that because it not reliable or I am not used to those measurements yet.
Is there any chance 1000L can run out in a month..? Mine 4 Bed detached House in a remote area..? Or I am getting panic for no reason..??

You should have done as you knew what was in the tank at that time

Unfortunately we here are not having a mild winter and Im guessing Im going to need another fill  at the end of this month, but then temps haven't risen above freezing during the day and are dropping to - 7 at night - the house is getting cold

And yes it really is possible to run out of 1000ltrs in a month, all depends on your insulation, your boiler and how warm you keep your house and what subsidiary heating you have

Most of the people I know who have big cold houses have a stove or open fire for the living room or Aga for the kitchen which keeps at least one room warm enough that you aren't sitting wrapped in layers all day

But slowly you get used to a cooler house, If Mum wasn't with us, our heating oil bill would be halved

youth_leader

You'll soon get used to measuring it routinely sujsuj, one of the joys of rural living, make sure you have a 'garden' coat by the back door!   As the tank was empty when you had your delivery you can see what's left of your 1000L after - two weeks? - and work from there.  Hope you have got lots of logs in, I don't remember last January being this cold.