Question on Heating Oil!

greatcrested

sujsuj said:

Davesnave said:

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.

How often you expect Tank clean up? Every year. Sludge is this toxic material need to be disposed carefully ..??

Maybe after 15- 20 years? Or more?

Not something one does regulary and we are only mentioning it as you are a new owner with an old tank so who knows what it's like inside. Chances are it's fine.

If you DO get a contractor to syphon off the oil and check for sludge, he'll take it away in a drum and dispose of properly (assuming he legit not a cowboy!)

sujsuj

geoave1 said:

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.

Got a transparent tube acting as  Gauge it seems ..so no need of any fancy system.

sujsuj

youth_leader said:

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.

Though slightly rusted tank, its kept well, no chance of any wind impact

sujsuj

annabanana82 said:

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.

Just took quote , need to compare and see.

sujsuj

greatcrested said:

comeandgo said:

greatcrested said:

Brock_and_Roll said:

I would also invest in  good lock and an alarm! If you are in a rural area it is only a matter of time before some one will try and nick your oil!

That was certainly true when prices were around 45 - 55 ppl a year or so back.

I believe thefts have dropped off dramatically not that price is around 25 ppl!

And trouble with locking the tank is that once a thief has decided to target your tank, he'll come equipped. Either snap of the lock in seconds, or worse, drill a hole in the tank, take what he can syphon off, then leave a bloody great mess of leaking oil to clear up as well as a tank to replace......

Best defense is to have the tank as far from the road as possible, and out of sight.

Would love it to be 25p a litre here.  I filled the tank last week and just over 50 p a litre.

Good grief! Where on earth are you? You're not on an auto-top-up contract are you?

Just done a boilerjuice search: 29 ppl today here.

OilNRG also 29

oil-club on Friday was 27 ppl

No OilClub this area as per their site search

sujsuj

Davesnave said:

sujsuj said:

Thanks for all inputs I manage to take some pics of my Oil  Tank as well as Boiler. I managed to find my boiler is 

Worcester Greenstar Danesmoor External 25/32 Regular Boiler Oil ErP

See Tank & Boiler photos. I understood this is a 28-second or heating oil as per boiler manuals.  Tank is rusty but functional. Any inputs ?

The boiler is a common model. As for the tank, no very rusty parts are shown, what it stands on isn't visible and it looks large; so we're still roughly where we were. However, it seems likely from what we can see that the support for the tank is small and would probably not meet OFTEC guidance for supporting a new one. Any new tank also couldn't sit so close to combustible materials, like the fence.

Here is the OFTEC guide to installing a tank which would meet regulations:

https://www.oftec.org/consumers/off-gas-grid-heating-guides/liquid-fuel/storage-tanks

Tank is placed over a metal frame. its sturdy and not going to fall any time soon. Might do layer of paint in summer.

sujsuj

greatcrested said:

comeandgo said:

greatcrested said:

Brock_and_Roll said:

I would also invest in  good lock and an alarm! If you are in a rural area it is only a matter of time before some one will try and nick your oil!

That was certainly true when prices were around 45 - 55 ppl a year or so back.

I believe thefts have dropped off dramatically not that price is around 25 ppl!

And trouble with locking the tank is that once a thief has decided to target your tank, he'll come equipped. Either snap of the lock in seconds, or worse, drill a hole in the tank, take what he can syphon off, then leave a bloody great mess of leaking oil to clear up as well as a tank to replace......

Best defense is to have the tank as far from the road as possible, and out of sight.

Would love it to be 25p a litre here.  I filled the tank last week and just over 50 p a litre.

Good grief! Where on earth are you? You're not on an auto-top-up contract are you?

Just done a boilerjuice search: 29 ppl today here.

OilNRG also 29

oil-club on Friday was 27 ppl

OilNRG also not in my area

strawb_shortcake

sujsuj said:

annabanana82 said:

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.

Just took quote , need to compare and see.

Weekend prices are generally better than midweek 

sujsuj

Spider_In_The_Bath said:

sujsuj said:

...? 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.
...

It is hard to estimate. 

We are in a two bed and use very little oil each year (about 800-900 L).  Many other people in our village go through loads each year (sometimes 3 times at much) for a four bed house.

The best thing to do is call an oil company.  Explain that you think the tank is x size and y full, but that you are not sure.  They can arrange to fill it for you either by amount, or price.  They can deal with the fact that you do not know how much oil you need.

I think this time I will got for 500L to get through the winter and then clean Tank if needed...I

sujsuj

youth_leader said:

My draughty single glazed listed building had 14 radiators and I used to keep the heating on low from October onwards, normally using 600L per month including 200L for the Aga.  Glad you got your delivery the day before the snow in 2010 Madmel, our delivery man refused to deliver in the snow as access was up a steep slope.  I've never been as cold, we had to wear coats, hats and gloves in the house, our poor kids were so miserable.

Looks like price depends on date, if need fast delivery cost more...