Gas verses Oil heating

Johnnnnn

Anyone know of recent info about the above i.e. that reflects the new gas price increases.
I need a new boiler and wondered what the recent data now showed.
Thanks

lohr500

In my area oil is now £0.65 per litre including vat. Assuming around 10kw/litre, that makes it £0.065 per kw. Don't know what the capped variable tariff is from April, but I suspect it will be more than £0.065. 
As to fitting a new boiler, what do you have now? If has, then you would need to factor in the cost of an oil tank and fuel lines, different flue, etc, etc.

Cardew

The capped variable tariff(SVT) post 01 April is approx 7p/kWh with slight regional variations; in addition approx £90 pa for the Daily Standing charge.

Given oil boilers are considerably more to purchase and service and, as said above, oil tank and fuel lines are expensive; so I wouldn't think it makes economic sense to change from gas to oil. Albeit the equation could change either way in the near future.

QrizB

Cardew said:

The capped variable tariff(SVT) post 01 April is approx 7p/kWh with slight regional variations; in addition approx £90 pa for the Daily Standing charge.

Given oil boilers are considerably more to purchase and service and, as said above, oil tank and fuel lines are expensive; so I wouldn't think it makes economic sense to change from gas to oil. Albeit the equation could change either way in the near future.

We don't know what the OP's current boiler is. I also wonder whether they're referring to mains gas or LPG.

lohr500

What's the typical cost to get an annual gas boiler service Cardew?
I've been quoted £80 to have the year 1 service done on our new oil boiler and that includes an annual inspection of the tank. That's by the Oftec registered and Grant approved firm who installed our Grant oil boiler.
Agree that an oil boiler is likely to be more costly to purchase, but I'm not sure they need to be any more expensive to service. 

Ebe_Scrooge

lohr500 said:

What's the typical cost to get an annual gas boiler service Cardew?
I've been quoted £80 to have the year 1 service done on our new oil boiler and that includes an annual inspection of the tank. That's by the Oftec registered and Grant approved firm who installed our Grant oil boiler.
Agree that an oil boiler is likely to be more costly to purchase, but I'm not sure they need to be any more expensive to service. 

Our local independent guy - who is both OFTEC and GSR registered - charges £70 for our (oil boiler) service.  I think in terms of running costs, it's a close call between oil and gas (there are times when oil is actually cheaper).  But if you're having to factor in the cost of buying a boiler and tank as well, then that's a whole different kettle of fish.

Cardew

lohr500 said:

What's the typical cost to get an annual gas boiler service Cardew?
I've been quoted £80 to have the year 1 service done on our new oil boiler and that includes an annual inspection of the tank. That's by the Oftec registered and Grant approved firm who installed our Grant oil boiler.
Agree that an oil boiler is likely to be more costly to purchase, but I'm not sure they need to be any more expensive to service. 

Both my daughter and son(recently) have had oil CH and paid in excess of £100 for an annual service; however your £80 and £70 in the above post is pretty reasonable. For Gas I pay £50 to the person who installed the system; not sure if that is typical.

lohr500

Thanks for the info. Cardew. I suspect geographical location may have an impact on service cost pricing as well.

Rodders53

Oil boilers require a new burner nozzle every service (circa £15) and occasionally a new flexi oil pipe that will bump the price by around the same.  But at least they clean out the burner cavity and do something to them - unlike most gas service types.  My man currently states £68 + parts + vat on his website.  I'm fairly sure it was a little bit less than that last year.

Beware if a tech is quoting service price then charges parts and vat on top.  Most are transparent but a few...

I'd never recommend using checkatrade but this is interesting regarding typical service  costs: https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/boiler-service-cost/

canaldumidi

and having an annual gas boiler service is far less important (provided you have a CO alarm) than an oil service where as pointed out you need proper clean and a new nozzle.

As an extreme, I was taken aback when i started helping out my elderly dad to find he'd never had his gas boiler serviced (25 odd years!). Arranged a service and the engineer said it was in remarkably good condition.

Cardew

canaldumidi said:

and having an annual gas boiler service is far less important (provided you have a CO alarm) than an oil service where as pointed out you need proper clean and a new nozzle.

As an extreme, I was taken aback when i started helping out my elderly dad to find he'd never had his gas boiler serviced (25 odd years!). Arranged a service and the engineer said it was in remarkably good condition.

For years I had the British Gas servicing/repair plan when prices were reasonable. Then prices rose at an unbelievable rate; so I stopped the plan.

I looked very closely at the servicing schedule and it consisted simply of cleaning and checking for leaks. I had watched the BG fitter and that is what he did - not a single adjustment required. So for the remaining years until the boiler was replaced(at nearly 30 years old) I did not get it serviced. The boiler is in a ouside boiler room attached to the garage.

I only replaced the boiler as part of a major extension, and the installer servicing charge is very reasonable and required to keep the 10 year warranty valid.

Note: I am NOT suggesting people should not have their boiler serviced, merely stating what I did. However those who are concerned about gas leaks/safety etc should consider that there is nothing to stop a gas leak occuring a week after a service.