How do i check how much Oil i have left in home tank? Northern Ireland!

truewraith121

just moved to Ni from england and i have oil to heat my home and i can never tell how much i have left, is there any way to find out how much i have left etc pleasE?

molerat

No sight gauge on the tank ?

Dip a stick into it and see.

peter_the_piper

We used oil to heat our greenhouse (big) and used an 8ft bamboo cane as a dipstick. Divide the height of the tank by the total oil put to fill it and you can guess how much you have left.

comeandgo

We use a brush handle, dip it into tank until it hits the bottom, pull it out, check where the damp bit ends and measure that against the outside of the tank.  I always fill when down to three inches.

Rodders53

Dipstick is one way - and probably the cheapest, most reliable, and potentially accurate method.

Devices like the wireless ultrasonic gauges can help but are variable feasts for accuracy and reliability  Some love some loathe.  

Make and size/shape  of tank will matter when assessing how the level equates to the volume remaining in the tank.

https://www.fueltankshop.co.uk/heating-oil/oil-tank-accessories/contents-gauges/c371 shows some example gauges - other sellers are available.

NB The heating oil sub-forum of this Energy one has more, useful, info and threads to read (as may the local NI sub-forum for you).

matelodave

As above, use a dipstick. Totally accurate, everso cheap and nothing to go wrong.

BeerSavesMoney

matelodave said:

As above, use a dipstick. Totally accurate, everso cheap and nothing to go wrong.

Well, unless you lose your stick 🤣

lohr500

Dipstick is the most reliable and nothing to go wrong.

Or look to get a simple analogue float gauge which should screw into a standard fitting on the top of your tank. You just need to get one calibrated for the height of your tank.

I have one of the ultrasonic devices which is fine, but I still rely on a dipstick to double check how much is left.

I also have a low volume in-line tally counter which measures the flow of oil from the tank to the boiler. It is amazingly accurate. To within 2%, based on a known 1500 litre refill marked on the dipstick. The tally counter lets me track our weekly consumption so I can monitor our usage closely.  

As mentioned above, the shape of your tank will have an impact on how much oil you have left.
With a rectangular or square tank, the oil level will drop at a constant rate for a given amount of boiler use.
With a cylindrical tank on its side, the level will drop quicker at the top of the tank and the bottom.