First time oil user

comeandgo

Make sure you have insurance to cover any accidental oil spills if your tank leaks and you need to get contaminated land made un contaminated.

Qyburn

Reed_Richards said:

There should be a manual setting on the boiler for the heating water temperature and to give your boiler the best chance of condensing and running with optimum economy that temperature should be set as low as you can cope with to keep your house warm enough.

Don't go below manufacturer's figures. For example Grant specifies return temperature to be above 40 Deg C. If it's lower than that it causes condensation on the wrong bits of the boiler, and therefore causes corrosion and damage.

We're assuming it's a condensing boiler, which I don't think the OP has confirmed.

Reed_Richards

Qyburn said:

Don't go below manufacturer's figures. 

I wonder if this is even possible under normal circumstances?  Typically radiators are set for a temperature differential of 20 C or less.  So if a manufacturer wants the return water to be above 40 C then the easiest way to make this very likely if to ensure that the flow temperature cannot be set lower than 60 C.   

dunstonh

Reed_Richards said:

Qyburn said:

Don't go below manufacturer's figures. 

I wonder if this is even possible under normal circumstances?  Typically radiators are set for a temperature differential of 20 C or less.  So if a manufacturer wants the return water to be above 40 C then the easiest way to make this very likely if to ensure that the flow temperature cannot be set lower than 60 C.   

I think that is the case on the Worcester Danestar models.  The dial minimum is 55c and max is 82c

Tailender_Investor

Thank you everyone, some really useful information provided.

It will take us a bit of time to get used to the system.  I think I'd probably get one of those electronic sensors and also use a stick.  Then after a few fills over time along with a spreadsheet I think I'll soon build up a good picture.  I was planning on setting up a standing order to a savings account every month so it isn't a big shock when the tank needs filling up.

It is a plastic double bunded tank and a condensing boiler.  It is a project house so we would be moving and replacing radiators, I'll also be taking our current smart heating thermostats with us.  So will be a discussion with the heating engineer on what settings are going to be best for us and our use.

I've had a look on boilerjuice just to get an idea of prices etc.  Naturally the quicker you need delivery the more expensive it is.  However it just says delivery not before X date etc.  But do they actually contact you with a delivery slot?  Or do they just turn up?  I'm guessing someone needs to be home with the key for the tank to let them fill it up.

Is it worth me asking the vendor to leave a minimum oil level in the tank?  I understand as they are moving they won't want to fill up the tank the week before they leave but I don't want them to run it down really low and leave me to pick up any issues.  I thought about suggesting a minimum level of 20%, is that too much or too little?  

griffb

Tailender_Investor said:

I've had a look on boilerjuice just to get an idea of prices etc.  Naturally the quicker you need delivery the more expensive it is.  However it just says delivery not before X date etc.  But do they actually contact you with a delivery slot?  Or do they just turn up?  I'm guessing someone needs to be home with the key for the tank to let them fill it up.

Some will contact you the day before delivery, but don't bank on it. I have a small (1000litre) tank so tend to fill up 500 litre a time. On one occasion I took the  "within 15 working days" option when the sensor registered 4/10 thinking it would be down another notch by the time it arrived. Then the sun came out, the oil expanded and the tanker arrived a week early. He managed to squeeze 492 litres in. Some suppliers might charge you if you regularly over-order by a large amount

I usually unlock the tank when I order - thieves will just try to drill through or break the outlet pipe f they find it locked

dunstonh

I've had a look on boilerjuice just to get an idea of prices etc.  Naturally the quicker you need delivery the more expensive it is.  However it just says delivery not before X date etc.  But do they actually contact you with a delivery slot?  Or do they just turn up?  I'm guessing someone needs to be home with the key for the tank to let them fill it up.

Boiler juice can swing from being cheap to expensive.  Effectively, local/regional firms have their own supply but they may run with capacity for more at certain times and sometimes with no capacity for more.      What you generally find is that when a firm has more capacity, it will offer a better price to boilerjuice.    When it has little or no capacity, it will either offer a higher price or no price.     Some areas of the country have better coverage under boilerjuice than others.

It is not uncommon for you to get a price from boilerjuice and a regional supplier and find boilerjuice is cheaper, only for the delivery to be from that regional supplier.   However, sometimes it can be the other way around.

I found with boilerjuice, you are sometimes contacted but sometimes not. However, I tend to use the local supplier that is not the cheapest because he is nearly always next day automatically and confirms before coming.  Plus its the same driver each time and a local business with a more personal service.     During the heavy snow period a few years back, he got his land rover out and was delivering oil to tie people over until the lorries could get through.    So, I am putting service ahead of cost.

Qyburn

Another option are these guys, if they operate in your area. I find them cheapest almost every time. In our area Boilerjuice is wildly overpriced.
https://www.oil-club.co.uk/

Alfster

I’ve only had an oil boiler for a year and a half so will give you my experience as a newbie. First of all you have definitely come to the right place as the people on here are super knowledgable and give up their time to give very informative answers. They sorted out an intermittent boiler issue I had that my plumber couldn’t figure out. 

So a few things I would add as a newbie that I wish I knew before:

1) Know your consumption and monitor it accurately and regularly so you don’t get stung with a big bill. In my first year I had no idea I was using 350L/month in winter. Went to check tank and was nearly empty. Cost me £1000 to fill up and I had a £500 bill for my car service the same month. 

I would recommend this link where you can enter your tank dimensions. You also enter the current oil level (I used a wooden stick as it soaks up the oil and stains the wood so you can see the level clearly). It then tells you how many L you have. Do this through different months at the start and end to get an idea of consumption:

https://www.octane.uk.com/tank-volume-calculator

Note that some manufactures have filling charts. The manufacturer of my new tank has a tool on their website that tells you how much oil you have based on the dipstick height. 

After I knew my useage I set up a standing order into a separate bank just for buying oil which matched the consumption. I did this as I’m not good at leaving money in my account 😂. This way I can pay monthly. 

2) As others have suggested try to use it as efficiently as you can by using the lowest temperature you are comfortable with on the boiler thermostat. The difference in oil useage between maximum and half way, for example, can be huge. I bought two pipe thermometers on Amazon and put one on the flow and one on the return. 

3) If your useage is high relative to your tank size and you are in a forever/long term home consider at some point buying a bigger tank if you can afford to do so. We had a 1200L tank for a 5 bedroom cottage with solid walls which couldn’t get us through winter so we ended up paying higher prices with winter orders. We upgraded to a 2500L tank. This can see us through an entire year. If you choose to do this I found it way cheaper to break the jobs up and employ separate people to do them. I had quotes for nearly double the price from companies that did the whole job in one go. 

4) Shop around for oil. Quite a few of my neighbours recommended a local family run business but they are considerably higher than NRG so I use NRG. 

propertyrental

Tailender_Investor said:

......it just says delivery not before X date etc.  But do they actually contact you with a delivery slot?  Or do they just turn up?  I'm guessing someone needs to be home with the key for the tank to let them fill it up.

Is it worth me asking the vendor to leave a minimum oil level in the tank?  I understand as they are moving they won't want to fill up the tank the week before they leave but I don't want them to run it down really low and leave me to pick up any issues.  I thought about suggesting a minimum level of 20%, is that too much or too little?  

Most suppliers will contact you in advance but not all. No need to stay home though - just make sure the tank is accessible and unlocked and the driver will fill up and put the delivery note through your door.

On the subject of locks, as others have said there's an argument for not locking. Once thieves have decided to target you (I've heard they sometimes follow the delivery lorries so know which houses have full tanks!), they'll just cause damage breaking into your tank. Worst case, they'll drill in and let oil spill out causing a very expensive environmental clean-up.....

Other security options to deter them include
* CCTV
* audible alarms (assuming you have neighbours etc who'll hear it and respond)
* locating the tank as far from the road as possible
* hiding the tank so it's not visible from the road
* I've even heard of people who have a visible and easily accessible dummy tank with a 100 litres in it.....

In most cases your solicitor will arrange for you to purchase the oil in the tank.