We have ‘used’ 600 litres of heating oil in 8 days!

cannugec5

We had out tank filled last Monday. That was a surprise as it had only lasted 6 weeks, but we did have a long, cold spell in December so put it down to that. Our oil usually lasts 3-6 months, with on average 2 fills per year. 

On Monday they filled up with the full 1200 litres. 

Since then the weather has been miserable and wet, but not below freezing until yesterday. 

Today I checked the tank again and we are down below half! 

We have the thermostat set at 18 in the day and 10.5 at night. 

The water heats for an hour in the morning and thirty minutes in the evening. ( Electric showers).

The ‘Watchman’ has not detected a sudden drop, so unlikely to be a theft. 

We have today, turned the boiler right off. Out heating engineer cannot come until next week so until then we will use the electric heater in the living room, and the immersion heater. We want to preserve the remaining oil if possible, or perhaps see if it is leaking out. 

I fail to understand how we could have an oil leak and not smell it 
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? 

We cannot afford £500 a week! 

MikeJXE

It sounds to me it's either theft or a serious leak somewhere 

strawb_shortcake

When our last tank leaked I could only smell it when the wind blew in the right direction but ours was a very slow trickle. May be that the rain has dampened the smell? 

Do you know where the oil would leak towards as there may be other consequences you need to consider if there has been a leak. 

I assume you are basing your loss on the watchman, have you measured manually with a stick too to check it's not the monitor faulty? 

cannugec5

annabanana82 said:

Do you know where the oil would leak towards as there may be other consequences you need to consider if there has been a leak. 

I assume you are basing your loss on the watchman, have you measured manually with a stick too to check it's not the monitor faulty? 

I’m not sure what you mean by ‘other consequences’. Please elaborate. 

We don’t actually know the route the pipe takes from boiler to tank - whether it is as the crow flies or follows the perimeter of the garden. 

We have verified the watchman with a manual check. I was hoping for a discrepancy but the manual read supports the watchman. 

MikeJXE

Is the tank above or below ground ?

What does it sit on, stone or concrete slab

What is the tank made of 

MikeJXE

What is the soil on your property 

Clay. Sandy. Rock 

cannugec5

The tank is above ground. It’s on a concrete plinth. 

I think it’s plastic. It is was installed in - about - 1999, before we bought the house. 

comeandgo

Other consequences is if you have a leak and it has contaminated the land, but you do have insurance for that?

MikeJXE

cannugec5 said:

The tank is above ground. It’s on a concrete plinth. 

I think it’s plastic. It is was installed in - about - 1999, before we bought the house. 

So if it was leaking from the tank you would no doubt see it

If it's leaking in the pipework to your home then not so. 

If you are in sandy soil that would drain away quickly 

cannugec5

comeandgo said:

Other consequences is if you have a leak and it has contaminated the land, but you do have insurance for that?

That is something I will need to check. 

We do have home and contents insurance. This is now time to check the small print I guess. 

ETA . Our insurance does cover tracing an oil leak and the loss of oil in such an event. 

Not clear about contamination but as it’s rocky ground probably less of an issue. 

Thank you, I feel reassured by the insurance aspect. 

cannugec5

MikeJXE said:

What is the soil on your property 

Clay. Sandy. Rock 

I don’t really know. 

The plot our house was built on was previously a car park. So there is a substantial amount of hard core beneath. 

When we bought it there was no lawn. We had to import some topsoil to create some green space. 

Beneath the ‘hardcore’ is very rocky. 

I guess I DO know. Rock!