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Original poster

Who has a gas/oil tank in their garden?

26 replies

PurpleCrazyHorse · 02/04/2012 21:05

We're looking at houses a little off the beaten track and some of them have a gas/oil tank in the garden. We've never had one before, so what (oh wise MNers) do we need to know?

Is it really expensive?
Do you have to be in for the deliveries?
Are there different sized tanks, what's a good family size?

We don't want to disregard these houses but don't want to jump in without knowing a bit more about it.

OP posts:
Onlyaphase · 02/04/2012 21:09

Everyone round here (rural north) has oil tanks in their gardens.

Oil is currently about £650 per 1000 litres and this will last us for the summer and most of the autumn - ask the vendors how much oil they use. Tanks are variable in size, we have two of 1250 litres each and keep them fullish if we can.

The oil deliveries don't need you to be in provided they can access the tank.

QOD · 02/04/2012 21:09

Yes
No
No

HTH.

:o

threeisthemagicnumber · 02/04/2012 21:24

We've got an oil tank for the first time in our current rental property.

Yes it's expensive but it's partly because you pay in one lump sum rather than DD over a period of time and partly because we've got a detached victorian house that leaks heat.

We have a HUGE tank which we've never had more than 1/2 full and we don't have to be in because there's easy access to the back garden.

I would ask current owners about how often they get oil/how much they get if you can so you have an idea of what it might cost.

readyforno2 · 02/04/2012 21:27

Our tank takes 1000 litres kerosene, have an ask around neighbours to see if there is an oil buying group. It can bring the cost down by 5/6p per litre. Doesn't sound like much but all adds up.
Usually a tank will last around a year but the past couple of years with the horrendous winters it's been closer to a 1500 litres. You can also set up a monthly payment plan with an oil company so you aren't hit with a huge bill when it comes to filling up but may not then get the best price. Prices change pretty much every day so you're best to have your own monthly fund and call around as and when you need it.

aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 02/04/2012 21:28

We have an oil tank - it is expensive, but I think heating in any forrm is nowadays.

I think our tank is 1250l - we fill it about 4 times a year - our house has 4 bedrooms and that provides the heating, hotwater and fuels an Esse (like an Aga)

You don't need to be in when it is being refilled (unless it has a lock on it - but you can leave it unlocked)

startail · 02/04/2012 21:29

Oil £1200 a year, you need to ring round and I then got our nice, reliable, usual firm to price match.

Tanks come in different sizes usually a bit over 1000 and a bit over 2000l.

Do inspect the tank it's several 1000 for a new double skinned plastic tank. But way worse if a rusty metal one leaks.

GrendelsMum · 02/04/2012 21:44

Ours is 2500 l, and you can check current prices for your region (it varies by region, by day and by the amount you're buying) on BoilerJuice.

We had to buy in Feb (expensive month due to the snow increasing demand) and 700l was £440. We're a member of a village oil-coop, which doesn't really bring the prices down for our barn of a house but it means that we're making things cheaper for some of our elderly neighbours.

GrendelsMum · 02/04/2012 21:45

On the plus side, i reckon that having oil heating means that any other energy saving measures pay for themselves much more quickly.

thefurryone · 02/04/2012 22:14

We have oil, I just bought 900 litres for about £550, but I'm in Northern Ireland where gas is still relatively new fangled so oil tends to be a little bit cheaper here than rest of UK.

We generally get 900l twice a year, normally in September and January, but this year our energy saving measures (cavity wall, second door on an open porch) have kicked in and we didn't need 2nd tank till late March. Although I should add that we don't use any at all from late April till September as we can only have heating & hot water so we have to use the immersion in the summer.

thefurryone · 02/04/2012 22:16

Forgot to say out boiler is ancient, so we'd probably also be able to bring costs down by upgrading.

beachyhead · 02/04/2012 22:19

Check the tank if you are buying. If you buy and the tank is faulty and leaks, the clean up operation can be massive and very expensive.

stealthsquiggle · 02/04/2012 22:24

Yes, but then so is any form of heating nowadays. I'd the house has woodburner(s) too that helps

  1. No, don't have to be there
  1. Syndicates aside, 1000l tends to be the breakpoint for prices, so you want a 1500l+ tank

Gas tanks are tied to a specific provider although I believe there has to be a get out clause nowadays.

kitsmummy · 03/04/2012 07:00

Yes v expensive (double what we paid in gas in our previous house), don't have to be in to receive deliveries. I'd go for a tank of around 2000+ litres, as there's very little difference in cost between the smaller and larger tanks, not a great difference in size really (more noticeable if your garden is v small though obviously), and if you have bags of spare money (!) then you can fill up when oil is "cheap".

gregssausageroll · 03/04/2012 08:00

I will go against all of the above. We live in a 2 bed house. Go through approx 1200 litres a year. We have an account with our supplier and we pay by direct debit each month. Every few months they come by and top up the tank for us so we are never short. I don't find it anymore expensive than gas.

We have a 1500 litre tank. You can get several sizes but they more oil you buy the cheaper the price you will get.

Chubfuddler · 03/04/2012 08:04

Heating is expensive full stop I think. When we moved here 12 years ago oil was the cheap option, now it's as dear as other forms of heating if not worse.

What everyone else said about being in for deliveries and the toss up between the certainty of dd to spread cost and benefit of bulk buying when price is right.

However you do NOT want to run out. It is a pita and the boiler locks out.

PigletJohn · 03/04/2012 11:08

some people say that a tank which can be easily accessed and is out of the way is easy for thieves to suck dry.

pushingthesenses · 03/04/2012 18:06

Oil currently costing us £250 a month- four bedroomed well insulated house no other means of heating,

Don't need to be home for delivery.

Our tank deliberately positioned next to dog runs well round back of house as spate of oil thefts recently.

Expensive but currently drawing up plans for new house and it wil be oil again- no choice rural location.

Pascha · 03/04/2012 18:13

There has been a spate of oil theft over the winter around here, luckily not us. We just filled up 1000l which will last us around 9-10 months if we're careful. With VAT etc it came to £656. Over the year its working out at around £800. With leccy on top our fuel bills come to about £1400/year. If we're careful.

We don't use the oil for the central heating unless we have to as we have a woodburner connected to it. If we did, I think it would cost us around another £400/year.

gregssausageroll · 03/04/2012 18:42

Pushing at that price per month I would be getting my boiler checked.

mumdebump · 03/04/2012 19:49

Pushingthesenses our builder has just done a new build in rural area and apparently wasn't allowed to put in oil heating as it's not 'green' so has to use alternative energy sources such as air source heat pump, wood chip boiler or solar panels! More expensive to install but cheaper to run.

pushingthesenses · 03/04/2012 20:00

Grew up in big old houses and luckily DH is the same we like it warm.
Boiler is fine
Might be adding a couple of wood burners in new house though!

ragged · 03/04/2012 20:18

The bigger the tank the more likely you can buy when prices are relatively low, rather than having to buy because you've run out and accept whatever the price happens to be. A lot of people are shafted because they have older 500l tanks. We have a massive ugly 2500 tank, I think we get thru about 600l/yr (big house in windy place, but well insulated).

SilentMammoth · 03/04/2012 20:24

We have 1000litre tank (I think). IIRC £800 to fill last year. This powers our Rayburn and we only run it during the winter (tunes violin).

Don't have to be in for deliveries.

Agree with the poster who said have your own fuel account and shop around.

My personal tip is to tank up during the summer and avoid the spike in demand autumn/wintertime.

WithManyTots · 03/04/2012 20:49

Oil is about 6p per KWhr (unit), for comparison, gas is about 5p per KWhr once boiler efficiency is taken into account, so yes more expensive, but not a huge amount. The main difference is you pay for it all up front so you see all £500/£700/£1000 in one hit, not spread out over months by direct debit. As always you can make the biggest savings by insulating you house. We moved from a 1998 small 4 bed that used about 2000 lt per year to a 1984 "eco" house twice the size, that used 1000 lt a year. Finally adding a wood burner reduced that to about 500 lt a year

2ombie5layer · 03/04/2012 20:56

Ive just moved to a rural location and have got an oil tank for the first time ever. We had to buy our first lot of oil. We got 500 litres for just under £400, but we did get the emergency delivery so was an extra £50 than a within 10 days. We have got a 1000 litre tank and it had about 60 litres in when we first moved in (we dont have anything to tell us how much is in - haven't looked into getting one yet Hmm) and it didnt really go down in the week we were getting some money together.

Im not sure if its expensive or not as yet, we were paying about £80 a month on gas, but that was on a meter so Im hoping we dont notice the difference much.