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Original poster

Does anybody have oil central heating?

47 replies

QueuetoaskaQ · 01/11/2017 09:33

Hi - we're considering renting a house with oil central heating. We've only ever had gas central heating before so it's all new to me.

Basically there is a huge tank outside in the back garden which I'm told costs approx £350 to fill but the estate agent couldn't tell me how long this would last.

Apparently if i sign up to a monthly thing, a big lorry will come and top it up for me every month.

If i don't subscribe to a monthly contract then I need to wait until it runs empty and then buy a full tank's worth each time.

Can anybody tell me how much more expensive this form of heating will be than gas? Do any of you subscribe to a monthly contract?

Thanks.

OP posts:

scaryteacher · 02/11/2017 07:31

We have a 2500l tank in the UK, and a 5000 litre one abroad. In the UK, we can get a discount for ordering 2000+ litres. What I used to do was pay monthly to the oil company, but only fill up when I needed to, having paid upfront for the original delivery, so the cost was smoothed out over the year. Some years I had money left after I filled up, some I didn't.

Crumbs1 · 02/11/2017 07:38

We too have a large co-operative for oil purchase. Most people locally are oil heated as we don’t have mains gas. Not sure how much we pay as my husband deals with bill but know it’s much cheaper than being a sole buyer.
We have a monitoring device and the lorry arrives and tops up whenever necessary or when in the area. If we let the company (Butlers) top up whenever they are in the area the co-operative discount is higher as they save on transport and staff. Basically he spends a morning driving around the villages filling people up at a time that is convenient to the company. Works for us.

MiaowTheCat · 02/11/2017 07:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lucisky · 02/11/2017 08:00

We fill our tank about every 9 months (1000 litre), so, at the moment it is cheap heating. We always shop around for oil to get the cheapest price, and we buy when the 'watchman' is down to 2 bars. Before we had this device oh used to dip the tank, as the sight gauge was not that accurate.
The boiler is used year round for heating the water, and in the winter we only have it on morning and evening, we also have a woodburner.
It is more economical since we had the boiler replaced, so check the age of the boiler, and make sure it is regularly serviced.

Spudlet · 02/11/2017 08:06

We have it, it's not a problem. Keep an eye on the tank (mind you, we ran out and it was fine, beyond having to pay through the nose for an emergency oil delivery) and shop around when you need a top up. As a pp mentioned we generally get the best rate through our local oil club - you sign up and they send you regular emails with the price per litre they've negotiated for the next delivery run. I haven't noticed that it's any less efficient than other forms of heating, certainly not in terms of the time it takes to warm up. Mind you, we had a new boiler in the spring so we do have a pretty efficient system now.

We don't have a tank gauge, we have a DH with a broom handle . We should probably buy a gauge, but we are cheapskates

GuinefortGrey · 02/11/2017 08:07

I have a monthly direct debit with our oil company, which means the money is always there in my account with them when we need to top up. I pay the same amount all year round even though we don’t use much oil over the summer so I don’t need to worry about finding several hundred in one go over the winter. I just ring them for a delivery when the tank gets low. We have a 2000 litre tank.

We have a gauge on our tank which I try and remember to check regularly. We have run out a couple of times and it’s cost £50 ish for the boiler engineer to come out and bleed the system through oops!

Spudlet · 02/11/2017 08:14

Oh, one thing I would check is what kind of boiler it is - I wouldn't want an oil fired combi boiler because if you run out of oil you'll also have no hot water! We have a separate immersion heater, which we never use in the normal course of things- but when we ran out of oil, and then this year when the (ancient) boiler we had finally gave up the ghost, it meant we still had hot water. All the boiler fitters we got out to give quotes warned us off oil fired combi boilers.

the other thing to be aware of is the location of the tank - ideally you want it well tucked away out of sight from the road, because oil theft is not unknown. Ours is right behind the house, out of sight of us (it's at the end of the utility room) but not immediately accessible from the road without coming through two gates and right round the house, so it's not too tempting a target. If you are worried, don't put a lock on the tank, counter intuitive though that is - the bastards will drill into the tank and you'll end up needing a whole new one, as opposed to an emergency delivery of oil. That's what we were advised, anyway.

Etymology23 · 02/11/2017 09:12

I don't think oil fired combi should be a problem - surely you just make damned sure you don't run out of oil, like you tax your car or pay your council tax bill or your mortgage? I guess this will depend on tank size though - if you have a 2500L tank then you only have to think about it once a year. If it was a 500L tank I'd probably want an alarm in my phone to check it every month.

Deffo agree re out of sight though - behind a hedge, pref behind a locked gate if possible. (But no lock on the tack as noted above.)

WhoWants2Know · 02/11/2017 09:21

Definitely agree about hiding the tank and having good secure gates wherever it’s located.

My LLs had a new boiler put in on a subsidised scheme and it has a device to avoid air locks if the oil runs out. (Thank goodness I have the best landlords ever who fixed it last time I ran out!)

I use it sparingly, so I get through maybe 800-1000 L a year and order via boiler juice.

mateysmum · 02/11/2017 09:22

if you have a 2500L tank then you only have to think about it once a year.

Ha Ha if only that were true. We have a large 5 bed house and an oil fired AGA which is pretty thirsty, so even though we are pretty frugal and switch the AGA off in the summer, we still fill up twice, but normally we keep an eye on the oil price and top up with the local syndicate when the price is low even if it's just for 500l.

Etymology23 · 02/11/2017 09:32

matey - I lived in a 3 bed, cooker on electric/gas tanks so we got through less than 1500L a year I think? So it never seemed that much trouble to me, but can see it could be more so in your situation!

specialsubject · 02/11/2017 13:01

if the OP is still there, just noted you are renting:

there's no 'oil safe' like there is gas safe but you still need to ask all those questions. Don't be one of those renters that ignores the EPC and then is surprised by a draughty house. EPC is E or higher I hope?

the system itself will not take longer to heat up. The fuel used does not affect this.

Easiest way regarding tank level is to ask the landlord to fill it up, then when you leave fill it up before you go. That prevents arguments.

snowscreamer · 02/11/2017 21:25

This may or may not be helpful; we have a 1360l tank and go through about 1000l a year, so tend to fill up once in the summer when the price is low. Last May we paid £346 for 1000l. Price is currently hovering on our local oil club (via oil-club.co.uk) at around 39p + VAT. I watch the emails each week in the summer and just jump when the price gets low. Sometimes we get it bang on, sometimes we jump too soon. C'est la vie.

I reckon it works out pretty reasonably though: ~£400 for all heating and hot water for the year. We don't cut corners on our heating (like it toasty all the time we're at home), house is 1200 sq ft Victorian semi-detached. Well-insulated with double glazing throughout.

tbaggy · 02/11/2017 22:34

I'm in a short term rental with oil, annoyingly I'll probably only use 200 -300 litres while I'm here but the minimum fill is 500litres so not sure what I'm meant to do. The inventory check noted 500 litres.

Changebagsandgladrags · 02/11/2017 22:48

On running out...I read you could put a bit of diesel in it. Is that true?

MissConductUS · 02/11/2017 22:52

On running out...I read you could put a bit of diesel in it. Is that true?

Yes. Diesel fuel is the same as home heating oil (also called Number 2 oil, or just "2 oil") with some additives to reduce smoke production when burned in an engine.

ilovepixie · 02/11/2017 23:44

You can also buy oil from petrol stations either in drums or from a pump. Some areas also have an oil stamp scheme where you buy oil stamps for £5 or whatever and use these to buy heating oil. This helps spread the cost.

specialsubject · 03/11/2017 09:07

...and will greatly increase it like all 'spread the cost' schemes. Spread the cost by saving.

And check your tank level. Its not hard.

myusernamewastaken · 03/11/2017 20:40

I have had oil heating for the last 13 years....i put 2 x 500 litre top ups in my tank a year....total cost £400 a year....
Ive run out a couple of times but didnt seem to knacker the boiler...

hiddenmnetter · 04/11/2017 00:16

Google says that heating oil is around 4.3p/kWh, pretty much the same as gas. So bills should be pretty similar.

My parents 4-bedroom house has an oil system which they've filled up once this year for £200. That's given them 7 months of heating and hot water (over summer months). I'd say their annual oil bill will be around £600-700. So split over 12 months around £50-£60/month, a little more than we pay, but we've a 3-bed.

AnarchyKitty · 05/11/2017 08:36

We had it before we had a biomass boiler fitted.
We used Boiler Juice online to order the oil as you get a better deal. The minimum you can order is 200l normally.

outabout · 13/11/2017 11:46

On the subject of running out, you could probably use cooking oil as it is possible to use it in diesel vehicles. However it is most likely more expensive than heating oil and there is a risk of it 'gumming up' either filters or the burner jets although I would expect there are additives that would alleviate that, as there are for vehicle use.

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