Non-mains drainage and no gas (oil)

[AllTalkNo]

Hi, I am considering buying a rural home which has oil fired central heating (no gas to the property) and also is not on mains drainage. Are there any issues i should be aware of about either of those things? Thanks for any advice/opinion

Having lived with both, although in rented properties, I would want to know the age and size of both the oil tank and septic tank. Also how the septic tank is maintained and how often it is emptied.

I've never really had a problem with oil fired central heating but in my experience the boilers can be a little more temperamental. You probably want ask about the age and maintenance of the boiler as well.

Day to day wise you just need to remember to budget for oil and septic tank emptying as they tend to be periodic costs rather than monthly and you don't want to find yourself with an empty oil tank in January.

I have lived that way for decades and it is no problem.
You have to follow the rules about your septic tank or biodigester for it to work well. If you are tempted to bung down stuff you shouldn't or to use the wrong cleaning materials then there will be problems. But otherwise they function well.
I have mostly had oil heating but now have LPG. In both instances I arranged for the tank to be topped up regularly rather than having to check the levels and place an order when it was getting low. With the oil I used a company who were happy to top up when they were in the area, and with the lpg I have a telemetry sensor that tells them when it is getting low.
Good luck with your move.

Had oil heating . When it worked it was fine but as pp said when the boiler went it costs 1000s and hard to find someone to repair it.
Also price of oil really fluctuates.

I’d check very very carefully the septic tank - new regulations came in a few years ago which meant majority of existing septic tanks were pretty much condemned and the cost to replace them is significant (tens of thousands)

Oil boilers are excellent if maintained eg serviced yearly. I’ve lived in a number of houses in 50yrs and never had mains gas.

avoid LPG.

I would check the age and maintenance of the boiler. A new one is a couple of thousand fitted and will be more efficient to run if the existing one is old. The unforeseen budgeting aspect is if the pipe work and radiators are the right spec for a new boiler. They may need to be upgraded which is the real cost and hassle in all this.

also ask for a copy of invoices so you can budget for standard monthly/annual bills

No issue with no mains drainage, again check the set up, maintenance and so on. The rules changed recently and it is the responsibility of the seller not you re this being fit for purpose.

avoid LPG.
Why? I am very happy with it. I have an incredibly effective and efficient combi boiler that runs on LPG. The boiler is serviced every year and the tank filled automatically.

The Government price cap only applies to mains gas and electricity. Prices for oil can (and do) vary wildly.

LPG running costs are about 50% higher than oil. You can get oil combi boilers too.

It's swings and roundabouts. LPG boilers are more efficient (and quieter) so the marginally higher cost of the fuel itself is offset.

This is the norm in huge swathes of the Highlands! We function just fine 😆

Septic tanks vary. I know someone with an ancient one which obviously has a top notch bacterial culture, as it hasn't been emptied or treated for 30 years and never causes any problems. But our tank is newer and does need emptied every few years, despite the fact that we never put anything naughty in it and we have also tried feeding it with bacteria. I suspect the old tanks were actually better (but probably not as good for the environment).

Oil fired CH is fine. I've no idea how it compares to gas as there's no mains gas in the rural Highlands at all, but it is certainly cheaper than electric CH.

If you want gas for cooking you just get bottles from the garage, they last ages so not that annoying.

I've had both in my last house, you will find that once your house goes up for sale, the environment agency will check your septic tank and unless its new it will be condemned and need replacing, mine cost £7k, even though the bloke from environment said if we didn't move it wouldn't need to be replaced. I had a Worcester oil boiler and it was very efficient

We have oil heating because the house was never connected to the gas main even though it runs to the end of the drive. We replaced our tank for a bunded (double skinned) one last year and have a little monitor inside which shows us how much oil is in the tank. Because you can see the levels, we tend to be a little more frugal rather than just turning the heating on like you would with gas, but it doesnt cost us anymore than gas would because there is no service charge. You could set up a DD with the oil company or just pay a little into a seperate pot or account each month to cover your monthly use so that the money is there when the tank needs filling. Our boiler uses very little oil during the warmer months when we dont use the heating and just have it heating the water.

Thanks everyone, food for thought. I think i should look into the condition of the septic tank a little more. I believe the boiler and oil tank are relatively new.

We are in a deep rural area with no gas in the locality, so oil fired heating is the norm. Suppliers will set up direct debits so you spread the cost then call up for a delivery when it's getting low. My one note of caution is about oil theft. Make sure your tank is not easily accessible from the road and use NFU for insurance as they are used to dealing with claims for stolen oil. Thieves seem to know when someone has had a delivery and turn up when no-one is home, to syphon it off. This has happened twice to us so not a frequent occurrence but one to be aware of.

We have non-mains drainage. It works well and costs us very little. I'd do some due diligence during conveyancing so you know exactly what the specific arrangement is, but I don't think private sewerage needs be a showstopper in itself.

PIL swapped their oil fired for a wooden pellet system. Has big gas canisters for hob.

We have oil heating and keep an eye on the price and fill up when it's low (we have 2 very large tanks). Runs central heating and Aga. The Aga is fussy about the oil (actually kerosene) and we put an additive in the oil to stop it coking up - the oil used to be fine but quality seems lower nowadays.

Dreading having to probably change our septic tank when we move house - it seems such a shame. It was built when the house was in 1931 and works perfectly. It's a huge stone lined chamber like a giant test-tube with outlet to a series of other chambers. Never smells, works perfectly.

We have no mains gas or electricity. We have had no problems with the septic tank and opted for LPG gas which I expected to be very expensive but this hasn't been the case. Our issue has been lack of mobile and broadband which is frustrating and expensive to remedy so I struggle with a very poor service.

AFAIK the issue with LPG is that your supplier provides the tank so you are tied to them unlike oil where you can use anyone

How do you cope without mains electricity? That seems extreme!

Have you tried Starlink @Summerbean ?

Haha! Don't know why I posted that. We do have electricity!

I'm looking at Starlink although it's expensive. Seems to be our best option

That's true and I was very concerned to start with. Our supplier is brilliant however, has been in business for many years and the price has stayed stable so no complaints so far.

Starlink used to be great and was really worth paying the extra for but over the last few years it has got worse and worse. I understand it is due to the high number of users so the more people join, the less well it works. We are about 3 miles from the nearest fibre broadband and unlikely to get it soon so we don't have much alternative.

This is rubbish - the cost of a sewage treatment plant is not 'tens of thousands'.