Has anyone had any experience of oil central heating, found a great house in the sticks, but its got oil central heating! any advice please... im a bit of a towney.....
Meant to be a bit expensive each time you need to fill it up so I've heard.... Blimey! Living in the sticks!
Work and live in the countryside. Most my customers are oil, they are in a co-operative. They all put together and buy in bulk and receive much cheaper oil
Yep. It's expensive. Try to fill up when the price per litre is lower (in Summer). It pays to shop around, but you'll find that there's little difference between lots of the suppliers, save possibly one.(Not that I'm suggesting they run a cartel, just that one week one of them will do the cheapest price, whilst another week, or another postcode, it'll be another. DCC own most of the distributors) Join a Buying Group, or if there isn't one, get together with the neighbours (figuratively speaking: our nearest are at least a mile away) and buy in bulk - price per litre falls on orders over 1000s of litres. It's worthwhile haggling - they'll drop the price if they can compete. Get your boiler serviced - if it's old (our first one was 20+ years old) it may be worthwhile replacing it - better performance and less chance of breakdown-if it does breakdown, it'll be when you need it most - late at night in Winter! Invest in a wifi oil level device like Watchman - it'll give a level status indoors, and save you going out to check it. Gas would be more convenient, but not available to us hicks.
Were on oil here, no gas to the village I'm in. It used to be the cheapest heating by far but not any more. Ive got a 2500 litre tank and we used a whole tank full between May 2012 and January 2013 due to last years non-summer. Usually it will last 12 months. Friends down the road with a new house and new boiler get through 750 litres per year. A new boiler will make a difference. Must get mine changed sometime. Fill up in Summer if you can. I paid 65p per litre recently. Last Xmas one local company was charging 1.25 for emergency fill ups right before Xmas day. I've heard that the previous generation of Landrover Discoverys run ok on heating oil too.
We're off grid for mains sewerage and gas, our heating is gas bottles and a log burner Oil is OK, but there's lots of people nicking oil in bulk at the moment.
I have a 1950 sqft house; 10 year old boiler......occupied all day, so heating on a lot...............get through 900 litres every six weeks in winter..........don't even think about firing up the Aga!! Oil doesn't get nicked because Messrs Webley and Scott patrol around here.
Bin it get and get a log burner plus solar panels and fuck off big storage heaters, it's the future ...
We bought our dream home in the sticks moving from a small market town. Our place is on oil it is 3000sq ft and has under floor heating. And the running costs for oil are staggering. We use approx 500 lts a month from oct through to may, you can sign up for a standing order with a set price with most company's and budget properly by paying over the year. I have only had one delivery since may that will last through to oct. As everyone else has said it's not cheap. If your moving for good it may pay to buy a biomass burner but they aren't cheap to buy and install. Good luck and don't let it put you off.
Not only am I oil fired central heating but also an oil burning Aga. Winter 2010 saw me using a 1300litre tank a month at approx 70p a litre. The house is 1680s and has colanders for windows. On the other hand a mate of mine has oil fired heating in a modern thermally insulated house with an electric cooker and uses less than 750 litres a year. The heating is not so much an issue as how well the house is insulated. Just filled up today at 58p a litre. During the summer the heating is off, but the Aga is always on so no rest on the wallet front.
We are to far from the closest village for mains gas or sewerage. Cost is one issue, the other is theft, we have had the tank emptied twice. I was going to lock the lid but was advised not to as the robbing gits will just puncture the tank. The other is having to keep an eye on it as running out in winter puts you at the mercy of having to pay whatever the suppliers want to charge. But, the way we see it, that's the price we have to pay for living where we live.
Yup Oil is an expensive way of heating, we have it here as no gas in our village, 2500litre tank which we try to fill during summer to take advantage of the cheaper oil, and we have a log burner which can also run the heating, but not the water. If your boiler is old/needs replacing then I would look at biomass as it seems a lot cheaper, but defo get a log burner!
There's some good (and bad!) advice above. Ours is a 5 bed detached of 94 vintage and running the original boiler (which has been very reliable. Used 1600 ltrs last year so not too bad. There are bulk buying clubs that keep the oil price competitive. A wood burning stove is definitely worth having. Also keep the thermostat down a bit (18-18.5c). The plus points of being in a rural village where crime is nil, people all know and look out for each other, is well worth it. I don't suppose gas or electric would be that much cheaper. Wood pellets may be the future but early days. Good luck with your plans to escape to the country.
Switch the Aga off and save yourself 50 litres a week.............they drink oil. I refuse to have mine on, despite madam's whingeing. AL
