Oil Heating Advice

Author
Discussion

E36GUY

Original Poster:

5,906 posts

217 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
My house renovation is on another thread but I have a question re heating systems for anyone that can help?

Our new place has an oil fired system and there is no gas so we don't have a lot of choice here. With combi boilers that we've always had we've never run out of hot water. How does an oil system work here? Does it heat water on demand? I know there is an immersion tank for the summer months when the heating is off but with two kids and a wife who all bathe daily and me that enjoys a long shower at the weekends, how to avoid running out of hot water?


jjones

4,422 posts

192 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
You can have a combi just like with gas.

blueg33

35,590 posts

223 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
With our oil fired system, you can run just hot water, just heating or both together, its not a combi system, just a standard Worcester type oil fired boiler connected to a megaflow for hot water.

Wife and teenage daughter in the house. We don't run out of hot water

ILoveMondeo

9,614 posts

225 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
We've just got a standard hot water tank in the upstairs airing cupboard, run hot water for a couple of hours every morning, and evening, and most of the weekend.

Never had to use emersion heater, never run out, if you end up having a shower mid afternoon after the water has been off for a few hours it's generally still pretty hot anyway (with a decent insulated tank), and if not flick it on manually and it's piping hot in 10 mins or less.

To my understanding combi boilers are quite a bit more complex (and expensive), so unless saving the space of having a hot water cylinder is a priority, I'd give it a miss. Oil boilers are pretty simple and never really go wrong (touch wood), mines ancient and trucking along no bother. modern combi's do nothing but break down.


rovermorris999

5,195 posts

188 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
jjones said:
You can have a combi just like with gas.
This. A friend has just put one in, a Worcester Bosch. Works fine although I'd prefer the relative simplicity (of the boiler) of a conventional setup.

RedLeicester

6,869 posts

244 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
Gas is a fuel.

Oil is a fuel.


They fuel boilers.


Boilers can be standard, system, combi, whatever.



Just make sure you have as big a tank as you can (2000l+) for economies of scale, and prepare for wallet bumming every time it gets chilly or someone plays in someone else's sandpit without permission.




anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
Oil combi boilers are okay-ish, but as has been pointed out can be a bit complex.

I would strongly recommend an unvented hot water cylinder, operating with a conventional oil boiler. A sealed heating system, in conjunction with the unvented cylinder means no tanks in the loftsmile

There are nay-sayers who will opine that an unvented cylinder is akin to having a nuclear warhead in the airing cupboard, but their performance (assuming adequate mains pressure and flow rate) is first-rate. The cylinder MUST be installed by a qualified 'G3 ticket' person, and must be serviced annually.

Murph7355

37,651 posts

255 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
RedLeicester said:
...
Just make sure you have as big a tank as you can (2000l+) for economies of scale, and prepare for wallet bumming every time it gets chilly or someone plays in someone else's sandpit without permission.
Temperature outside hasn't really been a big factor in the oil prices I've paid.

The general price of oil is obviously the biggest (the more they play around like they currently are the better!). Next is making sure you're not in a rush smile

I'm also not convinced there are huge price breaks once you get over 1,500 litres...though obviously if you time your purchase right you can store more cheap oil...you do get asked if your tank's genuinely for domestic purposes if you have a 2500+ litre tank though...

RedLeicester

6,869 posts

244 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
Murph7355 said:
The general price of oil is obviously the biggest (the more they play around like they currently are the better!). Next is making sure you're not in a rush smile
Last time we had a proper freeze (2011), prices went up 40% on short notice deliveries. Not pleasant for those who got caught out.

Busa mav

2,556 posts

153 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
Certainly a good time to e buying oil, 23p/ litre plus the vat. smile

Murph7355

37,651 posts

255 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
RedLeicester said:
Last time we had a proper freeze (2011), prices went up 40% on short notice deliveries . Not pleasant for those who got caught out.
wink

I've just ordered a tank full (at around 23p including VAT) but even with prices so low I would have been nobbled by around 30% had I wanted it within a couple of days.

IME urgency is the second biggest factor in the price you pay. And if you know your oil consumption (a remote gauge and experience of your usage are key) you can control that one...

(2011 & 2012 were bitter! -14degC here for a number of days in the morning. Last time we had any meaningful snow too, sadly)

blueg33

35,590 posts

223 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
Don't run out, you need an engineer to restart the boiler and the oil suppliers sting you for emergency delivery

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
blueg33 said:
Don't run out...
The first time we had oil CH, I had no idea what our normal consumption would be.

The level gauge was a vertical 'sight tube' which I kept periodically checking, thinking, "oh, we're not using very much at all". One morning, I came downstairs to see the boiler in 'lockout'. On closer inspection of the sight tube, I noticed a small metal knob at the base of the assembly....

Pulled the knob, and watched the level promptly disappear out of sight!banghead

The guy at the oil depot had a good chuckle, but said, 'you only do that once' - and that (thankfully) I wasn't the first!

madjules

130 posts

221 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
I had an oil condensing combi fitted in our cottage and it’s been (touch wood) faultless since installed in 2009. To be fair I did go for a top of the range Worcester-Bosch in the hope of getting 15-20+ years out of it. We don’t have a huge amount of space, so I didn’t want a big cylinder and I do like the instant and unlimited h/w a good combi will provide.

You can get both internally and externally fitted units and I went for an internal under-counter type as I didn’t like the idea of the boiler sitting outside in all weathers. The disadvantages are the boiler fan is quite noisy and you do get the odd whiff of oil very occasionally.

They are really no more complex than a gas combi, BUT do need to be serviced annually as the nozzles tend to wear and the combustion chambers can soot up.

As others have said monitor your usage and use the oil comparison sites such as Boilerjuice and Weboil and you will save a few quid. Your local community may also have a ‘buying club’ which will also help lower the cost.

Best of Luck.

E36GUY

Original Poster:

5,906 posts

217 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
Thanks all.

Truth is I've always had gas so don't know what all the bits of equipment are in the house yet. The boiler is reasonably new and is WB I think so should be pretty efficient. There is a hot water temp control along with the heating controls so looks like it is separate. Perhaps the cylinder upstairs is one of these unvented tank things rather than an immersion heater.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
E36GUY said:
Thanks all.

Truth is I've always had gas so don't know what all the bits of equipment are in the house yet. The boiler is reasonably new and is WB I think so should be pretty efficient. There is a hot water temp control along with the heating controls so looks like it is separate. Perhaps the cylinder upstairs is one of these unvented tank things rather than an immersion heater.
If there is any sort of HW cylinder, it is more likely that the 'hot water temp control' you refer to is to set the central heating 'flow' temperature.

Unvented cylinders almost invariably have a white outer 'shell', whereas conventional vented types have a more visible foam insulation (with or without an additional insulation jacket). The presence of a large cold water storage cistern in the loft will also indicate a vented cylinder!

Both types of cylinder will have an electrically-powered immersion heater.

blueg33

35,590 posts

223 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
280E said:
blueg33 said:
Don't run out...
The first time we had oil CH, I had no idea what our normal consumption would be.

The level gauge was a vertical 'sight tube' which I kept periodically checking, thinking, "oh, we're not using very much at all". One morning, I came downstairs to see the boiler in 'lockout'. On closer inspection of the sight tube, I noticed a small metal knob at the base of the assembly....

Pulled the knob, and watched the level promptly disappear out of sight!banghead

The guy at the oil depot had a good chuckle, but said, 'you only do that once' - and that (thankfully) I wasn't the first!
Exactly what happened to me

Cobalt Blue

215 posts

195 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
blueg33 said:
Don't run out, you need an engineer to restart the boiler and the oil suppliers sting you for emergency delivery
And if your oil tank is a few years old, turn the boiler off before oil is delivered and for a couple of hours afterwards.

Tanks accumulate water and sludge, both of which settle and are normally no problem. We usually order in Summer, but had a top up last week whilst the boiler was working.

It took me over three hours to clear the filters and flush dirty water through pipework,pump and injector!

I'm hoping to get the tank drained and cleaned in the Summer. Anyone have experience of doing this?

E36GUY

Original Poster:

5,906 posts

217 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
280E said:
If there is any sort of HW cylinder, it is more likely that the 'hot water temp control' you refer to is to set the central heating 'flow' temperature.

Unvented cylinders almost invariably have a white outer 'shell', whereas conventional vented types have a more visible foam insulation (with or without an additional insulation jacket). The presence of a large cold water storage cistern in the loft will also indicate a vented cylinder!

Both types of cylinder will have an electrically-powered immersion heater.
THanks. The hot water temp is separate to the heating controls where you can set different temps for different times of the day.

Labelled Morning, Midday, Evening, Night, Hot Water....

guindilias

5,245 posts

119 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
blueg33 said:
Don't run out, you need an engineer to restart the boiler and the oil suppliers sting you for emergency delivery
Well, an allen key to restart the boiler, if you are mechanically skilled enough to use one - and a 20 litre Jerry can of heating oil which you get the oil delivery bloke to fill the first time he comes out - it's not rocket science!