Period heating oil

[Keithj]

My understanding is that Boilerjuice now belongs to one of the oil companies. They've not been competitive for us for a while: we don't bother calling them any more.

It's possible to use electric heating with a wet system, but it's expensive. We may not have a choice with the church heating when the boiler finally shuffles off: the boiler room doesn't comply with the modern regs and can't be extended/adapted.

 

[JoceAndChris]

It's the morning and the daytime when I want heat though. Chris says light a fire, but I don't want to sit by a fire. I want to be in the kitchen cooking ( and my kitchen area has no heating except the Rayburn in the adjoining room which is not close enough to heat the kitchen work area) or I want to be vaccuuming through - basically moving about and needing the whole house of a reasonable warmth. The Rayburn only can supply 9 rads which means the kitchen passageway and hallway have no heater. I spend around £1000 a year on plug in rads for those areas. There has to be a better system! Also, we have 3 phase electricity.

Appreciate the negatives though.

 

[Feltwell]

If you do decide to give them a go Joce, I'd suggest starting off with just one and not bothering with the changes required for E7, and see if you like it before investing further. I think you'll find them lovely & warm in the morning and then they and you will get gradually colder as the day progresses, especially in a poorly insulated house like yours. To be honest, I've never known anyone to have a good word to say about them.

Mind you, I am indelibly scarred by them! I've a scar running across the palm of my hand from where I tripped as a kid and cut my hand deeply on the corner of one.

 

[Keith Bowman]

...............................

I'm also thinking of getting some storage heaters...................

There is one going free here (about 15 miles east of Cambridge) if you really want one and think it worth the trip - but my experience is the same as others: not worth the effort of lifting them up!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks all for your honesty about these contraptions, you've well and truly put me off! Thanks though Keith for the very kind offer, that is sweet but Chris is now rigging up my plug in rads on timers so I get little bursts of heat through the day in the hallway and kitchen. I'll see how I get on with that xxx

 

[Keithj]

Storage heaters make excellent anchors for mooring buoys.
I've never found any other viable purpose for them.

 

[Keith Bowman]

Storage heaters make excellent anchors for mooring buoys.
I've never found any other viable purpose for them.

I've taken the bricks out of most of those that came with the house, to make a floor in a shed!

 

[Penners]

Great plan, Keith! Now all you have to do is weave the heating element in between those bricks and you'll have a shed with underfloor heating!

 

[tobydog]

Well who would have thought it. Just been advised that my purchase of 600 litres (just a top-up unfortunately) through the Bungay Buyers syndicate will cost me 44.79p per litre plus VAT. That's the cheapest I've seen in over 5 years and would be provided by Butler Oils. I rang up Butler to ask them what their current price is and it's 49.88p plus VAT . They said they would be open to negotiation. I then rang Goff Petroleum who came in at 47.75p plus VAT and they too offered negotiation. When I suggested 44p they just laughed. They did ring back an hour later seeing what other prices I had secured.

I will be staying with Bungay Buyers because I can't be bothered to cancel orders and re-book elsewhere for what might only be a couple of quid at best on 600 litres. Thought you might appreciate the update though on what's happening with prices.

 

[Penners]

That's definitely interesting for those of us in the Bungay area. Thanks Tobydog.

 

[Feltwell]

Crude oil is at a 5 year low apparently.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30276353

 

[Penners]

Oh, is that what it means?!

When I read that the price of crude was falling, I got completely the wrong end of the stick.

 

[Keithj]

I filled up last week via my local Suffolk syndicate at 45p/l. That's the cheapest for a very long time!

 

[tobydog]

Boilerjuice - 37.4p plus VAT :shock: :shock: :shock: I'm sure others are probably similar. I thought my price of just shy of 45p a month ago was impressive and it was cheaper than Boilerjuice at the time.

 

[Penners]

We've still got half a tank, so at the present rate of falling prices I reckon by the time we have to fill up, they'll pay me to take some of their oil.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

In the meantime I have got to get my head around the fact that we shall be running on LPG from next week when we move into our little cottage-----aaaagh---- now the reality of how much energy one needs really kicks in @ around £50 per canister which we understand will last about a week------aaaaarrrrggggh again. HELP


But, one area will be warm when the Aga City 60 arrives in February.

 

[Carol]

Our underground LPG tank goes in this month and I am already worried about the price horror stories. But we were determined to cook on a gas hob so had little choice. Especially as the Rayburn was condemned. Am planning to do a lot of insulating.

 

[Feltwell]

What size canister is that Jocelyn?

LPG has come right down in price as well at the moment, I regularly buy 500 litres at a time on account for my car. 52p a litre at the moment, it has been as high as 80p, you pay more VAT on LPG when it's sold as vehicle fuel than as heating fuel.

I presume you have large red Calor cylinders. Is there any option, i.e. a big enough garden, to switch to a fixed above or under-ground tank? Could work out a lot cheaper in the long term and less hassle as you only need the occasional topup from a road tanker, just like with oil, and no messing about changing cylinders.

Alternatively, refillable gas cylinders could be cheaper if a fixed tank is not an option. These are special gas cylinders, intended for use in motorhomes principally, that you refill with LPG autogas at a petrol station. Even though you pay more VAT they may be a much cheaper option - for the small cylinders my motorhome uses, Calor charge £26 for an exchange cylinder, whereas it cost about £10.50 to refill a cylinder at a suitable petrol station.

Note you can't just refill "normal" gas cylinders - that's highly dangerous - you have to use a special type that cuts out at 80% full (Google "Safefill Cylinder"). You also need a local Autogas LPG supplier who is OK with you using these cylinders. If this is of interest, send me a PM with your new postcode and I'll look up who supplies Autogas near you, I've an atlas with all the suppliers shown on it.

 

[Penners]

I regularly buy 500 litres at a time on account for my car.

That car must have a hell of a fuel tank, Feltwell!! :wink:

 

[Flyfisher]

Something like this perhaps?