Heating Oil Suppliers

[TimW]

My elderly parents had an oil company on a keep-me-topped-up arrangement. When I found out I knew it needed checking and sure enough they are hiking the price up by about 30% and taking it by direct debit. This was Certas but I know the other oil companies do the same. I have used boilerjuice for some years now and they are great because you always get a keen price but I can't get them to supply my parents because you have to order the oil each time, pay up front and you have to be able to say what quantity you want.

So how do I find an oil company that will supply oil without fuss, just to keep the tank part full and without robbing my dear old parents? A modern day problem.

TW

[Graeme]

In message , TimW writes

Presumably your parents use oil because there is no gas locally, in which case others in the area are in the same position? May be worth finding out if there is an 'oil club' in the area. Our local club has grown significantly over the last couple of years, and the monthly bulk order is sufficient to ensure a discount. Whether there is an option to request a monthly top up I don't know, but worth asking.

[Tim Streater]

Remember tho that they can't deliver less than 500 lt at a time.

[Martin Brown]

It is always a bad idea to tie yourself into a single supply company since then they have no incentive whatsoever to be competitive on price and will invariably rip off to weak and vulnerable over time.

How fast do they get through oil? Is there no oil indicator on the tank? You can get Watchman wireless oil gauges that plug into a mains socket and show F9876543210 (with 1 and 0 flashing a LED to remind you).

If you visit from time to time can you not just keep an eye on it?

If there is a local buying consortium in their village they usually get the keenest price by doing a bulk order for as many houses as want some oil at the time. One single trip for the company and a decent volume bought so you have some latitude to negotiate on the actual price paid.

The enquiry from the consortium will also help remind them to read the oil meter and decide if they need some or not.

I never buy less than 1000L. FWIW the local oil companies round here mostly deliver and accept payment of invoice on 30 day terms.

[Brian Gaff]

I suspect it is the fact that they have to drive to the parents place before they know whether the trip is profitable that hikes up the cost. its a pity some kind of wireless level system that can be used to send data to a company when it really is worth coming cannot be fitted. Brian

[Graeme]

In message , Tim Streater writes

Whilst true, I have ordered 500l but only received

[Tim Watts]

Seems like for a new tank installation, getting on *much* bigger than you really need would be a good idea. If you could run for a year on 1/2 an X-litre tank where X>=1000l you can essentially run it down to half, then you have all year to fill it up at the best price (which presumably is summer?)

How big is a typical tank to run a house?

[Graeme]

In message , Tim Watts writes

I realise this was not directed at me, but a few thoughts anyway. A larger tank is a good idea in theory, but of course takes up more garden space and would almost certainly require a new, larger base, not to mention bunding.

Our tank holds 1300l, and our use is +/- 7000l per annum, so a tank to hold a full year's supply would be massive, and, taking into account initial outlay vs buying once a year at summer prices, I doubt I would live long enough to break even.

[Michael Chare]

These days I would do a google search to find suppliers. In the past I used yellow pages. You could then ring them up and ask.

The number of suppliers will depend on what part of the country your parents are in.

With a modern more efficient boiler you may find that your parents can get away with filling up once a year. In general you can expect to pay less in the summer but other market forces may be dominant. I generally expect to pay immediately.

[Tufnell Park]

Many people on oil heating have a Watchman tank sensor which if connected to a phone dialler will alert the oil delivery company at a pre agreed oil level but it does make for a 'captive supplier' situation.

[Davey]

I run our local Syndicate. Certas is to be avoided like the plague, Boilerjuice were originally on a different planet, but eventually realised that offering me lots of personal 'incentives' when all I wanted was a price per litre exactly as all the other companies offered, was no good at all. But now, they keep on not returning my calls when I am ordering, so they have lost any chance.

Each ordering session, (there are three per year), I go through my list of suppliers, eliminating them gradually as the price falls. For the last two years, the successful supplier has been the same one, but there is no guarantee of that. A typical order is for about 45,000 to

52,000 litres. The available discount is getting smaller and smaller.

All suppliers, at least for the first few orders, will require payment up front, and a minimum order of 500 litres. I have also had deliveries that came out at less than that without protest, but I would never do that deliberately. "Fill-ups" can be tricky. The way they are handled here is that any such is bumped up at order time by about 10% of the estimated quantity, and then the value of any that could not be delivered is refunded afterwards.

There is a company in Essex that will supply low volumes, in batches of

100litres, but you pay for the privilege, it is designed as an emergency service.

[Michael Chare]

My neighbour used run a syndicate which was very helpful and lead to me monitoring my weekly oil usage so that I would know how much to order when he made contact. Sadly he moved house but I did get a list of the suppliers he asked.

[Davey]

snip

That list may be old and need updating. Certas absorbed many local suppliers, and there are some new ones around. Also, some Farm Suppliers make oil deliveries.

It is a constantly changing scenario.

[Martin Brown]

Depriving it of its phone connection will sort that.

[Tim Watts]

7000l / year - that's very interesting - I had no idea...

We had oil CH when I was small, but I don't remember how often it was filled.

[Cynic]

I buy two 900 litre loads a year. 3 bed detached built in the 1980s.

[Andy Burns]

Looking at boiler juice prices that seems to be about £3,500-4,000 depending on time of year :-o and here's me humming and hawing about moving supplier again as they want to shunt me up to £444/year for gas when my fix runs out in a couple of months ...

[The Natural Philosopher]

1500-2500 litres

[Dave Liquorice]

2,500 l here

7,000 l/year flippin' heck! I thought it was bad when we moved here at about 4,800l/year. Reducing drafts and adding insulation has knocked that back to 3,800l/year.

Bear in mind this is a big random stone walled house house, at 1400' and exposed. When the wind picks up in the winter the 38 kW boiler can barely keep up.

[Dave Liquorice]

I've never found Boilerjuice to be better than calling the local suppliers direct for a quote. In broad terms they tend to be 2p/l more than the family run local supplier.

Are the parents not capable of wandering out to the tank once a week to read the sight tube and call you when it gets down to a marked level? A level you know and thus how much oil to order/shop around for.