Boiler seems to be drinking oil...! Help!

sudzs

Moved into house last Autumn and as the oil tank was empty we put 450 litres of kerosene into it. Just checked the levels and there are 200 litres left.

The boiler is oldish and puts out some fumes into the garage. The thermostat is set to the lowest it can go and the rads still get very very hot. It's a small 3 bed. semi and would have 5 rads turned on. And considering how mild the Autumn was and that on chilly nights we'd light a fire rather then have the heating belting away does that seem like a lot of oil to go through?

I know there's tons of variables but any opinions welcome!

Avns1s

when in Autumn did you move in? 250 litres is not a lot of oil. Boilers usually use a 0.6 gal/hour jet so it's easy enough to work it out from there. It could be that it needs a service for efficiency.

sudzs

It was the end of August we moved in and got the oil then.

Landlord said the boiler was serviced but have since learned he's not the most truthful. And sure if there was no oil left in the tank wouldn't it be hard to service a boiler, run it, bleed it etc...???

Avns1s

Agreed that it would be difficult to service it and ensure it was running ok without having some oil!.

Still isn't a lot of oil for 3 months. Possible that your stat isn't working but you'd be getting the benefit of the heat in the house. IF you think about it, it equates to only about 3 litres of oil per day, which equates approximately to an hours running time for the boiler each day, which it would take to heat the system with rads! Does this seem about right? Are you using the boiler to heat your hot water, is it on mornings and evenings?

sudzs

Probably wouldn't have had it on much at all in September as we were away about half the time.

I suppose, since then, on average it would be on for 6 or 7 hours a day. It heats the water in the tank in the airing cupboard too which is great because there is the weirdest emersion heater I've ever come across! But that's another story!

Avns1s

Have to say, it wouldn't appear excessive but sure you should monitor it and see how you get on now that the weather is getting that bit colder.

sudzs

Thanks a mill for the input!

Ya see we moved from what was a brand new house which was super-efficient so now everything seems a bit steep! Spent most of last week squirting "No More Cracks" around the windows!

Avns1s

No prob. The older house might explain some of the difference. Best of luck with it.

JamesM

sudzs wrote:

Moved into house last Autumn and as the oil tank was empty we put 450 litres of kerosene into it. Just checked the levels and there are 200 litres left.

The boiler is oldish and puts out some fumes into the garage. The thermostat is set to the lowest it can go and the rads still get very very hot. It's a small 3 bed. semi and would have 5 rads turned on. And considering how mild the Autumn was and that on chilly nights we'd light a fire rather then have the heating belting away does that seem like a lot of oil to go through?

I know there's tons of variables but any opinions welcome!

The important thing is that you should not have fumes in the garage - no matter how old the boiler is.
It could just be the smell of oil that has leaked and vapourised. Or it could be that the boiler is blocked up and needs a service. If the burner settings are incorrect, it will be inefficient.
Jim.

davidoco

sudzs wrote:

The boiler is oldish and puts out some fumes into the garage.

For the sake of max €100 (have seen ads for €70 euro) you really should get it looked at. If your garage is attached to your house and you have fumes it is really dangerous (deadly dangerous).

The basic boiler care is quite easy, remove the burner, hoover out boiler, check internals of boiler, clean photocell on burner, maybe replace nozzel but when when you are getting fumes in the room where the system is it is probably best left to the experts.

old boy

at the bottom of your tank where the oil leaves theeir is usually a glass cup like item turned upside down, make sure that there is no leak there, a lot of theose which were installed during the mid 90s have leaked, a small leak say 3 pints every 24 hours tot up fast

old boy

at the bottom of your tank where the oil leaves their is usually a glass cup like item turned upside down, make sure that there is no leak there, a lot of them which were installed during the mid 90s have leaked, a small leak say 3 pints every 24 hours tot up fast