Kerosene boiler service

Tikka391

Hi all. I am looking for a plumber to service our kerosene boiler and flush/ service our under floor heating.

I live in St Margaret's co. Dublin, so anyone around there would be good.

We got 1000L of kerosene on the 10th of February and it's all but gone, maybe 2 weeks time and we'll need a refill. So some looking into that will have to be done too.

Many thanks.

jimf

how many hours per day is boiler running

Markcheese

Wow , you went through 1000 litres that quick ?

When did you last get it serviced ? and do you have a condensing boiler ?

Normally worth looking at controls and thermostats,are they set right + is the room temp set too high ..

Might be worth getting the house checked with a thermal camera ,to see any unusual hotspots , ,the plumber may even be able to do that ..

Tikka391

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121972302#Comment_121972302

hot water and down stairs on hour in thr morning and evening, the odd day heat on for an hour once during the day if its cold

Tikka391

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121972329#Comment_121972329

Boiler is two years old.

It's a vortex condensing boiler.

The house was built in 2007/8 and the heating has never been looked at, we can feel hot and cold patches on the floor.

jimf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121972398#Comment_121972398

sounds like crazy usage based on these hours

you need to get your your oil supply line pressure tested

StrawbsM

You sure someone hasn’t stolen the oil?

John.G

Next door neighbour with a oil fired boiler but has no Tank?

If you use(d) say even 850L over 67 days, thats nearly 12.7 litres/day equivalent to a 25kw boiler running continuously for almost 5 hours/day, looks like a leak all right.

Markcheese

What would your oil usage have been previously ? Obviously 1000 l in just over 2 months is hella unusual for you ,

Is your oil tank+ line roughly the same age as your boiler ? Is their a Strong Smell of diesel where your tank or boiler is ?

Or is there bad exhaust smell from the boiler ? Does it seem like its constantly running .. ?

Gusser09

Thats a leak or theft mate. No way would a modern boiler go through oil like that. Those boilers are seriously efficient. I have a grant vortex 90/120. It uses well under 1l per 2hours of run time

Wearb

Boiler not looked at for 17 years 😱

Who knows... it could be in a right mess. Maybe leaking most of the heat it's producing.

(EDIT. I misread the post. Boiler is 2 years old.)

Modern boilers should be serviced every year (all boilers should, but older ones have a little more tolerance). The passage ways can become restricted and rapidly create a snowball effect.

StrawbsM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121972902#Comment_121972902

I thought they said the boiler is 2 years old? House older than the boiler.

Wearb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121972946#Comment_121972946

Yes. I misread it. Thanks 👍

Tikka391

Definitely not.

Tikka391

Not a leak,

Tikka391

Thanks for replay, but definitely not theft or a leak.

StrawbsM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121973292#Comment_121973292

is it just this last fill that’s gone so quickly or have you been putting in 1000lts every 2 months since the boiler was installed?

Wearb

How big is the house? What BER?

Has boiler been serviced since installing?

Tikka391

Thanks all for the help and information.

Its definitely not a case of theft, and definitely no leaks from tank to boiler.

I would love just to get an oil boiler specialist to look at the system in the boiler house, and if he could look at the under floor heating and flush and service it, that would be great too. Or a different lad to do one or the other I don't mind.

So if anyone knows someone in the North dublin area that they could recommend I would be really grateful

Thanks everyone again.

Hippodrome Song Owl

Wow! You're right to look for expert assessment on this. As someone living with oil for the first time, I have kept a record of heating hours and oil usage. I have an 8-year-old Grant Vortex 90-120 and no zoning in the house. Radiators are old single fin. I use it on a timer. From 1st Dec to 1st April, the heat was on for 453 hours and it used almost exactly 500l oil. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it's something seriously wrong if near 1000l could be used for what amounts to 150 hours of usage.

Squiggle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121972807#Comment_121972807

How many rads are you heating with that usage?

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121974844#Comment_121974844

11. But some are switched off. So probably only 9.

monseiur

Were you at home when heating oil was delivered ? If you're 100% certain that there's no leak and no theft then my hunch is that the amount of oil pumped into your tank did not match that on your invoice.

Tikka391

It is a problem with the boiler/ heating system, absolutely nothing to do with theft, leakage or the oil company delivering incorrect amount of kerosene !!!!!!!!

jimf

how are you so sure you have no leakage

is the oil supply line to boiler above ground

Tikka391

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121976214#Comment_121976214

Yes I can follow line tank to boiler.

John.G

The facts should speak for themselves, if you use (only) 850L of oil in 67 days then you are still using 12.69 litres/day, you say "hot water and down stairs on hour in thr morning and evening, the odd day heat on for an hour once during the day if its cold" so a very max of 3 hours per day = a consumption of 4.23 litres/hr or 43.8kw/hr, if your boiler can burn this amount of oil then its rating will be ~ 40Kw, your boiler label should show this.

Is all your house heated by UFH?, if so, how many loops?, if you also have rads, how many?.

Tikka391

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121976788#Comment_121976788

Hey John, thanks very much for taking the time to reply to the post.

We are in the house two years and it was built in 2007, so I wouldn't know the specifications of the heating systems.

I have no knowledge of any sort regarding plumbing or boilers etc. So I have no intention what so ever of doing any investigations on this my self. There's a reason why trades people do such thorough and long training , they are qualified and competent and will be the only people inspecting any issues I have , definitely not me.

So thanks again for replying, but as original post asked if anyone knows oil burner plumbers and/or a plumber who can service the under floor heating in the house in the North dublin area I would appreciate if you passed their number on to me.