The problem is also availability, at any cost.
Local suppliers are refusing to quote or even provide guide delivery times.
We paid 50ppl mid Feb.
We get through 3,500 litres a year. It covers 4 bedroom house and an old oil Aga.
Thankfully we are nearing the end of the frosty mornings, but the Aga will still require supply.
I rather think this will be an extended period of high prices, extreme volatility and uncertain supply times. I'm really not looking forward to next winter.
Local suppliers are refusing to quote or even provide guide delivery times.
That’s odd, they fill their tank at £x amount then just pass that on + margin should be that difficult to quote for a delivery the next day
Virgin veg oil is about 1.20 a litre looking at google on supermarket shelves…..
Google how much veg oil Ukraine produces for the world market
Buy now
Yep, not many local suppliers prepared to quote at the moment (HR7). Even boilerjuice.com doesn't come up with anything in our area. Best I could get was 'order it now and we'll quote on the day of delivery and that will be in two weeks time'!
I've a couple of hundred litres in the bottom of a 1200ltr tank, should be okay until next month.
The real question is hold off or buy in now hedging the price going up a lot more? 🤔
That’s odd, they fill their tank at £x amount then just pass that on + margin should be that difficult to quote for a delivery the next day
Not that odd.
Probably don't hold 3-4 weeks worth of fuel in their tank and don't hedge forwards to know what the fuel in their tanks by the time they actually have an availible slot will cost.
Your unlikely to get a next day slot given the lack of willing oil truck drivers and driver hours....
It’s bad enough ‘normal’ fuel prices are going up, but how are people struggling going to be able to pay 100% more on heating oil? It’s much more painful as generally needs to be paid for all at once.
It’s fairly predictable when it’s running out so it’s not normally a surprise. We know that we need to buy oil a couple of times a year. I guess you could even create a direct debit to yourself if needs be. It’s usually only a few hundred quid.
Market went down today. Fyi
I'm in that Market job wise. However it's wildly up and down.
My aga is not exactly my friend currently.
It will settle but I'm looking at 450 pcm with the heating on. It's set to 14deg currently
I’m in that Market job wise. However it’s wildly up and down.
Oh yes.
Of our 2 suppliers, one won't quote but will add you to their delivery schedule and then tell you 2 days before delivery what the price will be.
So I went back to the other one, they quoted £990 for 1,000l - so I took it.
A friend of mine had her 1200l tank in her front garden. She then had three full tank loads nicked one after the other, within about a month. She thought the first one was a leak so had the lines tested, all was sound so she then had better security lights installed. After the second tank full was taken she then had a gert big lock installed and cctv, cue the third load being taken again within a week, with nothing showing up on the cameras apart from some shady movement on the periphery. She's a single mum so this was really unnerving too.
She's since paid several more thousands to have the whole thing moved to her back garden for security.
I'd imagine with prices rocketing oil theft will be on the increase. Apparently if they can't get the top off they have a scaffold tube with one end cut at an angle like a massive syringe and just push it through the side of plastic tanks, suck all the contents out and then bugger off. Obviously you've then lost a tank full of oil plus the whole tank is bolloxed.
I've always wondered what people who pinch heating oil put it into and how do they transport it?! Another tank in the back of a van and a pump?
Another tank in the back of a van and a pump?
Yup, they caught some guys near my dads house a few years ago, maybe last time the prices spiked?
One of the tanks in the van (think they had two or three 1000l IBCs in the back) had sprung a significant leak...
Another tank in the back of a van and a pump?
However they do it they have a very quiet pump. It must be quick as you wouldn't want to be waiting for ages to nick it all, but quicker pumps are usually noisier. No idea, I'll ask at the local scrotes site up the road next time I'm in there (which is never!).
I'm eying up the oil pipeline that's running through one of my paddocks - I'm sure the boiler would love a good feed of Jet A1!!
When I first moved to my oil heated house 6 years ago I had no clue. Called a few of the local providers they gave me information like how to work out big my tank was and minimum order (usually) of 500l. I got 500l delivered. At the time I think it was 37p a litre (exc VAT) and when the guy delivered he advised me to get another 500l as it was cheap.
I watched the price of heating oil fluctuate around 40-50p a litre putting 500L when I had to or if I felt it was cheap and had room tried to fill up.
Then it fell to 14p a litre around the time of the first lockdown. I managed to squeeze 500L in then!
I needed to put 500L this January. Grudgingly did at 59p a litre, glad I did now.
Currently using the https://www.oil-club.co.uk/ they seem to be a tad cheaper than Boiler Juice and if nothing else the weekly email about the price they are delivering at is useful.
Agree - it’s an astronomical price rise! I had oil stolen last weekend from the tank overnight, so I’d recommend adding some security. I’ve now got a Spinsecure lock & a locking vent cap, plus security camera. It won’t stop theft but at least it might be a deterrent. Oil theft on the increase near me.
How can you stop theft from a plastic oil tank other than with a guard dog or something? I guess if you wanted the oil it'd take about 2 seconds to drill a 4 inch hole in the top.
Don't have it on an external/vehicle accessable boundary.
Lock the cap keep the honest man out.
Fit an Apollo sonic sensor- watches your tank level so you know how much left. If it starts draining quickly an alarm goes off in the house (assuming your in)
Although the next question becomes..... When the alarm goes off .... What next . After all they know where you live.
That’s odd, they fill their tank at £x amount then just pass that on + margin should be that difficult to quote for a delivery the next day
You'd be surprised at the through put.
Yes stocks always revalued. But no more than goods on a shelf in tesco
a scaffold tube with one end cut at an angle like a massive syringe and just push it through the side of plastic tanks, suck all the contents out
Thanks for ratcheting my paranoia up another notch :-/
I suspect oil theft (and theft in general) will see huge growth in the near future 🙁
Wait for red diesel to be dropped for industrial use at month end
Fair point about security- might actually put a lock on our gate.
However it’s very difficult to secure oil tanks in reality given the nature of where they are (rural) and where they have to be located (away from a building)
I certainly wouldn’t do anything to the tank as once the plastic is damaged it’s a new tank job !
Yeah don't be modifying your tank.
Also check oftec legislation before doing anything to hide it.
I ordered Kero for the dairy boiler last week, a faulty banking app means the payment didn't go through by 5.30 (to keep the price). Rang back next day price went up 20p a litre. Boss said don't order any as it'll come back down (pffft). We've enough left to fuel the boiler for cheese making for one week. If we don't get it after that we'll have to stop producing. Supermarket customers aren't accepting price rises (Morrisons and Waitrose) so our only option is really to say stuff it, and stop making cheese after 95 years.
Also check oftec legislation before doing anything to hide it.
Ours is hidden behind a shed. It probably shouldn't be hidden behind said shed, but both shed and tank were there when we moved in, and we ain't moving them.
Also check oftec legislation before doing anything to hide it.
If oftec had their way you'd be putting your tank in a compound 4 miles from your house.
Prices appear to have peaked at £1.60 ltr and are currently around £1.05ltr
Does heating oil get the 5p tax reduction, because it doesn’t look like it on the price charts
Does heating oil get the 5p tax reduction, because it doesn’t look like it on the price charts
No it doesn't.
I checked yesterday before paying 103.88/L for 500L
😖
On the plus side, if there is one, our PV is making all our hot water and heating the kitchen floor on a day like yesterday.
Solar gain heated the house so oil use is minimal
118.9ppl here in the south Cotswolds today. Down from 187ppl just a week ago and up from 63ppl 4 weeks ago.
Just short of £0.90/l in West Yorkshire for 1000 litres last week. (Plus the Vat).
We're at half a tank (500l-ish), so I'm pretty sure we've got enough to last out spring, then it'll be switched off until Autumn as we can run the hot water on solar.
I assume that summer is (usually...) the best time to buy, when's normally best, August?
Look at the price charts on Boiler Juice
No seasonal variation, heating oil is such a small part of oil usage the costs do not alter much.
How does the hot water work on solar, might be worth exploring ourselves
How does the hot water work on solar, might be worth exploring ourselves
With a solar-powered immersion heater, which coincidentally there is currently a thread on...
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/solar-immersion-heater-controllers-recommendations/
Oil price is artificial
OPEC will respond and pump more eventually, for now I guess they are enjoying the record profits.
Oil price is artificial
Tell that to my credit card provider.
How does the hot water work on solar, might be worth exploring ourselves
We've got panels from about 25 years ago, basically they pre-heat the water before it goes into the AGA, which then fills up our tank. Red hot in summer, barely above freezing in winter.
They've probably paid for themselves by now, but no way of actually knowing.
Has anyone ordered and paid for oil in the last day or two? I’m awaiting the call of doom and have no idea what to expect.
I think it depends where you are.
Boilerjuice is giving 94p here near Chester - that's just the 10p/L less than I paid last week!
😖
..... although that's for delivery in 2 weeks.
Ah! They’ve just called and quoted £500 for 500 litres all in. Not as bad as I was expecting.
£1.05 a litre for a delivery last Friday and there's a discount if payment is received within a week? Northen Energy: always seems less than Boilerjuice are quoting.
Northen Energy: always seems less than Boilerjuice are quoting.
Ime almost anywhere quotes less than boiler juice. They sub it out to your local supplier at X+% anyway
I use it for a ball park then call my local supplier who's always A cheaper and b. Delivers quicker as a direct order
I suspect Boiler juice sit on your order to make you use a higher priority/cost option next time.
I use it for a ball park then call my local supplier who’s always A cheaper and b. Delivers quicker as a direct order
This - it's the worst case scenario!
That was our experience when we moved here eight years ago. Find the cheapest quote, then go to a local supplier, Goffs in our case, and they’ll always undercut it.
We had a new tank installed the other week which unfortunately meant running the old tank very low. So low that the oil salvaged from the original tank didn't reach the outlet of the new tank.
Collected 120l @126 to get us going and had a further 500l (capped) at £1 p/l delivered a few days later.
Tough times
Bell Fuels currently quoting 83.5 pence per litre if you're in Essex or Suffolk. They usually delivery quickly too.
Quick edit someone also recommended the prices BFS Fuel Services for Essex if you're in the area but I haven't tried them myself as yet.
