# old boiler burning oil very fast



## spalpeeno (21 Jan 2013)

Is this normal? Old 70s 4-bed bungalow with an outside Firebird 90 boiler. The house is reasonably insulated: double rolls of insulation in attic space and the walls were 'injected' with bead insulation about three years ago. Got 500 ltrs of kerosene towards end of November and ran out this weekend (January 19). Works out at about just over 60 euro per week to heat the house (with 12 rads). Is this par for the course? Too expensive? I have to admit we didn't get the boiler serviced this year but was serviced in 2011. The boiler stat is set to about 70 degrees (which is roughly half-way on the dial) and is usually going for  an average of about 5 hours each day and while I bleed the rads usually each year they do take ages to heat up and seem to go cold almost immediately the heat is turned off?
 Thanks in advance for any advice.


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## vandriver (21 Jan 2013)

Some information here http://thehelpfulengineer.com/index.php/2011/02/how-much-does-an-oil-boiler-cost-per-hour/


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## Guns N Roses (21 Jan 2013)

spalpeeno said:


> Is this normal?


 
Sounds about right to me. We also got 500 litres of kerosene in November and ran out yesterday. We have a 6 year old 5 bed detached house which is also well insulated. We would normally get 3 fills of 500 litres a year which usually works out about €1500/year.


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## Jazz01 (21 Jan 2013)

Similar for myself ... Got 500ltrs at start of Nov, ordering more this week as running low. 13 double radiators (various lengths). 300mm of insulation in attic & walls pumped with insulation bead... had heating on an average 4 to 5 hours per day...


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## horse (21 Jan 2013)

The quickest / least expensive way to save money on your heating is to replace the fuel nozzle in the unit annually - usually costs around €10.00 to buy.
You should also check your back boiler if fitted (and no fire lit) that it is not being heated by the oil system. This acts like a huge radiator with all the heat exiting through the chimney. the fix for this is to have check valves installed if missing or replaced if passing.
Regards,
Horse.


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## dub_nerd (22 Jan 2013)

12 rads sounds like a lot. Are there spaces you don't use very often -- hallways etc. Could you avoid heating them all the time as just heat the spaces you use? How easy/convenient is it to turn off a rad? If you have old valves and replace them with thermostatic valves you get two benefits -- valve is only open when heat required rather than blasting out heat all the time, and most TRVs only require a half or three quarter twist between min and max, making it much more convenient to turn on and off than one that needs half a dozen turns. If you don't have TRVs there's a psychological aspect to your perception of temps -- sometimes you need to put on a jumper rather than turn on the heat. I got valves replaced with TRVs for about 50 eur per valve recently, however I was only doing 6 -- should be much cheaper per valve for 12.


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## Bronte (22 Jan 2013)

I heard on the radio at the weekend that the average heating and electricity cost is 2K.  In addition apparently gas has gone up by nearly a quarter and all energy costs are only going one way.


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## salaried (24 Jan 2013)

I thought I was the only one , I topped up with 500 litres of kerosene on the 29th of november and had to top up again on the 15 th of january, 3 bed semi with 9 rads, If the pipe connecting the tank to the burner was leaking would it be very obvious as it is only buried a few inches under earth,  I only ask this as the person who fitted our new burner did a few other jobs for us at the same time and made a mess of them.


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## dub_nerd (24 Jan 2013)

salaried said:


> I thought I was the only one , I topped up with 500 litres of kerosene on the 29th of november and had to top up again on the 15 th of january, 3 bed semi with 9 rads, If the pipe connecting the tank to the burner was leaking would it be very obvious as it is only buried a few inches under earth, I only ask this as the person who fitted our new burner did a few other jobs for us at the same time and made a mess of them.


 
You should have a pressure gauge somewhere. If there's a leak, the pressure should drop.

On that general point -- always make sure system is properly topped up with water and at the right pressure. Make sure that there is no air in rads by bleeding them once or twice a year. It's trivial to do this yourself rather than call the plumber (and I'm a complete DIY disaster).


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