Oil or LPG for heating

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GordonTarling

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Mrs. T and I are currently in the process of buying a country retreat in the wilds of Lincolnshire - we plan to retire there when we've had all the work done. Anyway, the property currently has oil fired central heating, with solar panels on the roof to supplement it. However, the boiler and the rest of the system is looking old and tired, so I'm currently reckoning on having to replace the lot. Mrs. T wants a gas hob for cooking and there's no mains gas available, so it struck me that installing an LPG tank to run both cooking and heating might be the best way to go. If we stick with oil heating, then we'd just use cylinder LPG for cooking. I've read pros and cons for both oil and LPG on various forums, so would welcome comments from anyone with real world experience.
 
My parents had LPG but because the supply of it was concentrated in one hand, namely Calor, it was hugely expensive, so they switched to oil for heating (still not cheap) and used electricity for cooking.

If you want gas for cooking I would seriously think about using cylinders. Alternatively, try induction for cooking - with the right kit, in my experience it is actually better than gas as all the heat is concentrated in the pan rather than going up the sides.
 
In NI, LPG is quite a bit more expensive than oil. We run oil, and the cooker has bottles of propane. The fact your wife wants to cook on gas should not be a deciding factor in the heating system. I say this because the hob will use less than two 13Kg bottles of gas a year.
 
Had LPG when living in Cornwall.....nice and clean to use but my god :eek::eek:what a cost ...


Never again.......
 
I agree with all the above.

LPG cylinders for cooking (you can hide them in an enclosure as long as it is ventilated) and oil for heating.

There are a number of suppliers of oil in every county so a degree of competition exists plus there are some sites where you can buy in bulk with neighbours for a better deal. My advice is to get the largest oil tank you can, I would suggest 2500 litres in size. You do not always have to fill it but if you have capacity you can take advantage of any low prices and fill up in advance of winter. I started paying 39 pence per litre for fuel oil and last year it went up to 49 then 74 and one company wanted £1.03 just before Christmas with a 3 week delivery.

If the boiler is old get a good service and check that the gaskets around the burner are in good order. A coomon fault is air leaking around the burner assembly as they can distort and this dramatically reduces efficiency.

If you are looking at replacing the boiler you can now get high efficiency types which, with good insulation to the house (and boiler if outside) can help a lot with running costs. Also think of getting a logburner if not already there as they add a lot of heat and help reduce the need for the oil heating to be on so much. As you make local contacts you wil lbe amazed at the amount of wood available at good prices and at least in power cuts you have a reliable form of heating and even cooking on the larger ones. Guess how I know? :)
 
LPG is expensive. So is Oil. I can't imagine that the cost to change from one to the other could ever be justified. I had an Oil powered system previously and now have LPG. The only cost effective change I can think of would be would be to ground source heat pump. With GS and Oil obviously LPG cylinders can be used for the hob.

One good thing my LPG tank has is a GSM thingy that lets them know when I need refilling. No more worries or midwinter hikes in the snow to see what the level is, it all gets done automatically.
 
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Thanks for the replies chaps - looks like we'll stick with gas for cooking and oil for heating. Hmmmm, I wonder if a CDI engine will run on heating oil? :)
 
We have oil for heating as no mains gas. when we moved in 5yrs ago the price was 32p per litre so £320 for £1000 litres.. at the peak we were paying 65p and now 54p...ouch.

Yep the car will run on heating oil,but I believe that it burns a little hotter and may affect valves.

Regards.
 
As Charles has mentioned, you will be amazed at the power and controllability of induction hobs. Even the most avid gas-cooking addict is usually won over with a demonstration of our induction hob. There simply isn't a reason to cook on gas any more

If you are thinking about gas oven baking (high moisture content) even this is now faithfully replicated (actually it's bettered) by the more sophisticated electric ovens with steam injection.
 
Air source heat pump for the heating.
From new, costs little more that oil to install although you already have the tank, etc, so should be comparable to switching to calor.
Currently govt grant available to assist with installation of £850 and then RHI payments start next year.
As reliable as your average fridge!
If you change your current boiler you will have to upgrade to a condensing boiler which involves other system changes. Don't know about oil boilers, but condensing gas boilers seem to have only a 10 year life expectancy!
 
Don't overlook coal, our village had no gas up until recently and we had a coalflow boiler, self feeding low maintenance and miles cheaper than oil or LPG, also a good Aga if it's a country retreat. If that doesn't take your fancy the air source heat pump is a cracking suggestion
 
If you have the space, wood pellet boiler is also an option. A bit pricy to install and you need an adjacent pellet store. But again govt grant available to help with installation cost and RHI next year.

On the airsource heat pump line, we are currenty hoping to install one in our new place together with solar pv panels.
Hoping to tie it together so that the solar pv panels run the heat pump or run an immersion heater in a big cylinder (thermal store) to minimise the heat pump operation.
 
Mrs. T and I are currently in the process of buying a country retreat in the wilds of Lincolnshire - we plan to retire there when we've had all the work done. Anyway, the property currently has oil fired central heating, with solar panels on the roof to supplement it. However, the boiler and the rest of the system is looking old and tired, so I'm currently reckoning on having to replace the lot. Mrs. T wants a gas hob for cooking and there's no mains gas available, so it struck me that installing an LPG tank to run both cooking and heating might be the best way to go. If we stick with oil heating, then we'd just use cylinder LPG for cooking. I've read pros and cons for both oil and LPG on various forums, so would welcome comments from anyone with real world experience.

Oil......no contest.

Mic
 
If you have the space, wood pellet boiler is also an option. A bit pricy to install and you need an adjacent pellet store. But again govt grant available to help with installation cost and RHI next year.

On the airsource heat pump line, we are currenty hoping to install one in our new place together with solar pv panels.
Hoping to tie it together so that the solar pv panels run the heat pump or run an immersion heater in a big cylinder (thermal store) to minimise the heat pump operation.

I stayed with some friends in Sweden who have a wood pellet burner. Once a day you throw in a couple 5 litre scoops of pellets and it heats the house and provides hot water. I was well impressed by it.

The pellets look like animal feed.
 
If you have a suitable space, put in a wood burning stove, carbon neutral, good heat source and logs are easily sourced(or go dual fuel , coal/wood)
 
another vote for induction

and oil is okay if you go insulation barmy.
 
My oil supplier has just put up the cost from £100/mth to £124mth what the F**K!!!, time for new supplier... does moneysupermeerkat have a page for heating oil.....

The boiler has been turned off for the last 2mths, so I am in credit and they paid interest at a rate higher then the bank!
 
My oil supplier has just put up the cost from £100/mth to £124mth what the F**K!!!, time for new supplier... does moneysupermeerkat have a page for heating oil.....

The boiler has been turned off for the last 2mths, so I am in credit and they paid interest at a rate higher then the bank!

Check out Central Heating Oil Suppliers, Cheap Boiler & UK Home Heating Oil Prices - they have been consistently the cheapest for me. They group together local deliveries to increase the size of order and drive the price down. They don't actually supply oil, once the have a group of orders for an area they place a bulk order with the local supplier (Shell, Minster, etc.) at a good rate.

My previous usual supplier (Minster Oils) called them a "right pain in the a**e" because they are driving the cost of oil down. He can never match their price.
 
Thanks for all the advice chaps! We'll stick with oil for heating, a gas hob (sorry, the missus maintains that her wok won't work on an induction hob!) and a wood burner in the lounge to supplement the heating. We'll also try to incorporate the HW solar panels that are already on the roof to add some heat to the system. Anyone know a good heating engineer in Lincolnshire? :)
 

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