Tips to avoid a dry oil tank

Don’t get caught short with an empty fuel tank!

One of the most common issues we come across in our industry is the ‘dry oil tank’. There can be a number of reasons that our tanks end up dangerously low. Sometimes we just plain old forget to check the level until it’s almost too late.

If you monitor the tank level regularly, you’ll start to build a picture of your average usage, and that will help you to forecast your purchasing.

If you’re unsure how to measure the oil level in your tank, we can help keep you right.

You may have a gauge on your oil tank. This will likely be a dial or a transparent tube on the outside of the tank. Depending on how much oil you use and how often you have oil delivered will determine how often you have to check the gauge, but we recommend at least once a month. If you have a tube on the outside of the tank, remember to release any trapped air using the valve at the bottom before you take your measurement.

If you don’t have a tank gauge, a good old fashioned broomstick or mop handle will do the job. Make sure it’s clean and insert it into the tank as straight as possible.

If you know the capacity and dimensions of your tank, you should be able to work out a rough volume scale based on the height of oil in the tank.

3 inches or 8cm from the bottom of a 1,200 litre tank means you have approximately 100 litres of oil left. That will last the average home between 5-10 days depending on usage.

If you have 9 inches of oil left in a 1,200 litre tank, you should be able to take a delivery of around 900 litres of oil.

Please remember that the tank shape will impact the volume and your usage depends on a number of factors including the size of your house, the insulation you have, how long you run your heating and hot water and the health of your boiler. Over time, you will build up a picture of usage to help you.

If manual dipping is too much bother, there are a number of excellent tank telemetry devices available. These constantly monitor the oil level in your tank with a display unit either in the house or an app on your smart phone.

The benefit of tank telemetry is that you can set low levels and reminders in your app so you don’t forget to order oil when your tank is getting low. They take a lot of the work out of the process, and we highly recommend them.

We can also offer tank telemetry where we take control of the whole process. You set your low limit with us and we take care of the rest. You’ll never have to worry about ordering oil again!

Don’t get caught short. Let us help you keep your tank topped up and your home warm. We’re here to help.