Which to choose...

[Roger465]

About a year ago, they put gas into our street, and I was seriously tempted. Now my oil tank is close to end of life, so time to decide…

I have an oil boiler which was installed new 8 years ago, serviced every year, provides good heat. It’s on a vented system, which I see no reason to change.

My only real reason for doing anything is the 30-year-old plastic tank, which is definitely showing its age, though no leakage yet. I’ve just had a firm round to quote for replacement.

The job would consist of removing the old tank, transferring about 900L of oil over, putting a concrete base down for the new tank, a little bit of pipework where the fuel line goes into the ground, and installing a bunded tank (there’s a drain a couple of feet from it).

This would cost about £2150.

I could get the boiler replaced with a gas one for maybe £3500, to include I think removal of the tank etc. Bringing gas into the house is currently free.

What would you do? Hate decisions like this

 

[CountryFan]

Maybe try to work out running cost difference rather than installation cost with that little variance. Could you save money with gas?

 

[Roger465]

Maybe try to work out running cost difference rather than installation cost with that little variance. Could you save money with gas?

Yeah... been (fairly) reliably informed that oil is a bit cheaper, and of course if you time it right you can fill the tank when the price drops

 

[Roger465]

OK, realise nobody can answer this for me so, having thought hard about it, I don't want the hassle of getting gas in (they ruined my next door neighbour's block paved driveway), so new tank it is.

Now I've only got one quote so far - £2145 inc VAT to supply and fit a new tank, remove the old one, and transfer the oil over.

Any idea if that's reasonable? I'm pretty sure the slimline tank they're fitting would be this one - has to be bunded as it's beside a drain.

£1290 on top of the cost of the tank looks steep to me, but what do I know...

 

[Rodders53]

FWIW: I paid over £3k for a bunded 1225 litre tank in SE England just over 8 years ago. That involved water contamination due to rain getting into the single skin tank. Extra cost was a new oil pump for the boiler and a thorough clean and service.

You need specialist / insured / hazardous waste disposal. It took a good few (short) days to do.

You are in Northern Ireland so prices are different, no doubt. Ideally get more, competitive, quotes and consider a larger tank to avail cheaper per litre priced, 1000 litre, fills? An extra £100 or so for the tank may be worth the convenience of fewer refills.

AIUI Bunded tanks are pretty much a de facto standard as clean-up after split kerosene is uber expensive!

What about a wet ASHP install? NI has a different scheme to England I believe so it may not be that simple?

 

[Roger465]

FWIW: I paid over £3k for a bunded 1225 litre tank in SE England just over 8 years ago. That involved water contamination due to rain getting into the single skin tank. Extra cost was a new oil pump for the boiler and a thorough clean and service.

You need specialist / insured / hazardous waste disposal. It took a good few (short) days to do.

You are in Northern Ireland so prices are different, no doubt. Ideally get more, competitive, quotes and consider a larger tank to avail cheaper per litre priced, 1000 litre, fills? An extra £100 or so for the tank may be worth the convenience of fewer refills.

AIUI Bunded tanks are pretty much a de facto standard as clean-up after split kerosene is uber expensive!

What about a wet ASHP install? NI has a different scheme to England I believe so it may not be that simple?

Thanks, that's very helpful. They say it will be a same-day job.

Sometimes, sadly, things are MORE rather than less expensive here, as there's less competition

Wouldn't have a problem paying a bit extra for a bigger tank, but I think it's a question of what they can fit in the space... I'll certainly mention that when getting competitive quotes. If anybody ever calls me back.

Is ASHP a heat pump? No real grant here, and old rads etc - don't think it would be a goer. Maybe in 10 years!

*Actually, just checked, and I'd only save a fiver here by ordering 900L - suppliers don't seem to go for 1000, presumably due to size of most tanks...

 

[BS3036]

Not going to be particularly helpful, but I have experience of replacing the oil tank a few years ago now. They said we couldn't replace like for like because the neighbour had just built an extension (with planning permission) 1 metre from our tank, so we were not allowed to replace our tank as it would be 1 metre from their extension. The compromise was building a firewall in between. There was a load of other stuff involving where the oil would run to if the tank burst (i.e. not down the sewage drain). Sounds like you may avoid these issues.