If you are new to heating oil or a veteran oil user, running out of oil is unfortunately an easy thing to do. You may find you have been using more oil than usual if you have been working from home, there has been a cold snap with the weather or maybe you simply forgot to check your oil levels. Read on for further information on what you should do if you have ran out of oil and some tips to hopefully prevent you from running out a second time.

What to do if you have run out of oil
If you think you are about to run out of oil, if you turn your heating off before it fully runs out, this will hopefully stop an air lock getting into your boiler and prevent you from having to get a plumber / heating engineer out to bleed the boiler.

In many petrol stations you can pick up emergency heating oil drums, so it can be worth checking in your local stations as these will normally give you a couple of days heating until a bulk delivery can be made. Beware that these can be tricky to transport and pour into your tank, so do take care when using emergency drums.

In most parts of the UK, we offer an emergency oil delivery service, so if you give us a call or check online, we will be able to get a delivery into your tank within the next few days.

After the bulk delivery has been made, you can turn your heating back on. If the boiler fires, you have been lucky and will not require a boiler bleed. If you boiler cuts out after around 30 seconds, it will need bled and you will need to call a local plumber / heating engineer to arrange the boiler bleed. This will normally cost £30 – 50.

Steps to prevent you running out again.
Luckily, there are a few simple steps which you can utilise, to prevent you running out of oil and save you money as well.

  1. Keep an eye on your emails – we will send you reminders to order oil a couple of months after your last order.
  2. Install an oil monitor. This will give you a visual guide as to how much oil remains in your tank without having to physical check your tank. (beware of monitors supplied which will automatically trigger a delivery as these deliveries can end up costing more)
  3. Set a reminder on your calendar to check your oil tank. As deliveries can take up to 2 weeks in winter (and potentially longer in lockdowns) we recommend ordering when there is about 10 inches left in your tank. This will ensure you have plenty of time for the delivery to be completed and shouldn’t be in danger of running out.

If you need any further advice or assistance, please give us a call or use our live chat facility and we’ll be happy to help you.