When was the last time you checked how much heating oil or LPG is in your tank? Yesterday, last week, last month? Or never checked it? Well, it’s important to do it regularly. After all, your heating and hot water depends on it, especially over the winter months. Which is also the time when you use the most fuel and need to stay on top of your domestic heating oil or LPG levels.
We’re going to look at why you need to always keep checking fuel levels whether you use home heating oil or LPG, the different ways to do it and some handy hints and tips to make your life easier.
Why it’s important not to run out of fuel:
Taking that walk down the garden to check your heating oil tank or LPG tank is probably the last thing you want to do after a busy day or if it’s cold and wet. But it’s an important job as running out of fuel isn’t just an inconvenience, it could mean a freezing house with no hot water while you have to wait for a heating oil or LPG delivery.
Of course, here at Northern Energy, we’ll always try and get to you as fast as we can, especially in an emergency. And if you’re a member of our oil Premium Package or our LPG package, you may well be on our automatic refilling service for convenience and peace of mind that you won’t run out. But rest assured that if you do, your deliveries are always treated as a priority. As demonstrated by one of our Directors who did a personal delivery on Christmas Day a few years ago.
As well as having a cold home, running out of fuel can also be a costly affair. If you’re on heating oil, it’s not as simple as just refilling your central heating oil tank. You may need to get an oil heating engineer to bleed your fuel lines and restart your oil fired central heating boiler.
The reason for having to bleed the fuel lines is that when the domestic heating oil is placed in your empty tank it may disturb any sludge at the bottom due to the fuel level being so low. This can then cause filters to get blocked that in turn will need to be fixed by a qualified OFTEC oil heating engineer, which is more inconvenience.
There is also the added worry of frozen pipes over winter. Not having your heating on for a few days over a cold spell could lead to problems if everything isn’t well insulated.
Let’s take a look at how to check your LPG tank level:
It’s likely that you’re on an automatic refilling service, but that’s not always the case. And even when you are, your supplier may well ask you to take a tank reading and let them know how much fuel you have in your LPG storage tank. Whether your tank is above ground, or you have an underground LPG tank, it’s important to know how to take a reading.
Your LPG gauge will show what percentage of your tank is full, not the number of litres in it. It will read around 85% at its fullest, as your tank will never be filled to 100% because of the nature of LPG. LPG Propane expands with heat, and so your LPG storage tank will only be filled to a maximum of 85% to give the LPG room to expand and contract as the ambient temperature rises and falls.
Whether you have an above ground tank or an underground LPG tank, you will find the gauge under a hood and protective cap. Reading the propane gauge isn’t difficult. Bold black numbers will be encircling the gauge and there will be a single pointer needle. It’s this needle which will indicate a number that represents the percentage fill of your tank. We would always recommend that if your tank has fallen to a level of 30% or below, you request an LPG refill.
6 Different ways of checking your heating oil tank:
As you can see, it’s important to check your fuel levels. The good news is that it’s a quick and easy job. Let's start by taking a look at how to check your home heating oil tank level.
Your central heating oil tank may already have some form of heating oil tank gauge, you just need to understand how to use it. Alternatively, you can add one that’s right for you. This includes the option of a fuel gauge that lets you monitor your home heating oil levels from the comfort of your couch.
1. Knocking the tank:
This is the most unreliable way to check the level of your tank, so we don’t recommend it. But we do know from experience that some people simply knock their tank and use the noise they hear as a guide. If you’re going to do this, then please also use a proper gauge as well to check.
2. Dip a dipstick:
The good old dependable dipstick. It’s just like the one on your car, albeit longer! If you don’t have an official one, then any straight measuring stick can be used – as long as it is clean! It’s simply dipped into your heating oil tank in exactly the same way as checking you car’s oil level.
3. Look at a sight gauge:
This is a more common way to check your tank’s home heating oil level. It’s a clear plastic tube with a float inside. You’ll normally find it running vertically up the side of your central heating oil tank and can be called either a sight gauge or water gauge. Usually there is a button which reads ‘Pull to read’. When you pull this button, a valve opens and the float will rise to the same level as the kerosene heating oil in the tank thanks to gravity. The only problem with this kind of gauge is that the tube can become dirty and discoloured over time making it hard to accurately read.
4. Use a float on a rope:
Your heating oil tank may have what’s called a float gauge. This does what it says on the tin as it’s made up of a gauge on top of the tank connected to a float. The mechanism means that the dial on the gauge changes as the float goes up or down. This kind of gauge is also called float on a rope or a cat and mouse gauge.
5. Pump a hydrostatic gauge:
This type of gauge is more accurate than the ones above and is usually found on commercial tanks. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t have one. The gauge itself is worked using a hand pump that pushes air into a probe mounted at the end of a tube placed in the tank. You start pumping and when air is in the probe, it measures the pressure of the fluid based on its depth, this gives you a reliable reading. This is usually in the form of a percentage of a full tank. This type of gauge can be fitted remotely from the tank as long as there is just one length of tube. As well as being accurate and reliable, a hydrostatic gauge has the advantage of not needing any power.
6. Go electronic:
If you want a hassle-free accurate way to check your oil level then an electronic gauge is for you. There are a number of options on the market. Here at Northern Energy, we offer our own smart monitor called OilFox. This uses a tank transmitter called FoxRadar that lets you monitor your domestic heating oil level using an app on your smartphone. It’s simple to install and lets you check your tank from anywhere at any time. It also warns you if your oil level drops too low and raises the alarm if the level suddenly drops due to either a leak or theft. It even lets you order a top up via the app if you wish with priority deliveries.
If you’d like to know more about our OilFox tank monitor, get in touch!
Warning signs you’re running low:
If you don’t check your oil level regularly, there are a number of warnings that you’re running low. One is a banging or rumbling noise coming from your tank. This is caused by the fuel level being so low that there is air in your fuel line.
Another sign to look out for is your boiler not firing up automatically. If you have to keep resetting it every day it might not be a fault with your boiler, it may be that your running low on oil and that’s what’s causing the problem.
The third sign is a bit of an obvious one – there’s no heating or hot water in your house. This is a clear sign that you’ve run out of home heating oil. It sounds a simple one, but it’s easy to instantly think there’s a fault with your boiler or heating system rather than the fact you’ve run out of oil.
How often should you check your tank?
We’ve looked at all the different ways you can check your tank’s oil or LPG level. But how often should you check? Well, make it a regular thing. We’d recommend once a month. And rather than just trying to remember to do it, set a date and stick to it. That way you’ll never run low and you’ll also give yourself plenty of time to plan ahead and buy your fuel when it could be cheaper rather than doing it last minute when you’ve no option. For example, it’s usually cheaper to buy domestic heating oil in the summer months than winter ones when demand is high.
And if we’re automatically filling your tank?
If you’re one of our Premium Oil customers or LPG Package customers, you’ll know that we offer an automatic top-up service. This gives you peace of mind that you’ll never run out of fuel as we arrange regular planned top-ups. But, whether we visit you on a regular basis or you prefer to call on us when you need a heating oil or LPG refill, it’s always best to know how to check your home heating oil or LPG level and make it a regular thing to do.
Hopefully we've answered any questions you may have had about checking your fuel levels, but if not, take a look at our frequently asked questions, read more about LPG tanks, or alternatively, get in touch!