Help & Advice
My heating has gone off, what should I do?
Things to check
First check that there actually is a problem and that the boiler is switched on and that the timer and thermostat are correctly set.
Do you have oil in your tank?
Be sure about this, your gauge may tell you that you have oil in your tank but quite often we find that the gauge is showing an incorrect reading. The only way to be absolutely sure is to remove the filler cap and dip the tank with a cane or something similar.
There is oil in the tank but the boiler doesn’t run.
Check the reset button on your boiler. If the red light is on it may be worth pressing it once to see if the boiler starts. DO NOT press this button more than twice. If the boiler does not start after the second attempt you may overfill the combustion chamber with oil and make the problem worse.
There is water in my oil.
This is noticed all too frequently after an oil delivery. More often than not, water finds its way into a tank because of loosely fitting fillers and breathers and sometimes by condensation. It quite often takes years, drip by drip, before it is noticed. Finally when the oil delivery is made the water which was lying harmlessly in the bottom of your tank is disturbed and gets into your burner.
If in doubt ring your usual boiler engineer or contact us and we will recommend an engineer in your area.
How to deal with fuel leaks and spillages
The first consideration is to stop the flow of oil. You can do this by turning off a valve, plugging a leak, stopping a pump etc. Then you must stop the leaked fuel getting into drains, finding its way underground, getting into water courses etc. This can often be achieved by making small dams with sand or soil, by placing absorbents on or in the path of the leaking oil. Then get in contact with a local tank replacement firm, to arrange an emergancy tank repair/replacement, alternatively contact us and we will do it for you.
You must report serious leakages to the Environment Agency. More information can be obtained from the Environment Agency website.
Top tip
If you have a small leak on your plastic tank you can quite often do a "get you out of trouble" repair by rubbing a bar of soap over the split/hole. This fills the gap with soap and may give you a little more time to cope with the problem.
Think twice before you act and consider getting some expert help.
If you want more advice for saving energy in your home vist www.oilsave.org.uk
