Moving Into a House With Oil Heating? The Starter Guide

You've got the keys, now find the tank

Moving into a house with oil heating for the first time can feel like inheriting a machine with no manual. Don't worry. Kerosene central heating is common across rural and small-town Ireland, and once you know the basics it looks after itself. Here's what to sort in your first few weeks, in plain order.

Start by finding the oil tank. It's usually outside, a green or black plastic (or older steel) tank sitting on a concrete or block base. Look down the side or back of the house, in a garden corner, or occasionally in a shed. Once you've found it, note two things: roughly how big it is (most domestic tanks are 1,000 to 1,300 litres) and how you'd get a delivery hose to it. Delivery drivers need access.

Check the oil level before you do anything else

Before you turn the heating on for the night, check how much oil is actually in the tank. Sellers rarely leave it topped up, and the last thing you want in your first week is a cold house and a boiler that won't fire.

• Sight gauge: many plastic tanks have a clear vertical tube on the side. The oil level in the tube matches the level in the tank.
• Float or clock gauge: a dial on top or on the wall inside.
• Dipstick: on older tanks, a clean stick dropped straight in, then measured against the tank's litre chart.

If you're not sure how a level in litres translates to "how long will this last", our free tool can help you see when you'll run out based on your usage. As a rough guide, a home in winter can burn through the guts of a tank in a couple of months, much faster in a cold snap.

Getting your first fill

When the tank is low, you order a delivery. A few things to know as a first-time heating oil buyer:

• You buy in bulk, priced per litre, but what matters is the total per fill. A common order is 500 or 900 litres. Minimum orders are often around 500 litres.
• Prices vary between suppliers and change often. It pays to ring around or compare local prices for your county rather than just calling the first number on a fridge magnet left by the previous owner.
• Ask about access and hose length when you order, especially if the tank is a fair distance from the road.
• Never let the tank run to empty. Running dry can pull sludge and air into the line and cause a boiler lockout, which sometimes needs a technician to bleed and restart. Order when you're down to roughly a quarter, not when you're on fumes.

Because prices move, a smart habit is to set a price-drop alert so you're told when oil in your area gets cheaper, instead of guessing. We won't ever tell you to "buy now" or "wait", that's not our job. We just help you compare and avoid the panic fill.

Track down the service history

Ask the seller or estate agent for the boiler's service records. A well-kept oil boiler should be serviced roughly once a year by an OFTEC-registered technician. If there's no paperwork, book a service early. It's the cheapest insurance you'll buy, and the technician can walk you through your specific boiler, show you where the reset button is, and confirm the tank and lines are sound.

While you're at it, find:

• The boiler itself (often in a utility room, kitchen press, or outside).
• The reset button and the fuel shut-off valve at the tank.
• The time and temperature controls, so you're not heating an empty house.

One rule to learn now: if the boiler locks out and won't fire, press the reset once only. Never press it repeatedly. Repeated resets flood the combustion chamber with unburned oil and are a genuine fire risk. If one reset doesn't work, call an OFTEC-registered technician.

Set up your reminders and settle in

The difference between a stress-free oil home and a cold, expensive one is simply not being caught out. So:

1. Note your tank size and current level.
2. Estimate your burn rate with the run-out predictor.
3. Set a price-drop alert for your county.
4. Book a service if you've no recent record.

Do those four and you've turned a mystery tank in the garden into something you barely think about. Welcome to your new house.