Advantages & disadvantages of oil central heating boilers

Oil heating systems have their advantages and disadvantages whether the heating oil is placed on the ground or underground. The truth is, while there are many gas heating systems, there are several people still using oil heating systems out there. In rural areas where gas grids are out of reach, oil heating systems appear to be a suitable solution.

The boiler heats water and then through radiators, the central heating occurs. For details on spare parts and repair, contact oil boiler engineer Surrey for help.

Unlike with gas central heating systems where water gets heated instantly, oil-fired combination types keep water internally to supply it through pipes.

Oil heated boilers emit up to 4 or 5 tonnes of carbon yearly and you can spend about over $1000 per year for a 3 bedroom house depending on where you live.

If you looking for information about the types of oil boilers, there are two of them: heat only and a combination condensing oil fired boiler. It is necessary to ensure that the efficiency of the boiler is more than 90 percent. This will help keep minimal heating costs. Again, it will help save on maintenance. An oil boiler engineer in Surrey can help with keeping the boiler maintenance at that level.

In terms of cost comparison between an oil and gas heating systems, you will need to include the cost for buying the oil tank.

There are oil fired central heating applied in 'wet' heating systems where an oil fired boiler heats water and then central heating is done by the boiler through radiators installed in homes. The oil is also bought from time to time for use in a oil fired central heating system.


If you are planning to use an oil fired boiler for a central heating system, there are some advantages to watch out. Number one is that oil tends to be efficient and so you will save lots of cash on such a system when compared to gas systems. With modern systems that are installed by a qualified oil boiler engineer in Surrey, you can achieve an energy saving of up to 90 percent. Replacing an old boiler with a new one is also hassle-free.

Oil fired central heating systems are expensive and costly to install. If you are relying on old technology, you may experience unexpected downtime when the system runs out of oil fuel. But you could use modern technology installed by an oil boiler engineer in Surrey to enable the tank notify the supplier when fuel is running out. You might also be charged money for yearly servicing sessions to help keep the boiler efficient and reliable.

Other disadvantages include high costs when the prices of oil go up. Oil is going up in most of modern day economies. Also, unless you are keeping the and underground,it looks ugly at home environments. These types of boilers are also associated with high amount of carbon emissions.

Wall mounted boilers are hard to find, and plumbing may be required to remove any acidic condensate liquid that gets involved. Due to the rate of flow of hot water being low as the central boiler system keeps water under check to maintain hotness of domestic water, the hotness of water reduces as you use more water. 

Solving problems with gas furnaces

Different furnaces have different efficiencies with condensing furnaces recording an efficiency as high as 90 percent AFUE and above. Although both the condensing and conventional gas furnaces use gas burners with an electronic ignition and so have similar combustion process efficiency, condensing furnaces record more efficiency because they have a better heat extraction process.

Of course, there are some problems you can try to troubleshoot on your own and there are others you should trust a gas engineer Surrey to help solve.

Below are problems you are bound to notice in when working with a conventional gas furnace.

1. No heat produced: There are a number of causes if there is no heat being produced. One of them is the thermostat being set too low and not calling for heat. Another cause is if the thermostat is malfunctioning or damaged. The furnace will also not produce heat if the circuit breakers and fuses have tripped down or blown.  You need to check whether the natural gas or propane control valve has been closed or if the pilot light is out, since these too can cause the gas furnace to fail to produce heat.

Other problems that cause the gas furnaces to fail to produce heat include a problem with the hot surface ignition problem or intermittent pilot electronic ignition problem.

There are a number of ways in which you could try to solve this problem even without calling a gas engineer in Surrey. For instance, you can try to check if the thermostat is in the heating mode. Try moving the dial setting up or down, clean the contacts in the thermostat, and try to reset tripped circuit breakers too. You can also try to relight standing pilot light, troubleshooting hot surface ignition or troubleshoot intermittent pilot ignition system.

2.  Gas furnace noisy operations: If the gas is producing a “squealing” sound, it may be that the slipping blower or motor or the shaft need to be oiled. If there is a “rumble” sound, the problem could be a poorly adjusted pilot light if this is experienced when the burner is off. If the sound is being experienced when burners are turned on, it may be that the gas burners are dirty. To solve these problems without calling a gas engineer in Surrey, try oil blower motor lubrication ports (using light weight oil). You can also check if the belt tension is to the needed standards of about 1” at the center of the span or tighten it all together. The problem can also be solved by adjusting pilot light. If necessary, contact a service technician.

3. Electronic ignition problem: In more recent equipment, the gas burners are not ignited using a standing pilot. Electronic ignition is done via the Intermittent Pilot or the Hot Surface Ignition. The former uses a high voltage electrical spark that is controlled electronically. The main burners are then ignited after gas pilot, when the thermostat calls for heat. In Hot Surface Ignition system, an electronically controlled resistance heating element is used to ignite the burner. You can contact a gas engineer in Surrey to repair the parts.