Dear NOBC members (all 850 of you).

As we approach the winter months, please remember to manage your tank levels from full to full and not from empty to empty. Levels drop like a stone when there is a cold snap, which could catch you out, so its worth understanding the logistics below.

Pattern of oil deliveries:

I send out invitations to order twice a month. The first is for delivery in the first half of the month and the second is for delivery during the last two weeks of the month. If you place your order as soon as the invitation comes in and do not mark your order urgent, the oil could take three weeks to arrive. Not a problem in most cases. On the other hand if you order just before the cut off and mark your order urgent you could get a delivery as quick as five days later.

Tankers:

 There are three types of tanker, six wheeler, four wheeler and mini tankers. The vast majority of tanks can be accessed by the first two types but occasionally very awkward access requires a mini tanker. Please remember that if you specify a mini tanker, you will be charged a premium of 3-5ppl, depending on supplier, in order to get this specialist bit of kit to your address. Six and four wheeler tankers have 100-150ft of hose, and are what the oil companies base their quotations on. As a matter of interest if you are passing a six wheeler on the road, which takes around 20,000 litres, at 1.2M litres a year, we order an average of five of these each month!

Top Ups:

One of the options on the website is to indicate the number of litres required with the possibility of a top up. Top ups can be hit or miss. At the end of a tanker’s deliveries, surplus oil may be available in the vehicle to deliver extra. No tanker likes going back to the depot with oil on board. At the beginning of the tanker’s delivery round the driver will not be wanting to get rid of extra oil, in case he will be letting down the people who have ordered specific amounts later on the round. At the end of the day, if you are not topped up you can always order more as soon as you can fit in 500Litres.

Watchman:

A few of you do not know how much oil your tanks take or what the current level is. I strongly recommend a gadget called Watchman. Here is the link With this you can monitor your oil level from indoors.

Tank Condition   Please also monitor the state of repair of your tank. It is illegal for the oil supply companies to deliver oil to a tank which may leak.

Minimum quantities:

The tanker pumping equipment is calibrated by Weights and Measures to 500 litres. Less than this quantity is less accurate. However, please remember that if you get a delivery of less than you have ordered, you will only ever be charged for the actual amount delivered.

December:

Everyone wants oil in December when the rellies are on the horizon for Christmas. I strongly advise you to fill your tanks in November and then order again in early January if needed. Please try to avoid joining that bunch of normally sane people who do not order oil for December until 20th December when the tankers are at full stretch.

Prices: Just a reminder that I cannot predict what the price per litre is going to be as prices alter daily. I ask the suppliers to quote once I know what volume of orders is needed and that is when the price is finalised. My advice to anyone who needs to know the price before they order is always the same ‘ Place your order with NOBC and if when you receive your confirmation, you can buy cheaper elsewhere, just drop me a line and I will cancel your order.’

Members: We currently have around 850 active members, so we are quite meaningful to the suppliers, hence the prices and service which we get. Do tell friends and neighbours about the club and get them to join through nadder.oilbuyingclub.com

Budget Scheme: We operate a budget scheme for those who prefer to budget a fixed amount per month. For details of this please contact gerry@oilbuyingclub.com