Heating & plumbing specialists across Bristol and the South West
Urgent heating or plumbing problem? 0117 990 2735
Heating & plumbing specialists across Bristol and the South West
Urgent heating or plumbing problem? 0117 990 2735
OFTEC registered engineers from Patchway, installing oil boilers and planning tank positions for village and rural homes around the city. Compare boiler types on our main oil boilers page.
Tell us your village or postcode, your current boiler and a little about your oil tank, and we’ll be in touch.
No obligation. Your information is only used to respond to your enquiry.
No heating or urgent leak? Call 0117 990 2735.
Oil heating around Bristol
Inside the city almost every home has mains gas. Drive out past the ring road, though, and the picture changes. Some of the villages and farmhouses in South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and around the Chew Valley were never connected to the gas main, and many of those homes rely on heating oil stored in a tank in the garden.
Those are the homes this page is for. Our OFTEC registered engineers replace old oil boilers, look at the tank and supply line at the same time, and plan both around your property and its surroundings. For a rundown of combi, system, regular and external oil boilers, see our main oil boilers page.
Oil boilers, Bristol fringe
An oil boiler in a village home is a different job from a gas swap in the city. These are the things we check on the Bristol fringe.
Oil tanks have rules on how close they can be to the house, to boundaries and to drains or watercourses. If your old tank is badly placed, a replacement is the time to move it. See our oil tank installations.
Many older single-skin tanks have no secondary containment. A bunded tank holds any leak inside an outer skin, and in some locations it’s a requirement rather than an option. We’ll tell you which applies to your home.
Parts of the Severnside levels and the moors south of the city are flat, low ground near rivers and rhynes. On land like this we think carefully about where a tank goes and how it’s protected.
In farmhouses and converted barns the tank can be a long way from the boiler. We check the oil line, filter and fire valve, and replace them if they’re not up to standard.
Stone cottages and farmhouses can lose heat quickly. We size the new boiler to the home’s real heat demand, not just the old boiler’s rating.
If you’re replacing an oil boiler, it’s worth knowing the alternatives. We also fit LPG boilers around Bristol, and we’ll give you honest advice on both.
Replacing your tank as well? Read about oil tank installation, or meet one of our oil engineers in our interview with Sam.
Oil boiler trouble
Village homes can’t just switch to another fuel overnight, so a failing oil boiler needs sorting quickly. Call us and we’ll tell you whether a repair or a replacement makes more sense, and arrange an engineer.
Regular maintenance keeps oil boilers going longer. Our engineers carry out oil boiler servicing across the Bristol area.
[VERIFY SAFETY LINE WITH AMW — oil leak advice and Environment Agency hotline are new copy (not on the live page), worded to match /oil-boilers/ and /oil-boiler-service-bristol/]
Oil leak? Turn off the supply at the tank if you can do so safely, and don’t smoke or use naked flames nearby. Use sand or earth to stop oil reaching drains, then call us, and if oil could reach a drain, ditch or watercourse, call the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
How it works
01
Start with our online boiler quote or call the team with your village, your current boiler and your tank.
02
An OFTEC engineer looks at the boiler, flue, oil line and tank, and checks the tank’s position against the siting rules.
03
You get a clear quote covering the boiler and any tank work, then choose an installation date that suits you.
04
We fit and commission the boiler, test the oil supply, notify building control and show you how everything works.
Why AMW
Plenty of city firms only do gas. Our OFTEC registered engineers work on oil every week, from our base in Patchway.
Trained and registered for oil, so your installation can be self-certified without a separate building control visit.
One team to look at the boiler, the tank, the oil line and the flue, so nothing is left to chance.
If LPG would suit your home better than oil, we’ll say so.
Patchway sits right by the M4 and M5, handy for South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
Our main oil boilers page explains combi, system, regular and external oil boilers, flue positions and efficiency, and the guarantees on selected Worcester Bosch models.
Qualified. Accredited. Accountable.
Gas work must only be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and oil systems by an OFTEC registered technician. Our accreditations mean the work in your home is done to recognised standards, properly certified and registered where it needs to be.
Up to 12-year boiler guarantees available on selected Worcester Bosch models and installations. Terms apply.
Our engineers are registered to work safely and legally on gas appliances.
Gas Safe registration no. 576406
Qualified to install, commission and service oil-fired boilers and tanks.
OFTEC registration no. C501845
Trained on Worcester Bosch boilers, with extended guarantees on selected models.
Registered to design and install Nu-Heat underfloor heating systems.
Qualified to install and service unvented hot water cylinders.
Questions
Can’t see your question here? Call the team on 0117 990 2735 or browse all our FAQs.
Most of Bristol is on mains gas, so oil tends to be found in the rural areas around it: some villages and outlying homes in South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, the Chew Valley and towards the Cotswold edge. Even within a village, some streets may be on gas and others not. If you’re not sure whether gas is available to you, your gas network operator can tell you.
Often, but not always. Tanks have to be a safe distance from the house, from boundaries and from drains and watercourses, and older tanks may not meet current rules. We check the position and condition at the survey, and if it needs moving or replacing we can install a new tank at the same time.
It depends on the size of the tank and where it sits, for example how close it is to a watercourse, a drain or an opening in the house. A bunded tank has an outer skin that catches leaks, and many homeowners choose one anyway for peace of mind. We’ll tell you what your home needs.
It can. On flat, low-lying land near rivers and drainage ditches, such as parts of the Severnside levels, a leak can travel further, so tank siting and protection matter more. We take the setting into account when we plan your tank and oil line.
It depends on your home and your plans. Oil is a proven choice for rural homes, and a like-for-like swap is usually the simplest. Some customers look at LPG instead. We fit both, so we can compare them honestly for your home.
A straight replacement is usually done in a day. If the tank is being replaced or moved, or the oil line needs rerouting, allow longer, and we’ll confirm the timings with your quote.
Related services
Combi, system, regular and external oil boilers explained.
Find out more
New and replacement tanks, sited to the rules.
Find out more
Annual OFTEC servicing to keep your boiler efficient.
Find out more
Oil boiler faults diagnosed and fixed by OFTEC engineers.
Find out more
Off-gas homes near Bristol
From Patchway we reach the South Gloucestershire villages to the north and east and the North Somerset countryside to the south.
North of the city, the land between the M5 and the Severn is a mix of villages, farms and flat estuary levels, and some homes there have never had mains gas. East towards the Cotswold edge, and south into the Chew Valley and the hills around the lakes, stone cottages and farmhouses are the homes most likely to rely on oil.
Every one is different: a tank tucked behind a barn, a boiler in an outhouse, a long oil line across a garden. We survey the whole setup before quoting, so there are no surprises on installation day.
[VERIFY WITH AMW — local copy is new: which villages are off gas (kept hedged, “some homes”), Severnside levels / low-lying land tank note, bunded-tank wording, and the places list. Confirm AMW covers every village listed and fits oil there]
Postcodes: BS32, BS35, BS36, BS37, BS39, BS40, BS41 and SN14
Also in Bristol: LPG boilers · Boiler installations · Boiler servicing
Tell us where you are and what you have now, and the AMW team will arrange a survey.
