How much kerosene?

suitseir

I used a dip stick to measure the amount of kerosene I have left and if I should order more today.

I have an oil stove which just heats the immediate room running 24/7. By all accounts, it runs on ` small ` amounts of oil! I run the heating 4/5 hours a day. I put in 500 litres at the end of November and when I used the dip stick this morning it measured 15" from the bottom of the tank. The oil indicator level is about 3" reading it on the dip stick. I know the level for the stove has to be higher. My tank is not huge....at a guess about 4'/5' in height and about the same in length.

I am thinking of ordering another 500 litres but don't want to fill the tank to the brim. By and large, has anybody any idea what is the max this roughly sized tank takes? And, if I have 15" of oil left with the above average consumption, am I OK or will I order?

Sorry for being long winded!!!

Pete67

Need more accurate measurements of your tank to calculate the volume, and whether it's rectangular or cylindrical etc. Most domestic tanks hold about 1000 to 1100 litres when full to the brim. It may be slightly cheaper to buy 1000 litres at a time.

suitseir

It is cylindrical. What would be the best way to measure it? Thanks

Joey the lips

pie r2 h


r2 is half the diameter
h is the length of the tank.

Martron

lenght of the tank and height of the tank.

if it cylindrical the height should be close enough to the width.

width /2 = X

X (squared) x Lenght x 3.14 = volume

suitseir

OK. Back to my maths days at school!

Martron

3 mins before me joey!!!!! i am getting old!

Martron

Martron wrote: »

lenght of the tank and height of the tank.

if it cylindrical the height should be close enough to the width.

width /2 = X

X (squared) x Lenght x 3.14 = volume

silly thing probably but try and keep everything in the same units. i would recommend measuring everything in centimetres.

then divide you final answer by 1000 and that should give you the litres!

Pete67

As Joey says, measure the diameter of the tank (D), and the length (L)

Example - length 1.8 meters, Diameter 1.2m

Volume is ((PI * D^2)/4) * L

so total volume of tank in this example is ((3.14*1.2*1.2)/4) * 1.8 m^3

which is 2.0 meters cubed, or 2,000 litres.

suitseir

Pete 67

After running in and out of the garden and freezing the extremities, I used the formula as you showed and I calculated 1.2 metres cubed. So I can safely say that the tank has a 1,000 litre capacity.

Having dipped that tank I have 14" of oil remaining.

Got what's left of an aging brain calculating. My maths teacher of over 35 years ago would be delighted.:)

Pete67

Fairly standard tank size then. If you post up the diameter and length I can calculate how many litres of oil is represented by the 15" you have on the dipstick.

suitseir

Thanks.

Length is 1.39 m

Height is 1.1 m approx.

Diameter is 1.06.


I measured in inches so hope calculations are accurate. Old school, and all that.:)

Pete67 wrote: »

Fairly standard tank size then. If you post up the diameter and length I can calculate how many litres of oil is represented by the 15" you have on the dipstick.

Joey the lips

I would have guessed a 1000 ltrs myself. Nice one though.

Buy an oil watchman they are cheap in woodies and anytime I have fit them I have always got thanks.

Pete67

Horizontal cyrindrical tank of diameter 106cm and length 139cm:

dipstick reading 15" (38.1 cm) equivalent to 396 litres. But you probably cannot use it all as the outlet from the tank will be a little above the tank bottom.

Edit - update 14" would be 360 litres.

I used a calculator from here to find the amount remaining, you can generate a dipstick table to read off the oil remaining for any dipstick reading, or to calibrate your dipstick (mark it at known volumes, say every hundred litres)

suitseir

Thanks for that. A handy table.

Yea, doing the calculation using horizontal I got about 357 litres.

At least I know now.


It helped the brain to calculate too......now its time to go on the Nintendo Brain Training......a Christmas Pressie from OH to moi! Is he trying to tell me something?



Anyway, I know where I am going now and when to order the next 500 litres and it also gave me the consumption rate, as best as I can calculate what with all this cold weather etc.

Cheers!

Pete67 wrote: »

Horizontal cyrindrical tank of diameter 106cm and length 139cm:

dipstick reading 15" (38.1 cm) equivalent to 396 litres. But you probably cannot use it all as the outlet from the tank will be a little above the tank bottom.

Edit - update 14" would be 360 litres.

I used a calculator from here to find the amount remaining, you can generate a dipstick table to read off the oil remaining for any dipstick reading, or to calibrate your dipstick (mark it at known volumes, say every hundred litres)

suitseir

Good idea. Will get one next time I am in Woodies!

Thanks.

Joey the lips wrote: »

I would have guessed a 1000 ltrs myself. Nice one though.

Buy an oil watchman they are cheap in woodies and anytime I have fit them I have always got thanks.