Oil boiler repair around Exeter
For homes off the gas grid: if the oil boiler won't fire, keeps locking out, or hasn't restarted since the tank ran dry, tell us what's happening and we'll get a local engineer in touch.
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Tell us what's happening. It takes about two minutes.
Thanks, your enquiry is on its way to a local boiler engineer, who'll be in touch. If you smell gas, leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
Signs your oil boiler needs a look
- The boiler locks out and the reset button only works for a while
- A strong smell of oil or fumes near the boiler
- Black smoke or soot around the flue
- The burner fires, then cuts out
- It hasn't come back on since the oil was delivered
- Water or oil on the floor near the boiler or tank
- It's well past its last service
What an oil boiler repair usually involves
Oil boilers work differently from gas ones, so the checks are different too. In general, the engineer looks at the burner, the nozzle, the electrodes, the oil pump and the filter, and checks that oil is reaching the boiler cleanly from the tank. A blocked filter or a nozzle that needs replacing is a common cause of lockouts.
If the tank has run dry, air and sludge can get into the line. The engineer may need to bleed the supply and clean the filter before the boiler will run reliably again.
Oil boilers are usually worked on by technicians registered with OFTEC, the oil heating industry's scheme. It's worth asking your engineer about their registration before work starts.
Oil heating around Exeter
Inside Exeter, oil heating is almost unknown. Outside it, it's a different picture: national estimates put oil heating at around 14 per cent of homes in East Devon, and there are about 41,000 oil-heated homes across Devon as a whole, many of them in rural areas.
That means oil boiler work tends to come from the villages and farmhouses around the city rather than from Exeter itself, often in older properties where the boiler sits in a utility room or outhouse and the tank is at the end of the garden.
While you wait
If you smell oil fumes indoors, turn the boiler off and open the windows. If the boiler has locked out, try the reset once; don't keep pressing it, because repeated resets can flood the combustion chamber with oil. If the tank has run dry, check the gauge after delivery and wait before trying to restart, as the supplier advises. Never go into a loft or onto a roof to look at a flue.
What happens when you enquire
Choose 'Oil boiler repair' on the form and tell us what the boiler is doing. We pass your enquiry to one vetted, independent engineer who works on oil boilers and covers your area. They'll contact you directly to talk it through and arrange a visit.
There's no charge for the enquiry and no obligation to go ahead.
Typical oil boiler costs
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Oil boiler service | £90–£125 |
| Fault-finding visit | £70–£90 |
| Minor boiler repair | £100–£180 |
| Average boiler repair | £300–£350 |
Indicative UK price ranges published by MyJobQuote (updated October 2026). Your boiler engineer will quote after inspecting.
Oil boiler questions
How much is a boiler service?
MyJobQuote's UK price guide (updated October 2026) puts a gas boiler service at £85–£120, an LPG boiler at £90–£120 and an oil boiler at £90–£125. Any repairs found during the service are quoted separately.
Who is allowed to work on my boiler?
By law, work on a gas boiler must be done by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register; ask to see their ID card. Oil boilers are usually worked on by technicians registered with OFTEC.
Why does my oil boiler keep locking out?
Common causes include a blocked oil filter, a worn nozzle, dirty electrodes, air in the oil line, or a faulty pump. Try the reset once only, because repeated resets can flood the boiler with oil, then get an engineer to look at it.
My oil ran out. Will the boiler restart after delivery?
Sometimes, but often not straight away. When a tank runs dry, air and sludge can get into the supply line, and the engineer may need to bleed the line and clean the filter before the boiler will run reliably.
Should I send a photo with my enquiry?
It helps. A photo of the boiler's model label, or of the error code on the display, lets the engineer work out what's likely to be wrong before they arrive.
Oil boiler playing up? Send a quick enquiry and a local engineer will be in touch.