Page 651 - The City and Guilds Textbook: Plumbing Book 1 for the Level 3 Apprenticeship (9189), Level 2 Technical Certificate (8202) and Level 2 Diploma (6035)

Chapter 10 Domestic fuel systems

l Personal hygiene: there should be no reason for the fuel itself to be handled.
However, in the event that contact with the fuel must be made, always wear
appropriate PPE, such as overalls, gloves, hard hat, goggles and respirator
(especially in dusty environments).

Weather conditions

The prevailing weather can have a severe effect on the storage of fuels. Bad
weather, such as wind, rain, hail and snow, is often a cause for late deliveries
and even cancellations of fuel deliveries, especially in rural areas. In almost all
cases, fuel is delivered by large tanker or flat-bed vehicles that find it next to
impossible to negotiate small, narrow roads when the weather conditions are
poor. While the weather can be unpredictable in the UK, good planning of fuel
deliveries can reduce the impacts of bad weather. Ordering more when severe
weather is forecast can often mean the difference between running out of fuel
and keeping the heating on.
Similarly, bad weather can render some fuels, such as wood chip and wood KEY POINT
pellet biomass, almost unusable. Coal and coke too suffer from the negative It is vital that fuels are
effect of excessive rain, whereby the fuel can become too wet to burn kept dry and that they
effectively. Wood pellets swell from the effects of the rain and these then clog are delivered in good
fuel delivery to the fuel bed of the boiler. Wood chip biomass can begin to de- condition for optimum
compost if it gets too damp and this, paradoxically, can cause the fuel to heat combustion efficiency to
occur.
internally and spontaneously combust.

Distribution
The distribution of fuels becomes a vital consideration, especially the further
outside a major town or city you live. Natural gas coverage in the UK through
the national grid stands at around 7000 km of pipelines, but there are still many
rural areas that are too far away from the grid for a supply to be economically
viable. In these cases, other fuel supplies have to be considered.
By far the most viable fuel in rural areas is domestic heating oil, otherwise
known as C2 grade, 28 second viscosity kerosene. Distribution of this still vital
fuel is nationwide. However, kerosene poses an environmental risk if leakage
occurs, especially where the installation lies close to a watercourse, river or
stream or where the water table is high.
LPG distribution is also very comprehensive, with most areas in the UK
reachable by tanker. However, there are certain restrictions with LPG that do
not exist with heating oil, such as that the delivery driver must have line of sight
to the LPG storage tank at all times during delivery of the liquid gas. LPG is also
very expensive as a domestic heating fuel.

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