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Guide to Home Heating Oil

Oil is the primary source of warmth for a significant proportion of the US and UK. It tends to be restricted to rural areas where pipelined heating (ie, natural gas) is uneconomical. Despite tending to be more expensive than piped gas, it is generally considerably cheaper than bottled gas - those propane cylinders with large danger symbols on them.

How Much Oil Do I Have?

The first thing to know with your oil tank is how much is in it. The picture on the left shows a typical arrangement of a tube running vertically down the outside of the tank. Look closely down the length of the tube until you see the oil level, which can tell you the level inside the tank. You are looking for a yellowish liquid, and this can get quite difficult if the tank is getting a bit old and the tube is discoloured or dirty. Be warned - the oil level you see may not be the actual level inside the tank!

How Much Oil Do I Really Have??

At the bottom of the tube is the junction where the oil comes out of the tank, and you should find a button there. Ours is red. Watch the oil level in the tube, then hold the button down. You may see the oil level in the tube drop; hold the button down until the level stops falling. Now you have the actual level inside the tank.

What if I Can't See Oil Inside The Tube?

Check a few times to make sure that you haven't missed it; the oil level can be tricky locate, especially if you aren't used to it.

If you are sure that you can't see any oil, or if you pressed your level equalisation button and the oil level has disappeared below the tube, you urgently need to fill up with oil.

How Little is Too Little?

If you can't see the oil level at all, or the level is reaching the outlet point on the tank (ie, within a few inches of it), you MUST fill up urgently.

Who Will Sell Me My Oil?

There are numerous companies who offer heating oil; a web search for 'domestic heating oil' or 'home heating oil' will show plenty of ads and search results. Do your homework before calling for a quote, though: the companies tend to be regional, so check where they deliver to. A lazy (but pretty reliable) option is to use an oil supplier location service, to find the cheapest companies in your area. Another good source is your neighbours; they should be able to advise you on who to use or who to avoid, and may even run a local syndicate that can group-buy to get the very best prices.

How Much Oil Should I Ask For?

Know the size of your tank. There is no hard-and-fast rule how much a tank may hold by measuring its exterior size, but as an example our (newish) tank is around seven feet (2.1m) long and five feet (1.5m) round; it holds 2500L of oil.

The oil level tube takes some getting used to in estimating how much oil to fill up the tank. 'Most' of the oil is in the middle of the tank, as the top and bottom are the small parts of the circle. If the oil level is a third of the way down, you may only have used 10% of your oil, so definitely not enough for a fill. If, however, it's a third of the way from the bottom, your tank is 90% empty and you can think seriously about getting a big order in.

How Do I Get The Best Price?

The short answer is, you should naturally ring around to try and get the best price for your oil. In reality this is only part of the picture.

A bigger way to save money is to track your usage and the domestic oil prices every couple of weeks. Pay attention to the news; is there cold weather on its way, or has an oil producing country announced supply problems? All these things can point to higher (or lower) prices in the months ahead, so with a bit of forecasting you can avoid having to do a big tank fill-up when the retail price is peaking.