Hunter Geist, Author at FuelSnap

What to Know: The Smart Oil Gauge

July 7, 2025June 3, 2025

If you’re new to your Smart Oil Gauge, then there are a couple of things that you need to know. But, don’t worry, because I’m going to go through everything that you need to know about your Smart Oil Gauge. In this blog post, everything you need to know will be provided here. Since my original article on this in 2023, we’ve made many improvements to the Smart Oil Gauge, including the new Duo model! So buckle up, there’s going to be a lot to digest in this article, so feel free to bookmark this and come back to it later!

Setting Up Your Smart Oil Gauge

The very first thing that you should do after getting your gauge is to set it up. It’s best you do this when the gauge is off the tank so that you don’t have to hunch over your tank when setting up. But on Smart Oil Gauge Duos, you can remove the interiors to troubleshoot. So, if you have a Duo model, you can install it before setting it up. But, if you have a standard model, then you’ll need to set it up before installing.

At the time of writing, we currently have two ways to configure the gauge. They are the app config mode and the alternate config mode. These modes are very simple to follow, and we have in-depth instructions on each of them. But first, you’ll need to download our Smart Oil Gauge app. This can be done by going to either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and searching up “Smart Oil Gauge”. You’ll see an app that looks like a Blue & Black Water Droplet with a white background. You’ll then want to make an account so that you can view your Smart Oil Gauge’s readings!

The App Configuration Process

Since 2023, we’ve significantly improved our app’s configuration process. The process is now much simpler which will make it easier to configure the gauge to the app! This process gives you a step by step guide with photos and videos of what he flashing light on the gauge looks like. This process also specifies that you have physical access to the sensor and your WIFI password handy to make this process as simple and smooth as possible. When the process asks you for the password for your WIFI network, it is going to ask you for the password for the network. So make sure that you connect your phone to the network that you wish to connect your gauge to. I have a step by step guide, that walks you through this process here.

Alternate Setup Process

Now our second process is the alternate process. This process requires you to go through your WIFI settings on your phone first. So using your phone, you’ll want to navigate to your internet settings to start off. Unlike the App Configuration, you can do this process regardless of if the app is installed or not.

To get the gauge into the config mode, you want to make sure that it’s on. Start by unscrewing the cap of the gauge. Then, press and hold the button down on the top right of the gauge (count one-one thousand, two-one thousand and let go). The gauge should start flashing once every second. After that, you should see a network show up that says “CCF#####”. You’ll want to join that network by typing in “smartoil” as the password. You’ll then see a screen that says “SSID”, “Password” and “Email Address”. If your phone doesn’t take you to the login screen, you’ll simply need to go to your web browser and type in 192.168.4.1 and you should be brought to the login screen. Tap on your WIFI and it’ll autofill the SSID box, then simply type in your WIFI password and your email address and press save!

Setting the Tank Configuration and Upload Interval

Once the gauge has been successfully set up, you’ll need to set the tank configuration and the upload interval. Knowing what kind of tank that your gauge is going to be installed onto is VERY important. It will determine if the gauge is accurate or not. Start off by finding out what size tank you have. This will make or break weather or not your gauge is accurate. If you received the email asking to finish the setup process, it’ll ask you to set the upload interval and tank size from that email. However, if you didn’t and are setting it up through the app, you can follow the below steps.

To change this from the app, you’ll need to go to the tools screen. This starts from the “Tank Detail” screen. On IOS you’ll see a little gear on the bottom left that will take you to the “Tools” section of the app. On Android, it’s the three dots on the top right and “Configure”. Then, select your tank under “Sensors” and you’ll be able to change your upload interval and tank configuration.

There are standard sizes for 275, 330 and Roth tanks. You can find all these sizes on the app when you’re setting up the gauge. Now, say for example that your tank isn’t one of the shown standard sizes. You can email or call our support with the dimensions and orientation of your tank and we’re happy to configure that tank size for you! However, it’s important to note that the Smart Oil Gauge is not compatible with underground tanks and Roth 1500Ls.

The gauge’s upload interval will determine how often the gauge uploads. You can set this between anywhere from every hour to every 24 hours. But the more often the gauge is uploads, the more you’ll burn through the batteries. For example, if you have your gauge set to upload every hour, then you’ll probably only get six months out of your batteries on average. This is because the gauge will need to draw power from the batteries to upload to our servers and the more often it does that, the more life it burns. But, the less you have the gauge upload the more you’ll save on your battery life. For this reason, we recommend that the gauge uploads every 12-24 hours as this will give the gauge the best battery life.

Custom Tank Settings & Sensor Offset

In the previous section I mentioned custom tank sizes briefly. Well, they are very important if your tank is not a standard size. We do have tank sizes configured for less common tank sizes such as 120, 138, 220 and 240 gallon tanks. However, those are not available on the app and you’ll have to contact our support line to get those tank sizes due to them being so uncommon. So when you’re setting up the gauge, you need to get the dimensions of your tank, or know what size your tank is. Once you have the dimensions of your tank and orientation, we’ll provide you with a custom tank size that you can set your Smart Oil Gauge to!

Now a sensor offset is a little different. This is a setting that will ignore a specific amount of level readings to improve accuracy on gauges installed with an adapter. Offsets are not used on gauges that aren’t installed with an adapter. Typically on offset is determined depending on how raised your gauge is with the adapter. Ninety percent of the time, it’s going to be a 1-inch offset. All of our adapters will raise the gauge up roughly one inch. This offset accommodates for the gauge being raised up one inch.

Setting Alerts

While looking in the “Tools” tab in the previous section, you might’ve noticed the option “Alerts”. This is where you’ll be able to set alerts to be notified about changes with your heating oil tank. We offer a large variety of alerts for the Smart Oil Gauge. You’ll be able to configure these alerts in three different ways. Those being, “Texts”, “Emails” and “Push Notifications”. Here are some examples of the alerts that the gauge will send:

Abnormally high usage
Receiving a Fill
Tank Below 1/4
Tank Below 1/2
Sensor Not Reporting
Deals and Offers

Those are only a handful of the alerts that the Smart Oil Gauge offers! The nice thing about setting email and text message alerts is that you can put multiple emails and phone numbers onto the text alerts! This will help you share your alerts with your family and heating oil providers if you’d like! You can access these alerts from the “Tools” screen.

Batteries

Unlike your TV Remote, the Smart Oil Gauge doesn’t use AA batteries like Duracell and Energizer. The gauge needs two batteries that are 3.6 volts to power the device. The AA batteries are only 1.5 volts each. This means that these batteries will only power the LED light. When you put in standard AA batteries, the LED light on the gauge will still flash because they will have enough voltage to power the LEDs and not the gauge. The gauge will also not be able to enter any of the config modes with those batteries in it.

The Gauge MUST use SAFT LS14500 batteries. These batteries are reliable and will power the gauge without issue. Any other brand of 3.6 volts can work. However, they likley will not be as reliable as the SAFT brand. You can watch our video tutorial on replacing the batteries here.

Additionally, we DO NOT recommend replacing the battery box with an AC adapter or plug in device. This puts the gauge at risk of short circuiting during a power outage and can damage the interior workings of the device. Most important of all, it will void the warranty of your sensor.

Installing the Smart Oil Gauge

Installation of the Smart Oil Gauge is actually quite easy. All you really need is the gauge, pipe dope and a 14″ pipe wrench. You can also install the gauge by yourself! Now it’s good to note that you’ll want to install the gauge AFTER you configure it. This is not as important with Duo Devices because you can remove the interior guts of the device once installation is complete. But you should absolutely install the standard model after the gauge has been setup.

To install, first you’ll want to put a thin layer of pipe dope on the bottom threads. Then, go ahead and install the gauge onto the fitting you wish to install it on by hand, tightening it as far as possible. Then, you’re going to want to tighten it down all the way with a pipe wrench. Don’t be afraid to scratch up the piping with teeth marks, because that’s what the piping is meant for! You can watch our installation guides for Roth Installations and Granby Tank Installations to get a better idea of how the process goes!

Ordering Through FuelSnap

The Smart Oil Gauge has many useful features. One of which is being able to order heating oil through the app! The Smart Oil Gauge has integration with FuelSnap and will allow you to order oil through local dealers in your area! Just make sure to fill out your address and zip code so that FuelSnap knows what dealers are available in your area. You can only access FuelSnap’s integration from the “Tank Detail” screen. You will see an option that says “Check Oil Prices”. When you select it you’ll be able to place an order for heating oil.

Now it’s also good to note that ordering through FuelSnap is completley optional! This means that if you want to keep ordering from a dealer that you already order from, than that’s completley fine! Feel free to stick with what you’re comfortable with! But, if you are ever in a pinch and need heating oil, you’re always welcome to order through FuelSnap! You can also always order off of our website if you’d like to as well.

Navigating the Tank Detail Screen

The tank detail screen is one of the screens that you will likely spend most of your time on when in the app. It’s basically your home screen when using the app. You can look at your graph, how many gallons are in the tank and little bubbles that give you information about your usage. It gives you the name of your tank, battery level and when the last reading was. It will also display the “FuelSnap” oil prices option if you wish to order oil through the app. Clicking on the option that says “graph” or the graph icon will take you to your level & usage graphs. The level graph will give you level readings for “Day”, “Week”, “Month” and “Year” which will contain usage information and averages for oil usage. The gauge will also give an estimate on what you will use.

When you are on the tank detail screen, you’ll see three bubbles that show up on the right hand side. These bubbles will give you gallons per day, days to 1/4th, and days to 1/8. Each of these bubbles will give you information you need to know about your usage. However, these bubbles will not fill unless you’ve got a full weeks work of data. Sometimes they will show up with information early. But, the information in that bubble will not always be 100% accurate until you have a full week’s worth of data. This means that each week your data will be different!

The Standard Smart Oil Gauge’s Sensitivity

It’s important to note that Standard Smart Oil Gauges have a slight sensitivity when the tank is full. This can cause the gauge to initially read less oil than what’s in the tank at first after a delivery. This will only occur on the Standard Smart Oil Gauge because it’s operating range is 8″-72″. So when the tank gets a fill, the gauge will read less oil than what’s actually in the tank after the delivery. You’ll then see the level slowly decline overtime with a sudden spike back up. That sudden spike back up is the oil level clearing the 8-inch sensitivity and tends to look like you got another delivery of heating oil.

Now the nice thing about this sensitivity is that once the oil clears the top 8″ of the tank, our system will automatically adjust your usage data. This is because the gauge will still pick up that you’re burning oil, and still collect usage data. So when the oil clears the sensitivity, our system will adjust and recalculate your usage accordingly. This is because when the ultrasonic signal returns to the sensor for the first time to report, the gauge is still in the sending mode. So the ultrasonic signal bounces off the device, back down to the oil level and back up to the sensor. This effectively doubles what the Smart Oil Gauge is seeing. You can check out a more in-depth explanation on this sensitivity here.

The Smart Oil Gauge Duo

Our newest device is the Smart Oil Gauge Duo. This gauge is currently our most accurate device. It’s operating range is 0-72″, meaning that it is accurate within that range with no 8-inch sensitivity like with the standard model. The dual sensor device gives the gauge the ability to be more accurate from the top of the tank after a fill.

The Smart Oil Gauge Duo also allows you to take the interiors out of the gauge when you need to troubleshoot. This can be especially useful when the gauge itself disconnects from the WIFI or you simply just need to update your information. The Duo also uses the same batteries as the standard model. So if you need to take out the batteries, then simply taking the gauge out of the tank and replacing the batteries can be done by removing the interiors.

The Smart Oil Gauge Duo also has a stronger seal than the standard model Smart Oil Gauges. The Duo is better for outdoor usage than the standard model. While the Duo has a better seal then the standard model, we recommend that you purchase the outdoor model if you intend to use the device on an outdoor tank. This is because the outdoor model is more suited for outdoor use and can better withstand the elements. If you want a more in-depth explanation of the Duo, you can find that here.

Force WIFI G Mode

This is our newest software addition and it’s incredibly useful. Force WIFI G is a new setting that we’ve created in hopes of combating issues with smart routers. Smart Routers will usually have a setting enabled called “Smart WIFI”. This setting will help the router become more streamlined and integrated. However, the setting in question is “Smart WIFI” and this setting is very beneficial to the router. Basically, it will move devices from 2.4ghz to 5ghz and vise versa to improve performance. But with the smart oil gauge, the device will disconnect because it’s not compatible with 5ghz. So when the router moves the gauge over to 5ghz, the gauge will ultimately disconnect.

However, with the new “Force WIFI G” setting you will be able to set your gauge to connect only to the 2.4ghz network. You can enable this setting by going into the “Advanced” options of our alternate process. Once you make it there, you’ll see an option that says “Force WIFI G” with a little check box. Once you check the box off and hit save and exit, the gauge should be able to connect to your 2.4ghz and stay connected to only that network. I’ve gone over the complete process in depth here.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve made it this far, then you know pretty much everything there is to know about the Smart Oil Gauge! But, I’m only scratching the surface of the more in-depth topics mentioned here. While i’ve kept these paragraphs brief, there are still more things to know! But, the Smart Oil Gauge is very useful and by reading this article, you pretty much know all the basics!

However, if your curiosity gets the better of you then I highly recommend checking out all of our other articles that I’ve written on our website! You’ll have a vast knowledge of what you need to know on both heating oil and the smart oil gauge! The Smart Oil Gauge is a very useful and powerful tool to use for your heating oil system and your home!

Happy Heating,

Hunter

Replacing your Oil Tank’s Gauge

June 30, 2025June 3, 2025

If you use heating oil as your source of home heating, then you’ll know that your heating oil tank comes equipped with a tank gauge. This is also known as a float gauge. It is a metal arm that comes equipped onto your tank with a little bobber at the end. This bobber will be able to give you a rough estimate as to how many gallons are in your tank. But over time, this bobber can get coated in sludge, and this can bog it down. This means that the gauge will be inaccurate as it gets older and coated in sludge. This also usually means that your tank’s float gauge will need to be replaced. In this article, I’ll be covering exactly how this is done and when you should replace it.

What will You Need to Do This?

Before I tell you what you need to do to replace your heating oil gauge, you should pickup the following items. These will make sure that your process is done swiftly and smoothly. To begin, you will need the following:

Rubber Gloves
A Pair of Old Clothes (Heating Oil is messy and smelly, wearing old clothes will ensure that you don’t ruin a pair of nice new clothes)
A Trash Bag
A Pipe Wrench that is 14″ or more. I recommend this one – Purchase It
Pipe Dope or another form of thread sealant – Purchase It
Liquid Wrench (This is Optional) – Purchase It

How Does a Float Gauge Work?

Understanding how a float gauge works is important so that you’ll know how much oil is in the tank. This will also help you get a better idea of what to expect when you’re replacing the gauge. At the bottom of the float gauge’s disc is a metal arm that will move up and down in the tank. This allows the bobber to sit at the top of the oil and gives it enough movement for the gauge to read. The gauge also has a cylinder with a colorful disc inside. The cylinder has little marks on it that help determine where the oil level approximately is. However, it’s important to note that float gauges are not 100% accurate because they do not accommodate for the curvature of the tank.

In the above picture, you’ll see approximately how a heating oil tank functions. You’ll see that the float arm extends outwards to give you the approximate reading of how much is in the tank.

What Causes a Float Gauge to Break?

The biggest reason for a float gauge breaking is when it gets coated in sludge. This tends to bog down the bobber which can cause the bobber to read inaccurately. Additionally, the metal arm of the gauge can also bend and break. If the arm of the float gets caught on the side of the tank or sludge holds down the gauge, it can break. Due to this, you might have to frequently change out your float gauges. Which can be expensive in the long run.

Sludge buildup is the most common cause for a float gauge to go bad. This is because the sludge will weigh down the bobber, causing inaccurate readings.

Additionally, over time the assembly of the float gauge can rotate. This is how the arm of the float gauge gets stuck on the sides of tank walls. When the float arm is stuck on the side of the tank, it can cause the bobber to get stuck and this can cause the gauge not to read what the tank’s level is.

Step 1: Loosening the Fitting

Before you go ahead and unthread the gauge from the assembly, you should loosen it up a bit. Start off by removing the gauge’s plastic vial on the top with your hands and remove it, revealing the disk. Then, you can put the pipe wrench on the gauge’s metal fitting. Now, you can begin turning. DO THIS VERY SLIGHTLY! If you turn it too hard, then the float will hit the side of the tank’s interior.

Important Note: If the fitting of the gauge isn’t moving, go ahead and soak it in penetrating oil for a couple hours or even a day or two. After a bit of waiting, the gauge should now come out of the fitting.

Step 2: Lifting the Disc and Completley Removing the Fitting

Once the fitting has been loosened, you’ll be able to start taking out the float gauge. You ideally should have someone help you with this process. But, it’s not a requirement to have someone help you do this, it just makes the process a lot easier. If you’re doing this alone, then continue to follow the steps below to get the float gauge out of your tank.

You’ll want to start by unscrewing or taking off the cylinder of the float gauge. Unscrewing this will allow you to pull up the disc and pull up the gauge out of the tank. Pulling the gauge out by the disc will pull the gauge out of the tank and make it easier to take it out without hitting the sides of the tank.

Step 3: Removing the Gauge’s Float Assembly

After loosening the gauge’s fitting, you can can remove the float assembly. Now, this is the messy part. So make sure you’ve got your gloves on and your trash bag handy! You’ll want to release the disc next. This will allow the gauge to settle back into the tank after dropping the disc. This will make it easier to get the gauge out of the tank.

Now that you’ve let go of the disc, you can pull the gauge out of the tank. However, be sure to have the garbage bag ready to put the old float gauge in. This will be messy and oil will come out of the tank. So after putting the gauge in the garbage bag, make sure you have your paper towels handy to wipe everything clean after taking the gauge out of the tank. Oil will spill out when you’re doing this. So be prepared!

Step 4: Install the New Gauge!

Now for the fun part, it’s time to install the new gauge! Weather you’re installing the Smart Oil Gauge or a new float gauge you’ll want to be sure to careful when you install it. But basically, you’ll be going through the process in reverse. But, before you do anything else you’re going to need to clean off the tank’s fitting. As per usual, you can use an old rag to clean off the fittings.

If you’re installing a new float gauge, then you’ll want to mark which direction you’d want to float gauge to go from the fitting. You can use a permanent marker or something similar to do that. You’ll also want to make sure that the float doesn’t hit the the sides of the tank because it’ll get caught and not be able to read properly. So you can always put the floats arm facing inward on the tank.

You’ll slowly want to lower the float into the tank until the tank’s fitting and the float gauges fitting connect. Then, you’ll gently want to lift up the new disc so that the arm lifts up in the tank so it’s not sitting in the oil. You’ll want to continue to slowly lift it up and tighten it until it’s snug. But it’s recommended that you do that slowly. After ensuring that the gauge is securely attached to the tank, you can reinstall the cylinder.

Installing the Smart Oil Gauge

Now, if you’re installing a Smart Oil Gauge instead of a float gauge the installation process is much simpler. All you have to do is put a thin layer of pipe dope onto the threads of the gauge. Don’t put a lot because that can cause the gauge to not read accurately if pipe dope gets on the sensor.

Now, if you find yourself unhappy with your current float gauge, then the Smart Oil Gauge is a great replacement option! There is no float arm that can get caught on the side of the tank and cause the gauge. The Smart Oil Gauge also uses an ultra sonic sensor that is able to determine how much oil is in the tank. Just make sure that your Smart Oil Gauge is configured for the right tank size!

The Smart Oil Gauge will be able to give you a breakdown of how much oil is in your tank and what your usage is. This will help you better understand what to do incase you run out of oil or you need to know what your usage is. You’ll be able to find out all of this through the purchase of a Smart Oil Gauge!

Closing Points

To ensure that your float gauge is reading properly, you’ll need to make sure that the float is properly installed into the tank and sits on the tank properly. This will ensure that the float’s bobber will be able to read the oil level properly.

But, if you wish to go with the Smart Oil Gauge as your new gauge, you won’t have to worry about a bobber getting stuck on the tank or the gauge being unable to read properly. As long as your Smart Oil Gauge is set up for the right tank size, the gauge will be accurate. The gauge will also be able to send you alerts from the app via notifications or emails. This way you can make sure that you’re not running out of oil!

Happy Heating,

Hunter

Buying Heating Oil with Cash or Credit: Which is Better?

June 23, 2025July 1, 2025

Heating Oil usage dates back all the way to the 1840s. The whole process and heating oil scene hasn’t changed a whole lot since then either. But, with the implementation of our Smart Oil Gauge and our FuelSnap website, monitoring your usage and ordering oil is the easiest it’s been! However, how does this affect your payment options?

Depending on who you order from, it can be a little difficult. Some dealers don’t even accept cash anymore! While some do, if you’re ordering through FuelSnap some won’t even give you the option. Some people also don’t really carry cash on them. I used to be guilty of this, but now I tend to make sure that I always have cash on me.

In this article, I’m going to break down what payment option is best to purchase heating oil with!

Purchasing with Cash vs Credit

Some small businesses will typically charge you a processing fee on credit card purchases. But depending on the business, this could also be a $.30 surcharge that can also have an additional 2.9% processing fee! This usually makes up for the cost of people coming in and buying product. Some places will even have a minimum for cards. This is typically $5 because they will end up having high fees for purchases under $5. Other businesses will not accept card at all! The Candlelight Inn located in Scarsdale NY is cash only. Their food is very good which makes it worth the cash only policy. However, while very rare some businesses will be card only. Although, this tends to be more common with online stores such as Amazon and Etsy.

Heating Oil dealers will come out to deliver heating oil once they’ve received payment. Most accept card only, however, there are still some who accept cash.

What’s interesting is that some dealers won’t charge you the processing fee for their card transactions. This is becomes most oil companies will treat heating oil as a utility. Utilities are usually in the form of water and electric and are usually not taxed. But this isn’t always the case. Heating Oil is required in homes in the northeast because you’ll need to keep your home warm. Due to this, credit card companies will usually be more lenient. You can always persuade them to lower the cost of of the fee. But this fee is usually only 1-3%, so trying to fight it might not always be worth the time and effort.

However, some dealers will actually charge you a lower rate per gallon if you order heating oil with cash. This is because they’ll be avoiding the surcharges. But, if you don’t have cash on you when you place the order, it’s important to run to the bank and get some cash. This is because the dealer will not deliver without cash. However, if you already carry cash on you then you have nothing to worry about!

What are the Pros and Cons?

Right out the gate, one of the biggest pros to paying with credit card is that the transaction is always safe and secure. Some dealers will only accept credit card. This means that your transaction will be secured and their will be a paper trail as to when the transaction took place and for how much. Paying with credit card also helps with not having to wait at home for the driver to come out and deliver. This is to ensure that the dealer will have prior payment and they will come out and deliver, even if you’re not home!

But, there is one big problem that can happen if you place an order with a card. That being the refund process. If you need to cancel your order, it can take at least 3-5 days to get the full amount back with a refund. This usually isn’t a problem for a majority of people, but sometimes when you’re strapped for cash it can be pretty irritating.

Here’s all the pros and cons laid out for you!

Even though ordering with card tends to be safer, there are still benefits to placing your order with cash. While some dealers won’t accept cash, others will and usually tend to give you a discounted rate per gallon. However, ordering with cash means that you have to wait around all day for the dealer to come and deliver. This can be a wasted day for some people, especially if you don’t want to sit at home all day waiting.

So What’s Better? Cash or Card?

There are cash benefits to both cash and card purchases. But overall, paying with card is the best choice. There are more pros to paying with card than there are cons. Building points on your credit card for cash back is a huge bonus as well considering how expensive heating oil can cost. It’s also much easier and much more convenient to pay with card. Especially since you won’t have to wait around all day for the dealer to come from and deliver.

Paying credit card is also safer overall, as it is more reliable and can provide you with a paper trail as to when the order went through and when it was processed. It also saves you the hassle and stress in case the driver loses the money. It’s rare but not impossible! When paying with card, you don’t have to worry about the money becoming lost or stolen because the transaction is secured and safe!

Happy Heating,

Hunter

Is Heating Oil Safe to Use?

June 16, 2025June 3, 2025

Heating Oil is one of the most popular methods to heat your home in the northeast. It is also incredibly safe! But just how safe is it exactly? I’ll be covering that below, as well as discussing why it’s one of the best sources on the market!

How Does Heating Oil Work?

Heating Oil is often sometimes referred to as Furnace Oil or Fuel Oil. You will typically store heating oil in a tank specifically for it. These tanks vary in size vastly, but are most commonly in the sizes of 275 and 330 gallon tanks. There are larger sizes as well that store it either above ground or underground. However, I highly recommend that you remove underground tanks as they can be a biohazard. But, most above ground tanks are located in the garage, basement or outside the home.

You’ll also need to get deliveries regularly to ensure that the tank has oil. You should also get a heating oil delivery every month or so during the winter, and at least once during the summer to ensure you’ll have heating oil for the next heating oil season. But, if you haven’t gotten a delivery recently it’s important to get one as soon as you possibly can.

This is an example of what a heating oil tank looks like. This is standard 275 gallon tank. Usually the top of the tank will have two open fittings as well as a fill and vent pipe.

For Heating Oil to be converted into heat, it’s drawn from the tank and moved into the burner. This is usually done naturally by gravity as the heating oil is drawn into the furnace or burner. Then, once the oil has been moved into the boiler/burner it’ll go through the following process:

Heating Oil is moved from the oil tank and into the burner. It goes through a filter before reaching the burner that will clean out any debris or contaminants floating around in the oil itself.
The burner will then preheat which will then cause the fan to start up, which will mix air into the heating oil process and help the fuel start to burn.
The heating oil will then go through atomization. This is the process of converting heating oil into gas for it ignite and become heat for your home.
Finally, the systems sensor will confirm that the oil is being turning into gas and igniting. The system will then burn the now atomized heating oil until the thermostat tells it to stop.

Is Heating Oil Safe?

The good thing to know about heating oil is that it you MUST atomize it at 140 degrees Fahrenheit before it becomes flammable. This means that in it’s liquid state, heating oil is incredibly safe! You can even drop a lit match into a bucket of heating oil and it will simply go out! However, I don’t recommend doing this at home because heating oil tends to stink!

The nice thing about heating oil as well is that it doesn’t produce any fumes. So you don’t have to worry about that! However, if you smell heating oil in your home it’s possible that you have a leak in the tank of some kind. It’s best to get that inspected as soon as you can!

Where can you Purchase Heating Oil?

You can purchase heating oil from a multitude of different locations. Typically, you can buy from a local oil dealer near you if there’s a particular dealer that you like using. But, you can also order through our FuelSnap website! This website will allow you to place orders from local heating oil dealers in your area!

Our platform will allow you to look at all the dealers in your area that are on our program. This will ensure that you can get the lowest price available to you! Simply just go to our website and type in your zip code, or place the order through the Smart Oil Gauge’s app!

How Hot is Heating Oil?

Heating Oil burns, VERY hot. But, because it’s so hot you’ll tend to get more heat per gallon when comparing it to propane. Out of a single gallon of heating oil, you’ll get 138,000 BTUs (British Thermal Unit). When comparing heating oil to say propane for example, it burns much hotter. Heating oil generally burns much hotter than propane as it’s 85% more efficient. When comparing to heating oil, propane will only produce about 91,500 BTUs.

With burning heating oil, you can ensure that your home is nice and toasty, even during the coldest months of the year!

Should You Use Heating Oil?

Heating Oil is both very efficient and very safe. If you properly store it in your basement, garage or even outdoors, you’ll have easy access to it and you’ll be able to get up to at least 30 years of usage! It’s also very reliable and provides ample heat for your home!

But, if your tank is underground then I highly recommend replacing it with an above ground tank. You won’t have to worry about how much oil is in the tank or the old tank leaking into the surrounding soil! You’ll be able to eliminate any future issues caused by it if the tank were to leak or there were to be an issue with your system.

Happy Heating,

Hunter

Why You Should Remove Your Underground Tank

June 9, 2025June 3, 2025

If you have an underground heating oil tank, I highly recommend that you replace it with an above-ground tank. There are a plethora of reasons for why you should remove them. Due to their age, these tanks are prone to leaking and can cause environmental damage. This can be a serious hazard for your home and can be problematic in the future. When you remove the tank, you’re going to want to follow the steps in this article on what you’ll need to do!

How to Know if You Have an Underground Tank

If you’re new to heating oil, it’s crucial that you know the basics. If you use heating oil to heat your home, then you’ve got to have a tank on your property to store your oil. This tank will be located somewhere on your property. This is usually above ground either outside or in your basement. To ensure that your home is warm during the winter, you need to get a tank fill up regularly. To do this, you will need to order heating oil on a regular basis.

Most commonly, heating oil tanks are located above ground. But, occasionally tanks will be located underground. These underground tanks can vary in size but they tend to be roughly 500-1,000 gallon tanks. These types of tanks are rare now, but were very popular in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Nowadays they are far less common. By the 90s, they became environmental hazards and they started to be removed.

This is typically what an underground tank’s vent and fill lines will look like. The vent pipe should look like the one on the left and the fill should look like the one on the right.

It’s very rare in today’s day and age to see an underground tank be installed in a home after the 80s. However, if you’re unsure if your tank is underground or not you can go outside and look for the tank’s vent and fill pipes! They tend to be two pipes that are sticking out of the ground that are close by like in the above photo.

Reasons Why You Should Remove your Underground Tank

Replacing your underground tank is important to do as soon as you can. Even if it hasn’t already, the tank is bound to leak at some point. Underground tanks that are leaking can cause serious environmental issues. The leak can pollute the soil which can also lead to thousands of dollars in tank repair costs. This is why you should remove it for the following reasons:

The Tanks Age is Beyond 30 Years Old: If your home was built in 1990 or later, then your tank is 30 years old. With tanks that are this old, the exterior and interior of the tanks are prone to corrosion. After corrosion begins, the tank now has a significantly higher chance of leaking. This is because the walls of the tank become too weak and thin to be able to hold the oil properly. This is what causes the tank to leak. You can test the soil around the tank to see if there’s a leak, but it’s usually not a simple process. If this sounds like it could be something happening to your tank, it’s important to replace it ASAP! There are some great options for new tanks to choose from. If you’re not sure which tank to go with, you can look at this article here.
Your Tank is Leaking: This is the most urgent reason on the list. As mentioned above, a tank leak can be problematic for your property and the surrounding environment. Leaking oil can taint the soil. This can be harmful to the environment, can disrupt the ecosystem and it can possibly get into ground water which can affect our health! Tanks that are underground are nearly impossible to inspect. This is one of the reasons they are so dangerous to keep around. But, if you keep a close eye on your usage and how much oil you’re using, you can possibly snuff out a leak. Regularly stick measuring your tank helps too as that’s the easiest way to check to see how much oil is in your tank. It’s also important to keep out for water infiltrating your boiler. If this happens, then you’re at a very high likelihood of needing to change your tank due to a leak.
You Plan on Selling your Home: If you’re selling your home, then you’re going to want to remove your underground tank. Sometimes these tanks can be potential deal breakers for the above mentioned reasons. Very few banks will even mortgage a home that’s got an underground tank because they’re a massive risk. Removing the tank and repairing the surrounding environment are expensive and not something a new home owner would want to do. Removing the tank is a smart decision for the property owner because you remove that risk for potential buyers, which will give you better changes of selling.

This is what it looks like when you’re taking the underground tank out. It’s very hard to tell if the tank is leaking without a soil sample.

Should You Remove your Underground Tank?

You should absolutely remove an underground tank as soon as possible. Especially if the tank itself is thirty years or older. With the tank being buried underground for several decades, the tank will experience wear and tear. Because of this, it’s hard to really know what the condition of your tank is. You’ll have to contact a tank removal company to get the tank itself removed.

Your next course of action should be installing a new tank above ground. You can get an above ground tank at either your local Home Depot, Lowes or any other hardware store. You can even purchase tanks and have them delivered to your home!

The good thing about above ground tanks is that you’ll be able to keep better track of your oil consumption. These tanks are also much easier to maintain compared to underground tanks. You also won’t have to worry about the tank leaking if it’s brand new!

Happy Heating,

Hunter

What Happens if You Run Out of Heating Oil

June 2, 2025April 30, 2025

Running out of heating oil is not a fun experience. You’ll often find yourself waking up to a cold house in the winter or finding that you’ve got no hot water in the summer. But don’t worry; while it is frustrating, it is easily fixable. In this article, I’m going to cover what to do when you run out of oil! In the below sections, I’ll be going over the following:

Making sure that you’re out of heating oil
Placing an Order for Heating Oil! This is important if you are in fact out of oil!
Putting 5-10 gallons of diesel in to hold you over until your delivery
Restarting your Burner

Making sure that you Definitely Out of Oil

Now, running out of heating oil isn’t the only reason for waking up to a cold house or lack of hot water. About two years ago, I woke up to a cold house and thought I was out of oil! So I checked my Smart Oil Gauge and it showed that I had 150 gallons left in my tank! So I contacted my local HVAC company and they inspected the tank and the furnace. Well, it actually tuned out to be a faulty starter on my furnace! My furnace’s starter was turning off the furnace at inopportune times! So we got it replaced and my system has been working great since!

This is what your float gauge should look like. The colored disc will be different for each float gauge, but they all function he same.

But, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes you actually can run out of oil and this can be problematic. So it’s important to make sure that you’re actually out of oil. To do this, you’ll have to check your tank’s float gauge. These gauges only give a general idea of how much oil is in the tank and not an exact amount. Inside the clear cylinder for your float gauge, you’ll see a flat colored disc. That disc determines how much oil is in your tank. To determine if your tank has oil, you’ll simply just want to slowly push down on the disc. If the disc slowly comes back up, then good news! You have oil! But, if the disc just drops again, then you need to buy oil ASAP! If you have oil, you can skip ahead to step 4.

Scheduling an Oil Delivery

After determining that you have no oil in the tank, you MUST contact a heating oil company to place an order for oil. It is very important to get your tank filled as soon as possible to avoid damaging your system. You can use websites like FuelSnap to look at local dealers in your area! All you need to do is type in your zip code and see what dealers are available at what specific times and prices! Plus, we don’t charge emergency fees! Placing an order when you’re means that you’ll have a dealer available at the price shown on the app!

Placing an order on FuelSnap is as easy as typing in your zip code! Simply inputting your zip code will help you find find dealers in the area and at a good price too!

After placing an order through FuelSnap, you’ll get an email confirmation. This email confirmation will give you the dealers phone number and even the delivery by date! If you want to get a specific date and time, it’s always best to contact the dealer and they’ll even tell you what stop you are on the driver’s route!

Getting Diesel for your Tank

After you’ve placed your order for heating oil using FuelSnap or your local dealer, it’s important to ensure that you have heating oil in your system. You’ll need to go to your local gas station to get at least 5-10 gallons of diesel to get something to hold you over until you’re able to get a delivery. Diesel and Heating Oil are similar enough that you can use diesel in an emergency without long-term problems for you system. However, you cannot use diesel in a system that’s designed for heating oil. Diesel needs its own system to be used as a long-term heating solution.

You’ll want to start off by purchasing a yellow jug from the gas station and fill it with diesel. This is how you’ll be able to differentiate between gasoline, diesel and kerosene. Gasoline typically uses a red jug while kerosene uses blue.

Restarting Your Burner

Finally, it’s important to restart your burner because you might not be out of oil. If you wake up to a cold house, but you have oil in the tank then the issue will likley lie in your heating oil system. The problem could be related to an issue with the burner or possibly a clog in the feed lines. Both of those could cause problems for your system

If you stopped off at the gas station and got some diesel, it’s important to restart your system after putting the diesel in your tank. This is because your burner was deprived of oil for so long, restarting it will be beneficial to the system. Simply find your burner’s starter and press on the start button in the middle of it. Usually it looks translucent with a red light in the middle. After roughly fifteen seconds, you should hear your system come back on. If it doesn’t stay on, then there might be an issue with your system.

This is what your furnace’s starter will often look like. The button in the center is the restart button.

If it turns back off, you might need to bleed your feed lines. However, do not attempt this if you are not sure how to do this. It would be best to contact your local HVAC company and have them do it for you. After the lines have been bled, you can press the reset button again. But don’t do this more than two or three times. If all efforts fail, then you must contact an HVAC technician to inspect your tank and furnace.

Conclusion

If you run out of oil, it is not the end of the world. However, it is definitely a massive headache. Best case-scenario, you’ll simply just have to run to the gas station and get some diesel while you wait for a delivery. Using our FuelSnap website will help you in a pinch when you need heating oil ASAP!

However, sometimes there is a small chance as well that the issue could be related to the burner. There are an unfortunate few who have trouble with the burner which causes them to run out of oil. This could be due to a clog in the feedlines, an issue with the furnace something completley different.

You can prevent fear of running out by purchasing a Smart Oil Gauge! They are reliable and accurate, giving you a reading of how much oil is in the tank, what your usage is and much more! You can even set push notifications for the device to inform you when it’s time to replace the batteries and most importantly, when you need to order oil! There is even FuelSnap integration in the app! This will help you stay on top of your heating oil system before you run out!

Happy Heating,

Hunter

Buying a Home with Heating Oil

May 19, 2025March 26, 2025

Homes heated by heating oil are very popular in the Northeast. However, you’ll often find that natural gas is a bit more popular in other states. Heating Oil is often very cost-effective, which makes it very popular. It’s safe, easy to come by, and provides very warm heat that will keep you warm even during the coldest months of the year. If you’re curious about what some of the other benefits of heating oil are, feel free to read on as I go over everything that you need to know!

What Exactly is Heating Oil?

Heating oil is one of the most popular forms of home heating in today’s day and age. It’s typically stored in a tank of some kind on your property. The oil in the tank is then fed through your feed lines into your furnace, where it is then converted to heat! Usually, you will find your tank located in your garage, crawl space, outside or your basement!

This is what your standard 275 gallon tank will tend to look like. As you can see in the above picture, this tank has a Smart Oil Gauge installed!

You can also find that some oil tanks are buried underground outside! However, as the years go on, these are becoming less common and are being removed and replaced constantly. These tanks are usually old and were popular in the 80s. But they are prone to leaking and causing severe environmental damage. If you buy a home with an underground tank, it’s best to replace with an above ground tank as soon as you can!

Getting Oil Deliveries

To ensure you have a constant flow of heat in your home, you must get regular oil deliveries. Getting regular oil deliveries will ensure that you are getting oil into your system. This ensures that your home is nice and warm! Getting regular deliveries also helps your system to not run out of oil. Running out of oil can be dangerous! It can damage your system and cause you to wake up to a cold home!

You can sign up for automatic delivery which will put you at an ease of mind. With automatic delivery, you can know that you’ll always have oil in your tank! Your heating oil company will regularly come and fill your tank. But usually there is a monthly or annual cost associated with this, much like a subscription. However, usually I recommend going with call by delivery. That way, you know exactly how much oil you need and only order when you need it.

This is what a usual heating oil truck will look like. The drivers will often park on the street and bring the hose up to your fill pipe.

Usually, it’s more cost effective to order when you need it. That is where the Smart Oil Gauge comes in handy. Our gauge will tell you when you need oil, how much you have and what your usage is. This will ensure that you’re on top of your oil level and when you need it!

The Benefits of Heating Oil

The good thing about heating oil is that there multiple benefits to using it in your home! Here are a few of the benefits:

It’s Safe: The flash point of heating oil is 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it non-flammable when it is in an environment with room temperature! So you don’t have to worry about having heating in your home as it needs to be heated into a gaseous form for it to become ignitable. This makes it’s liquid form incredibly safe to have.
It’s Very Efficient: Heating Oil Produces 138,000 BTUs from a single gallon. This is because furnaces are 85% more effective. They can produce more heat per gallon than other forms of heating. Although only 117,725 BTUs are effective per gallon. Propane on the other hand, is less reliable and will often only produce about 91,500 BTUs per gallon of propane. When comparing this to heating oil, you’ll need to burn 1.35 gallons of propane to match 1 gallon of heating oil in terms of BTU production. Check out my article here to find out the major differences between heating oil and propane.
Easily Accessible: The nice thing about heating oil is that it’s very accessible. Meaning that there is usually always going to be at least one dealer in your area that will be able to deliver oil to you! There are thousands of heating oil dealers in the northeast alone! Additionally, with helpful websites such as our FuelSnap website, ordering oil is easy! Simply plug in your zip code and select your dealer and you’ll be able to order oil with a press of a button!
Cheap and Cost Affective: Heating Oil is very cost effective. This is because it typically creates so much heat per gallon. This makes it worth the money because of how warm it’ll make your home. The price of heating oil is also fairly cheap, and the price for heating oil has gone down significantly over the past few years. But, with you being the home owner this also gives you completley flexibility over who and where you order from. Because the oil market is very competitive, and dealers are constantly trying to out sell each other. That usually means that you’re more than likley to get the cheapest price for heating oil. This will make you more likley to by a specific dealer’s oil rather than another’s because they will offer you the lowest price possible.

Ending Thoughts

So that brings up the question, “Should You Buy a Home with Heating Oil?”, well the answer is a resounding “Absolutely!”

Heating Oil is both cost efficient and safe to use! It keeps your home warm for amount you’re getting and is often cheaper than propane! It’s the clear answer between itself and propane! However, if you have the option for Natural Gas you should definitely go with that! Natural Gas is abundant and even more cost effective!

But with heating oil, you are more in control of when and where you buy from. It’s incredibly reliable and you’ll be in control of when and where you order it from! This includes our FuelSnap website! Additionally, getting a Smart Oil Gauge will help you stay on top of when you’ll need it and what your level is at!

Happy Heating,

Hunter

What to Expect from a Tank Inspection

May 5, 2025March 24, 2025

If you’ve ordered oil from FuelSnap before you might be familiar with some dealer’s requirements to inspect your tank before delivery. This is to ensure that your tank is safe to fill by the dealer’s standards. Not all dealers on FuelSnap require a tank inspection. However, some do require it before they make the delivery. So, what should you expect when you get your inspection done on your tank? Well, I’m going to go through everything that you need to know about this!

The Basics

When placing an order on Fuelsnap, you might get an alert that says that “Dealer Requires Tank Inspection”. This tank inspection is free and is usually done by the driver of the truck. But, this tank inspection will require someone over the age of 18 to be at the home during this time. The dealer will almost always call you to schedule a time for them to come out to deliver and for the inspection. This is so that you can work out a time with them to come out and inspect the tank and fill it.

These are the key places that the driver will inspect. These includes the edges of the tank, the feed lines and the fittings and the vent.

What the driver will be inspecting is pretty simple. They will be inspecting the tank itself to determine if there are any leaks in the tank. If there is any risk or possibility of leaks, the dealer will not deliver at all! This makes it important to have the tank inspected so you can ensure that you’re able to get the necessary delivery!

The second thing that the dealer will inspect in the vent alarm. The driver will not make the delivery if your vent alarm isn’t working! Without a working vent alarm, the driver will not be able to make the delivery because they won’t know how much oil is in the tank and when to stop pumping. This will put your tank at risk of overflowing and leaking.

What Else Does the Driver Inspect?

When getting a tank inspection, several other things will need to get an inspection as well. A big one is inspecting the structural integrity of the tank itself. The tank’s structural integrity is usually a broader scope. This includes inspecting the tank for corrosion, any indentations or any other defects that would compromise the overall structural integrity of the tank. These structural problems can cause the tank to have the potential to leak which can cause damage to your property.

This is what will happen if your tank isn’t properly inspected. The tank itself will leak causing property damage

The fittings are also something that’s inspected during a tank inspection. The driver will inspect the tank’s fittings to ensure that there are no cracks or damage to the fittings that could compromise the tank. These fittings also include the vent and fill pipes. Ensuring these are stable and installed firmly will help the driver understand that it is safe to fill the tank as long as the whistle is working.

Internal Inspections

These inspections are a bit more thorough and require the dealer to drain out your tank. The tanks are drained out of any oil so that the dealer can give a more detailed examination of the tank. During these internal inspections, the driver will look for anything that is worrisome such as any indents on the inside of the tank, cracks or possible leaks. If the drivers don’t find anything, they will likley just clean out the tank and fill it back up. If there is sludge in the tank, they will drain it out to ensure that they can properly inspect your tank.

However, similar to a surface inspection, if there are any dents, cracks or visible leaks the driver will not deliver your oil. They might even set you up with a plan to purchase a new and if they thing it is bad enough.

Inspecting an Underground Tank

Now if you have an underground tank, the inspection process is a little bit different. Unlike with an above ground tank, the driver won’t be able to see the actual tank’s surface. So, the drivers have a little bit of a different process when inspecting an underground tank.

The first thing that the driver will do a visual inspection of the surrounding area. They will see if there is any environmental hazards in the surrounding area for any signs of leaking or environmental damage. Tank inspections for underground tanks also include soil testing. Some soil testing can be done for tanks that are underground to pick up traces of oil that might’ve leaked out of the tank itself.

When you have a buried oil tank, this is all you’ll be able to see. This is why they are a little bit harder to inspect

Inspectors will also do a tank tightness test. These tests are used to determine weather or not the tank itself is able to contain your fluid of choice without risking leaks. These tests are typically used for underground tanks and will test the over structural integrity of the tank as a whole.

Some dealers might even recommend replacing the tank in its entirety. If that’s the case, you’ll need to know what to do to replace an underground tank. You’ll need to know what to do if this happens. You can read my article on underground tank replacements here.

What Happens if Your Tank Fails Inspection?

If your tank fails inspection, then the driver will not fill the tank. This is because the tank is “Unfit” for delivery. This means that the tank will be unable to hold the fuel and can cause damage to your property. The best course of action would be to fix the problem ASAP. For example, simple issues such as a broken whistle are usually easily replaceable. However, more severe issues such as a leaking or cracked tank will require you to get a whole new tank.

The driver will usually tell you the reasoning for your tank failing inspection and give you a set of steps to follow to get you up and running for your next fill! Most drivers will tend to tell you weather or not you need to replace the tank or if the issue is repairable.

Conclusion

Getting a tank inspection should be routine and something that you regularly do. This is so that you’ll always be ready to have the tank filled and ensure that it is in fillable condition. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to get a new tank or even contact an HVAC technician to get repair options as they’ll usually help make sure that your tank is in perfect shape for it to function properly!

Just be sure to be on top of your heating oil tank inspections and when you’ll need to get one. Waiting until the last minute can be problematic and can result in your tank failing inspection which can limit your sources of heating for a while if you don’t get it taken care of. But if you’re diligent and up to date on your inspections, you will not have any issues!

Happy Heating,

Hunter

Resolving Smart WIFI Connectivity

April 21, 2025April 9, 2025

Smart WIFI is a setting on the router that will move devices from 2.4ghz to 5ghz and vice versa to improve performance. However, the thing with the Smart Oil Gauge is that the device itself is not compatible with 5ghz. This can cause the gauge to disconnect and fail to upload to the app. This has been an issue for a while, but I am happy to announce that we have a solution for this! In this blog, I’ll be covering what to do to resolve the connectivity issues related to Smart WIFI.

Smart WIFI Mode

While Smart WIFI is a very useful setting on your router, it can be problematic for the Smart Oil Gauge as it disconnects consistently from the router. This is a little bit more common with networks that are fiberoptic because they have Smart WIFI enabled from the start. However, with this new Smart WIFI mode, we’ve resolved the gauge disconnecting from the WIFI.

This process will require you to start with the steps of our alternate update process. This requires you to go to your phone’s WIFI settings. Once there, you’ll want to press and hold the button down once for two seconds (one-one thousand, two-one thousand and release). This will cause the gauge to enter the secondary config mode. If done correctly, the light on the gauge will be blinking once every second. You should then see a network show up that says “CCF########”. This is your Smart Oil Gauge. You can join it by tapping on the network and typing in the password “smartoil”. You should then be brought to a screen that asks for “SSID”, “Password” and “Email Address”. Otherwise, go to your web browser (Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox) and type in 192.168.4.1 in the search bar and you’ll be bought to this screen.

This is the step by step guide for getting to the “Advanced Settings” to enable “Force WIFI G”

Once you are on this login screen, you’ll see on the bottom four blue boxes that say “Save”, “Cancel”, “Diagnostic” and “Advanced”. You’ll want to select the box that says “Advanced “. Once selecting that, it will take you to another screen that has the current configuration, MAC address and software version listed. There will be an option that says “Force WIFI G Mode”. Make sure that you check that off and select the option below that says “Save and Exit”. After doing that, you’ll get a screen that says “Configuration Complete”.

What to Know about Force WIFI G

Smart WIFI G Mode is a setting that is used to attempt to deal with the router moving the gauge to a 5ghz connection. Force WIFI G should lock the gauge onto the 2.4ghz connection. Going through the alternate process is the only way to access this and enable it. You cannot do it through the app, which means that if your router has Smart WIFI enabled, you’ll need to go through the alternate process to get the gauge setup to the WIFI. Then, after setting the gauge up to your WIFI, you’ll have to go through the process again to enable Force WIFI G.

If your gauge is already setup to the WIFI and you’ve had no WIFI changes, you’ll want to go through the process and get to the advanced screen, check off “Force WIFI G” and then press “Save and Exit”. After doing that the gauge should be locked onto the 2.4ghz connection of your WIFI. But, if you go back to this screen after hitting “Save” or if you go through this process to see if it worked, the check mark won’t be displayed.

This is a closeup of what the “Force WIFI G” section of this process looks like. You can see all the information needed to ensure that the gauge is functioning and has the ability to use Force WIFI G.

It’s important to note that only Smart Oil Gauges with firmware versions 901-21 and 903-02 will have “Force WIFI G”. You can check your Smart Oil Gauge in the advanced settings to see what firmware version it’s on. If it’s on the most recent version, then that “Force WIFI G” will be in your advanced settings. If your gauge is on 901-20 or 903-01, then give your device about 24-48 hours to catch the update. Otherwise, give us a call, and we can put in a request to force the update to your gauge on our backend!

Conclusion

While the Smart WIFI setting is useful it’s pretty annoying to constantly have the gauge disconnect from your WIFI. The “Force WIFI G” solution should resolve this without issue! By going through this process, you’ll be able to disable the Smart WIFI connection from your Smart Oil Gauge! This will ensure that your gauge has a strong and steady connection to your WIFI without disconnecting consistently!

If you need help doing this, feel free to reach out to our support team! We’ll be more than happy to help get this resolved for you! You can reach us at 203-456-1499 option 3 from 8am-5pm EST, Monday through Friday.

Happy Heating,

Hunter

Heating Oil Vs Heat Pumps

April 7, 2025April 9, 2025

If you’ve ever gone to a friend or family member’s house before, you might’ve noticed a heat pump. They are an external heating and cooling device that can provide both hot air and cold air for your home throughout the year. They convert the outside air into hot or cool air depending on the time of year. But this begs the question, is it better than heating oil? Well, we’re going to find out!

What’s a Heat Pump?

Heat pumps are external heating devices that typically sit by the side of your home or by the window. These devices connect to the home and don’t require any sort of liquid fuel. Instead, it draws the outside air and converts it to either warm air or cold air to provide heat or air conditioning depending on the time of year. It’s kind of like air conditioning but the exact opposite.

You can usually change these settings depending on the time of year. Often in either heating or cooling mode. Heating mode tends to be used in the fall and winter. While cooling mode is usually used in the Spring and Summer months of the year. During the winter, you’ll be kept nice and toasty but during the summer months, you’ll be nice and cool.

This is an example of a heat pump. Like in the above photo, they are almost always outside.

Similarly to heating oil tanks, there are different types of heat pumps. There are two main types of heat pumps, the most common of these tend to be Air-Source or Ground-Source. Both of these types of heat pumps will also pump air into your home differently and in their own way! Ground-Source tend to be more expensive but are usually more efficient when it comes to pumping air into your home. They draw air from the ground and push it through your home. While Air-Source air pumps will usually take outside air and pushes it into your home.

The Benefits of a Heat Pump

As long as the outside temperature is above freezing, heat pumps are very energy-efficient. They’re able to produce a natural form of heat and cooling that will significantly reduce your energy bill! Best of all, there is no requirement for fuel! You can simply set it up outside and it’ll do all the work for you!

Additionally, they are very versatile as they can be used for both heating and cooling! This allows you to use them year round! The air quality they produce as well is very good! So long as your neighborhood has no issues with air quality, you’ll have good quality air being pumped into your home! Air pumps also don’t contain carbon dioxide! So you don’t have to worry about CO being pumped into your home!

The Downsides of Using a Heat Pump

Unfortunately with their benefits, there are bound to be some negatives. The biggest downside being that they don’t produce as much heat as a furnace. Due to this, your home will not be as hot as it would be with heating oil. This makes it not as common as heating oil because it doesn’t heat up your home to the nice and toasty temperature that you might like it to be.

Heat Pumps will also tend to lose efficiency if the weather outside is colder outside! With temperatures that are below freezing, heat pumps will need to work much harder to heat up the home due to the very cold temperatures outside. Heat pumps tend to be unreliable in environments that have intense cold temperatures as well as erratic weather.

The Pros of Using Heating Oil

Heating oil is widely used across the northeast for a reason. It produces significantly more heat compared to a heat pump. It also has a much easier time keeping the home warm in cold environments. That is why heating oil is so common in Alaska and the Northeast, due to it’s ability to keep the home warm for a long period of time.

Like Heat Pumps, heating oil tanks can be located outside. However, they are less affected by the outside weather.

One gallon of heating oil can produce 138,500 BTUs (117,725 effective BTUs). BTU stands for “British Thermal Heat” and it’s used to measure heat energy usage. Specifically this is used when determining the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature. A heat pump is only able to produce 60,000 BTUs, which less than HALF of what heating oil produces. With heating oil, you’re effectively producing twice the amount of heat compared to a heat pump.

The Cons of Using Heating Oil

One of the biggest cons to using heating oil is that heating oil stinks. Now, this isn’t common but leaks are still possible and can cause damage to your home if there is ever a leak. If your tank leaks, you’ll definitely smell it. You’re going have to constantly check on your tank to ensure that there is no leak. But if your tank is leaking you MUST contact your local HVAC technician to come out and help fix the leak. Leaks can be damaging to the property and you belongings.

This is what the early stages of a heating oil tank leak look like. The ground outside can absorb the oil causing environmental damage. While indoor leaks can cause property damage.

Oil prices also tend to be erratic and fluctuate often. They are often affected by global events and their pricings can skyrocket or decrease. Back in 2022, when Russia invaded the Ukraine, oil prices skyrocketed because we stopped buying Russian oil. However, it was the exact opposite back in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices were at an all-time low! Sometimes prices even reached a dollar!

Finally, if you aren’t keeping track of your heating oil you are risk of runout. If you run out of heating oil, it can pose a serious problem for your home! If you run out of oil during the winter months, your pipes can freeze and burst causing significant damage to your home! Getting a Smart Oil Gauge will significantly help reduce this risk! With the use of a Smart Oil Gauge, you won’t have to worry about running out because the device will tell you how much oil is in your tank! However, if you do run out of oil, you can follow my guide in this article here to find out what to do next.

Conclusion

Despite not producing as much heat as heating oil, Heat Pumps are still a great tool to have! However, if you live in a place where winters are rough and tend to be very cold, then heat pumps are not for you. Heat pumps are usually more reliable in areas that tend to have more mild winters compared to the northeast where our winters tend to be pretty cold.

Where you live plays an important role into weather or not you should get a heat pump. If you live in Alaska or in the Northeast where the winters tend to be pretty cold, then sticking with Heating Oil is your best bet! In that situation, a heat pump will be less reliable than a furnace.

Heating Oil is overall more reliable and produces more heat than a heat pump. This will keep you warm during those really cold months. Your heating oil tank is also not reliant on what the outside temperature is. Meaning that your heat will always be consistent! In the northeast, your primary source of heat should be Heating Oil. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a heat pump as a backup!

Happy Heating,

Hunter