The question of when you should order oil is pretty troubling. When you are placing an order for oil, there are two questions that you should ask yourself. Those being “How much do I order?” and “Who do I order from?”. However, there’s another question that is often asked. That being “When should I order?”. Now this is probably the most important question that you should ask yourself when you’re thinking about ordering. If you order too late, then you might run out. But if you order too early, your tank might not be able to fit your whole order. But what happens when you order at a certain price per gallon, but then it goes up or down? Well, don’t worry, because I’m going to answer all these questions for you!
Heating Oil: What to Know
How heating oil works is very easy to understand. The bare bones of it is that heating oil is stored in a tank in your home. It is commonly stored inside or outside. This tank is connected to your burner/furnace by feed lines. These feed lines are typically located on either the top or bottom of your tank. Your system will draw oil from the tank and bring it to the furnace where it is then ionized and converted into a gaseous state, where it then is then turned into heat!
Heating Oil is also known as a delivered fuel. This means that you’ll need to have it delivered to your home periodically. This is to ensure that your home continues to be heated as well as to prevent any damage to your system. You’ll often need to contact a Heating Oil company to come out and deliver to your home. Unlike propane, you have the freedom to order from who you want and when you want.
When to Order
When you should order really depends on your current heating oil situation. If you just got a fill-up a couple of weeks ago, then you don’t need to order oil. But if you haven’t ordered oil in a while and you’re almost out, then ORDER ASAP. Typically, we recommend ordering oil when your tank is at a quarter tank. This will give you enough time to contact your dealer and schedule a day and time to come out and deliver.
But what about during the summer or winter months? In the winter months, when heating oil is in demand, it’s important that you order whenever you get the opportunity. During this time of year, dealers are often at their busiest. This makes it harder to get oil. Especially last minute if you’re getting very low! Luckily, putting diesel in your tank to hold you over until your delivery arrives. But you shouldn’t rely on it. But ordering oil when you’re at a quarter tank is crucial during this time of year.
Now during the summer, things get a bit more lenient. This is when demand for heating oil is at a yearly low. This means that prices tend to be lower and dealers have more availability. Plus, you’re not really going to burning a lot of oil during this time of year because you’re not going to be turning on the heat. A lot of heating oil users will buy oil during this time of year because it’s at it’s cheapest! Then, they won’t burn any oil until September because of the warm weather!
Avoiding Runout
Now, running out of oil is not fun. It is frustrating, and waking up to a cold home in the middle of winter is not a fun experience. If this has happened to you recently, the very first thing you should do is order heating oil. This will put you on the schedule with your dealer and will ensure that you have a delivery of heating oil that’s on the way! Next, run to your nearest gas station and buy 5-10 gallons of diesel. Luckily diesel is similar enough to heating oil which allows you to use it in emergencies to hold you over until your next delivery.
Whether you’re using a Smart Oil Gauge or a Float Gauge, you’ll want to order oil when your tank reaches the quarter mark. On Smart Oil Gauges, you’ll be notified when your tank is low. The gauge will send you an alert on your phone via push notifications. If you have email and text alerts enabled, you’ll get those too! But, the float gauge doesn’t have that luxury. Instead, you’ll have to go down to the tank gauge and look at it. If the float’s disc is at the 1/4 mark, then it’s time to order oil!
Waiting until the last minute to order heating oil is never a good idea. This is because, similarly to what I mentioned earlier, it can sometimes take a little while to get your delivery. Placing an order when your tank is at the 1/4 mark puts you in a safe range for when your delivery will arrive. On the average 275 gallon tank, this can be roughly 70 gallons in your tank. During the winter, you could see yourself burning anywhere from 3-5 gallons per day. This gives you plenty of time before needing to place an order.
Getting the best Price Per Gallon
Fluctuating prices for heating oil can make it hard to find the right time to order. Usually during the summer they tend to be at their lowest, while in the winter prices are at their highest. Naturally you’ll want to order oil when it’s at it’s lowest price. However, how do you find out what are the prices for heating oil. Well you can do this by shopping around at local dealers in your area. Calling them will help you get an understanding as to how much they are charging per gallon. Now, dealers can charge whatever they’d like per gallon.
Now, how does this affect an order you’ve already placed? Well the good news is that once you’ve placed an order for heating oil, you’re typically locked into that price per gallon. This can be a double-edged sword though because this means that if the price goes up or down, you’re still paying the price on your order. So if you place an order for $2.50 per gallon for example, and the price goes down to $2.45 per gallon, you’ll still be paying the $2.50 per gallon price.
But, when your tank is at 1/4 and you order oil online you’ve actually given yourself a bit of an advantage. Most dealers will have a minimum delivery of 100 gallons, but on a 275 gallon tank, you’ll actually be able to get 150 gallons when you order at a quarter tank. With a majority of dealers as well, the more you order, the better price you’ll get per gallon!
Monitoring your Usage
It’s very important that you have a working oil gauge! Whether that be the Smart Oil Gauge or the Float Gauge! This is because you have to have a working gauge so that you can stay on top of when you need to order and to know what your tank’s level is at! Using a Smart Oil Gauge will give you a big leg up on the float gauge, because you can be anywhere and be able to check your tank level! Thanks to the Smart Oil Gauge’s ultrasonic sensor, your gauge will be able to tell you how many gallons of heating oil you have! But, just make sure that your gauge is set up for the right tank size.
Float gauges are still useful too! They just require you to be a little bit more on top of your tank. You’ll still have to go down periodically to check what the float gauge is reading. This will help you understand how many gallon you have left and when you’ll need to order! But, just be aware that float gauges can get stuck on the side of the tank as well as become coated in sludge and oil which can prevent the gauge from reading accurately.
Order at a Quarter
Ordering Heating Oil when your tank is at a quarter tank is easily the best time for you to order heating oil. This is because this will give you the biggest safety net while you wait for your next delivery! But, if you forget check your oil and you’re low, order ASAP! You’ll want to make sure that your heating oil tank has oil in it so that your system doesn’t get damaged. If you want to order oil during the summer when prices are low, then absolutely do that! That will get you all prepared for the winter season! Just be sure to be on top of your usage and oil level and you’ll be a pro at gauging when you need to refill.
Happy Heating,
Hunter
