How often do you check your heating oil tank gauge? In all likelihood, you probably haven’t glanced at it for most of the summer since your fuel consumption is minuscule when your furnace or boiler isn’t on.
At Dixon Energy, we speak to quite a few homeowners in Morris, Somerset, Union and Sussex Counties who are hazy about how much fuel their oil tank can hold and how to check its current level. We’re more than happy to clear it up.
Here’s a quick primer on checking your heating oil levels.
The size of your oil tank is not the same as the amount of heating oil it will hold. Heating oil companies leave some empty space to allow for air or debris at the bottom of your tank.
So, a full 275-gallon tank (the most common residential size) contains approximately 225 gallons, and a half-full tank of the same size has about 110 gallons of fuel.
On top of the heating oil tank is a clear glass or plastic vial marked with numbers like your car’s fuel gauge — F, ¾, ½, ¼. These tell you how full the tank is at any given time. A red marker or float will rest in the vial and indicate the amount of fuel left in your tank. When the float is resting at the bottom of the vial (or you can’t see it at all), your tank is totally or nearly empty.
Every household is different, and depending on your home size, heating system type and the number (and age) of family members, you may use more or fewer gallons than the average New Jersey home in winter.
Even so, the typical 2,500-square-foot house will burn five to eight gallons of heating oil daily during the colder months. With that in mind, you can expect a full 275-gallon tank (which, remember, holds 225 gallons) to last about a month before you run out of fuel. Since every family is heating their home differently and weather can be extremely changeable in the mid-Atlantic, we strongly encourage our “will-call” customers to reach out to us when their tank is around one-quarter full.
No one wants to run out of heating fuel unexpectedly. It will knock out your home heating on a frigid night and even damage your equipment.
Luckily, Dixon Energy offers a better way to avoid run-outs altogether: automatic heating oil delivery. With this FREE service, we’ll track your fuel levels for you. Our state-of-the-art system uses your customer history and current weather patterns in Northern New Jersey, allowing us to pre-schedule your fuel delivery before you run low.
With Dixon Energy on your side, you’ll always have the heating oil you need. Become a customer today.