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How many times do you generally fill your oil tank for oil heat (1 Viewer)

Jay H

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I have never lived in a house with oil heat but this rental has an oil furnace with a standard sized 275 gal tank in the basement.

I don't have any contract (i.e. nobody stops by every month to check the tank or top it off)... I have no idea how many gallons does an average house go through in new england for normal people per year. Anybody have an idea? Either in total gallons or perhaps how many times to fill an almost empty tank would be very useful for me.

So far, out of 2 winters (not incuding this one), I've only used like half a tank.. but then I've been known to set my thermostat to like 52degs which is fine for me... So I don't consider myself normal :)

I also supplement with an electric space heater the last two winters but that is getting expensive versus oil. The problem is my oil furnace is super old and louder than heck... So I generally rather turn it way down overnight...

Jay
 

Richard V

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Jay H said:
So far, out of 2 winters (not incuding this one), I've only used like half a tank.. but then I've been known to set my thermostat to like 52degs which is fine for me... So I don't consider myself normal :)


Jay
Wow, that sounds reptilian. :blink:
 

Stan

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I hated oil heat, plus the fact it was incredibly expensive. I was on a "keep fill" program, that balanced my payments out to about $125 a month, 12 months a year.

Inherited the home from my grandparents, just always had an odd odor I just attributed to them living there for 40+ years. About three years after I got the house, had the tank removed, gas lines run to the house and the furnace and hot water heater replaced with gas models. Within hours noticed the incredible difference between oil and natural gas. The house smelled clean and fresh.

Oil heat, especially with the tank in the basement really stinks. Not a lot you can do with a rental house, but if you ever buy, you'd be amazed at how much nicer natural gas is.
 

Stan

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One other anti-oil comment. My grandparents furnace somehow malfunctioned and the entire house was covered with oil.

Just a fine mist, like when you use Lemon Pledge or something to polish your furniture, but it coated everything. Central heating so came out of all the vents, covered the walls, furniture, carpeting, lamps, you name it and it all got a thin coating of oil on it. Thankfully they were insured, but the entire home had to be scrubbed down and cleaned.

Slightly off-topic, but there are much better ways to heat your home than oil.

My mom and brother are like you, they actually open their windows in winter to sleep better. I'd probably die of hypothermia, major wimp when it comes to cold. Don't even use my A/C until we hit the 90s in summer. Definitely reptilian.
 

Jay H

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Thanks, I have a giant heat lamp attached to the tree above my house and every now and then, my neighbors throw in some crickets and feeder mice.. :D

Yeah, I used to heat with a wood stove and backed up with a gas-boiler baseboard heat and growing up, my parents had a gas furnace for hot-air heat.... I know my friend who lives across the street a bit tried to convert to gas but the company said something like he'd have to redo the entire fuel supply or something like redo the airducts which was prohibitive for him... I know there is natural gas lines in the street though. But as mentioned, this is a rental and I really like the location and price..

Jay
 

Jay H

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Stan said:
I hated oil heat, plus the fact it was incredibly expensive. I was on a "keep fill" program, that balanced my payments out to about $125 a month, 12 months a year.
When I had my tank filled this past summer after 2 winters, I actually didn't meet their "minimum" requirement. I didn't believe my old gauge so I was about $25ish short of their minimum volume level (don't remember what that was now) at about $3.01 per gallon... Fortuntely, they didn't charge me the "service charge" since I was below that minimum...

So in essense, I paid like $125 for 2 winters for oil. Granted my electric bill for Jan/Feb here in Western Mass was also like $200...

Reptile Jay
 

Joe S

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I live in the Springfield, MA area and have oil/hot water heat and i estimate I use 700 to 800 gallons of oil for the year. This heats the house and supplies hot water year round.
I do tend to keep the temperature around 70 in the winter.

No oil smell problems to speak of, sometimes I notice a slight smell in the basement where the furnace is located, usually it's pretty clear.
 

Jay H

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My water heater is electric so my only consumer of oil is the furnace.. I hope to only use less than 1 full tank per winter, this means I can fill up the tank in the middle of June or early july where oil prices are the cheapest...

Jay
 

Stan

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Forgot to mention, my oil bill was from 15 years ago when I switched to gas. Probably would be a lot more expensive today. In fact in the summer, my utility bill, electricity included is only about $50 a month.

Joe, since I was on a "keep fill" program, honestly never paid attention to my oil usage, company was able to estimate when I'd be getting low, so never ran out. 300 gallon tank that was always topped off, but 700-800 gallons a year sounds reasonable.

Of course getting a new 90% efficient furnace probably also helped a lot, but my gas bill to this day is just a fraction of what I was paying for oil.
 

Joe S

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Stan said:
Joe, since I was on a "keep fill" program, honestly never paid attention to my oil usage, company was able to estimate when I'd be getting low, so never ran out. 300 gallon tank that was always topped off, but 700-800 gallons a year sounds reasonable.

Of course getting a new 90% efficient furnace probably also helped a lot, but my gas bill to this day is just a fraction of what I was paying for oil.
I could probably do better with a modern furnace, it's an American Standard from 1950. The oil burner was updated in the 1980's though.

I have contemplated converting to gas. Maybe someday when I retire.
 

Jay H

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Stan said:
Of course getting a new 90% efficient furnace probably also helped a lot, but my gas bill to this day is just a fraction of what I was paying for oil.
with my ancient oil eating dragon furnance, I think the only way I'm getting 90% efficiency is if it's 90% off :)

Jay
 

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