Ordering heating oil for your home can be quite troubling. Two of the most important decisions that you can make when you’re ordering oil are how much to order and who to order from. But another question that isn’t asked as much tends to come up often, which is “When should you order?”. In this blog post, we’ll answer that question for you and tell you when it’s the right time to order!
The Basics of Home Heating Oil
If you use fuel oil to heat your home, then there are quite a few things to be aware of. Firstly, your home must have a tank to store your heating oil in. The tank will often be in your basement or garage. Sometimes, you can find it outside your home above ground, or under ground. Check out this blog post on how heating oil tanks work!
When Should You Order Heating Oil?
When you’re deciding when you should order heating oil, you’ll want to make sure that you order before you’re on the verge of running out. Ordering when you’ve still got a little bit of oil in the tank, can help prevent you from running out when you need it most.
You’ll also want to order when the oil prices are at the best they can be. To monitor oil prices, use the FuelSnap website to monitor oil prices in your area from your local dealers.
Avoid Running Out of Heating Oil
If you’ve recently run out of heating oil, it’s important to get a delivery ASAP! Take a look at this blog post here on what to do if you run out. Luckily, you can throw some diesel in your tank if you ever run out. Simply run over to a nearby gas station and get around 5-10 gallons of diesel to hold you over for a little bit.
To prevent your tank from running out of oil, we recommend you order oil when your tank is around a quarter full. This should be done regardless of season. The prices of heating oil tend to not fluctuate as much throughout the different seasons. A majority of oil suppliers work on a “cents per gallon” margin, which tends to not change very often throughout the year.
“Reorder at a quarter” is a good rule to live by.
One of the biggest reasons why you shouldn’t let your tank get down past a quarter tank is because, sometimes it can take a while for your oil delivery to arrive. A quarter tank is usually enough to hold you over for a little while. Since the average heating oil tank can hold up to 275 gallons of oil, a quarter tank is usually around 70 gallons. An average home will often burn 3-5 gallons a day during the winter months. This will give you a cushion to prevent running out of oil.
Getting The Best Price for Heating Oil Online
When you order oil online when your tank is at 1/4 full, you have an advantage. This will leave the tank with enough space to fit 150 gallons of oil. Most dealers tend to require a 100-gallon minimum delivery size. Some dealers will also give you a better price if you order 150 gallons, for others it’s 200 gallons.
When you order heating oil online using FuelSnap, you’ll be able to compare not only their prices but delivery dates as well! If you’re willing to wait a few days for your delivery of heating oil, you’ll likely get a better price! If you search “Home Heating Oil near me” on Google, you’ll get several different options! Be sure to check FuelSnap to compare local dealers in your area and their prices.
Monitor Your Heating Oil Gauge and Order when Low!
If you don’t have a working oil gauge, you’ll need to get one! Replace your current one with a brand new one so you’ll be able to monitor your oil level and usage. If you want to make sure that you don’t run out again, get yourself a Smart Oil Gauge! The gauge gives you an exact readout of your tank’s oil level and will send you various alerts whenever you need a fill, get a fill and much more!
Happy Heating,
Hunter
