Can heating oil freeze?

When it comes to keeping you warm in the winter, heating oil is the BTU king, providing more heat per gallon than any other fuel. But when it comes to standing up against the cold, heating oil doesn’t fare quite as well.

Like water, heating oil begins to freeze when temperatures drop (in heating oil’s case, that point is 16°F) – but unlike water, which freezes into a solid, heating oil simply thickens into a kind of waxy sludge. This thickening is commonly called gelling.

When heating oil does begin to gel, and before it has become actually too viscous to flow at all in the heating system oil piping, wax particles (sometimes called platelets or crystals) have already begun to form in the fuel. These waxy particles can affect your heating system in multiple ways – here are some of the components that can be compromised by gelled heating oil:

• The tank — Heavier gelled oil settles to the bottom of your heating oil tank; as more of it settles, less burnable oil remains.
• The oil lines — As gelled oil is pumped through heating oil lines it builds on the walls, narrowing the passage way (sort of like a clogged artery). With less fuel reaching the igniter, efficiency suffers.
• The atomizing nozzle — To burn, your heating oil must first turned into a vapor – a process that occurs in the atomizing nozzle. Gelled fuel will block the atomizing nozzle, allowing less oil through to convert to heat.
• The oil filter — As gelled oil is forced through the filter, it clogs quickly and needs more frequent replacement.

Cold weather solutions from Resnick Energy
If you have an outdoor heating oil tank – or if conditions subject your indoor heating oil tank to freezing temperatures – we highly recommend including a fuel additive to mix with your winter heating oil deliveries. Contact us today to learn about fuel additives for your heating oil.

Kerosene is also available for your mobile home or other outdoor heating application – contact us today to schedule a kerosene delivery for your Sullivan, Eastern Ulster, or Northern Orange County home.

Need reliable heating oil deliveries that will make it through the dead of winter, or kerosene for your mobile home? Resnick Energy delivers. Contact us today to learn more!