Look at your heating oil tank.
It’s not as complex as, say, your home’s oil heating system. In fact, your heating oil tank is pretty basic. But that doesn’t mean that your heating oil tank does not need attention and care.
There are two important things you need to do.
First is have your heating oil tank professionally inspected every year, when your home’s heating system has its annual tune-up.
Second, keep your heating oil tank full, even during the warmer weather when you’re not using heating oil.
When your heating oil tank has more air than oil, condensation begins to develop on the interior walls of the tank. This condensation accelerates as temperatures change from winter to spring, spring to summer, summer to fall, and fall to winter.
Condensation is really, really bad for your oil tank in a few ways. It encourages bacteria growth in your heating oil. If that keeps going, your heating oil develops sludge. That sludge clogs your fuel lines, reduces the efficiency of your heating system, and, if the lines are fully clogged, your furnace or boiler won’t get fuel and your heating system will break down. You’ll be left in the cold and will be paying a repair bill.
The other problem is gravity. Eventually, that condensation will drip from the interior tank wall. And, because it’s heavier than your heating oil, it will sink to the bottom of the tank. Once there, the condensation begins to make a perfect breeding ground for sediment. Sediment leads to corrosion of your heating oil tank from the inside out.
If the corrosion causes a tank failure, you’re facing the hassle and expense of not only replacing your heating oil tank, but having a professional safely remove your failed tank, as well as cleaning up spilled oil to regulatory standards.
Keeping your heating oil tank full will prevent the development of condensation through the spring and summer.
It also means you’ll have a full tank of heating oil when heating season returns. If there’s a cold snap early, you’re good! No need to have to schedule an emergency heating oil delivery, or hope you have enough oil to get through. Filling your tank now can also save you money, because demand is low and prices aren’t as high as during heating season.
Want more peace of mind with your heating oil delivery? Sign up for automatic delivery! We’ll track your heating oil usage and the weather so you’ll get your tank filled before you run low. And automatic delivery customers get a discount of 5 cents per gallon!
Contact us to learn more about our heating oil delivery service!
