Runouts Can Damage Your Heating System

This is the time of year when your heating oil furnace or heating oil boiler ends its slumber and begins to work to keep you and your family comfortably warm in your Massachusetts or New Hampshire home. Naturally, for your heating oil system to do its job, it needs heating oil to stay up and running. Here’s what can happen if you run out of heating oil.

Being unable to keep your home warm is just the tip of the iceberg when you run out of oil. Here are potential problems you could face.

• Frozen pipes. When the temperature in your home gets too low, you run the risk of frozen water pipes. When a pipe freezes, it’s at risk to burst, and a burst pipe can cause you a ton of damage and money for repairs.
• Damage to your heating system. If your system continues to run without heating oil to power it, sludge that has built up at the bottom of the tank can eventually be drawn into your heating system, potentially causing damage.
• Air in the fuel lines. Besides sludge, running out of heating oil can also cause air to get into the fuel lines. If this happens, you’ll need a service technician to “bleed” the fuel lines to remove the air before your system can operate properly again.
• Charges for an emergency delivery and burner service. After you get an emergency delivery to get heating oil back in your tank, your service technician will need to restart your oil burner and prime it to allow heating oil to power your heating system again. These services involve extra charges you could have prevented by keeping enough oil in your tank.

The lesson here is don’t wait until the last minute to schedule a heating oil delivery. This is particularly important during the winter. You should place your next fuel order when your tank is about one-quarter full. This will give you time to schedule a delivery and not have to worry about completely running out of heating oil.

How to Check Your Heating Oil Level

• Look for a clear glass or plastic cylinder near the top of the tank. It should look like your car’s fuel gauge with the following symbols: F, ¾, ½, and ¼. There should be a red marker or float showing the tank’s fuel level. If it’s not visible, you tank is either empty or almost empty.
• Make sure the gauge is working properly. Remove the outer case and gently press down on the float. It should bob back up to where it was. If it doesn’t, the gauge isn’t working properly, and you should arrange for a repair.
• When your gauge gets close to ¼, it’s time to order more fuel.

If you’d rather not have to worry about monitoring your heating oil level, sign up for automatic delivery. Broco Energy® can track your usage and the weather to accurately schedule your next delivery before you run too low.

How Automatic Delivery Works

There is a reason why most of Broco Energy®’s heating oil and propane customers take advantage of our free automatic delivery service. This is a proven method that allows us to manage your fuel supply, freeing you up to manage other important household tasks during the heating season. Here is how it works.

Our computer system tracks how much fuel your home will typically use based on how cold it is outside and your fuel usage history. We will deliver fuel automatically to you, usually when your heating oil tank gets to be one-quarter full (or 30% for propane tanks). The result: minimal chance of a run-out, no more calling for a delivery and no more monitoring your fuel levels on your own.

So, instead of having to call us every time you need more oil or propane, you don’t have to do anything! Our driver will simply come to your home and fill your tank based on the schedule we have built for you.

There is no need to schedule and wait for deliveries, and you’ll avoid the expense and hassle of having your system tested and primed for restart. Please note that automatic delivery does not include burner service, additives or treatments.

However, when you’re a Broco Energy® automatic delivery customer, your price per gallon is better, and you won’t see any extra charges. You’ll be billed automatically too, on your credit card, using a debit card or by ACH. It can’t get any easier than that!

Heating Oil Service in Middlesex County, MA

If you have a home in Middlesex County, MA or one of the many other communities in our service area in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, please contact us if you would like to become a Broco Energy® customer.