Whiney Oil Man

stmar: Why not just buy a buried tank, not pay rent or rely on any single company, and relieve yourself of that unsightly tank aside your house? I have a buried 500 gal. tank, which I need to fill every third year, and I'm free to just call around to find the cheapest price when it's due.

That would have been the smart thing to do but it was the first time we had ever had propane so just went along with the program. It is a cheap rent compared to the cost of a 1000 gallon tank. A buried tank has been discussed. Since we keep it so full, usually above 60%, it would be a hassle transferring the gas. Plus the gas guys take care of us and make sure we get filled when the price is down without me even asking.

I had a cranky oil service guy put a burner nozzel that was 10% oversized in my unit to punish me for going off his oil. I didn't find out for a few years later. I tell every one I know about it. I'm sure there are several less customers that trust him now. I would have an independent technician service your equipment just to safe.

I have an independent service company service my burner. Their lone oil tech heats with wood, and always has a cup of coffee before he leaves. I work as an equipment mechanic for a grocery chain and work on big commercial ovens, so I always enjoy our conversations. My oil delivery guy also heats with wood. They only have two relatively antiquated oil trucks these days, as most people switched to propane years ago. I still buy my offroad diesel from them, and i usually go through about 160 gallons of fuel oil for dhw each year. For our maple evaporator, we call whomever has the lowest price. We usually go through about 1000 gallons of oil in that, depending on the season.

DMKNLD said:

Or they're cranky that crude oil prices continue to plummet - down to $76 a barrel this AM, down from close to $100 a barrel not so long ago.

I don't foresee the J. Paul Getty family or other CEO oil barons having to go to single ply toilet paper any time soon though. They'll just clamp down on the refining capacity to match the reduced demand. But I'll take the temporary savings at the pump any time we can get it!!

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Can you believe our local oil company, AFC, sent me an email a month ago, offering a "SPECIAL" if we ordered oil, $3.29 a gallon I laughed, since I knew oil was on its way down. Now it's about $2.89, though I'm sure AFC is higher.

If your actually burning a fair amount of oil its not a bad idea to separate your delivery from whomever services your system. While most companies are honest they can screw you and you never will know. Its usually cheaper too.

stmar said:

The propane company owns our tank, when we bought the property there were two 1000 gallon tanks and they asked if I would mind if they removed one which would save me on rent. I figured we would not use that much gas so let them do it, good move on my part because we only use about 300 gallons per year and could go 3 years between fills. I fill it every year, usually in August when gas is historically less expensive before winter, to keep it topped off and to keep a relationship with the delivery guys in case I need something. A few years after we moved in they "instituted" a minimum tank charge if you did not use enough gas!! That did not set with me and I had a discussion with them, long story short I do not pay a minimum. I support my local company but they in turn have to support me, at first they blamed it on the corp office and when I asked for info on who to talk to there it was suddenly handled at the local level.

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That's a happy ending, due to the efforts on your part. I wonder what ungodly usage existed before you moved in to warrant two 1000 gallon tanks. That is a lot of steel for residential.

The guy we bought the property from was a "survivalist" and had everything ready for the Apocalypse, 2 X 1000 gallon propane tanks were a little overkill. For instance when he had the well drilled he ran it continuously for 30 days to make sure it was a good well. Let's put it this way: If something out of the ordinary happens I like my chances where and how I am situated.

TimfromMA said:

When I need oil, I just call around and get a delivery from whomever is cheapest at the time.

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Ditto.Whats the price up our neck of the woods these days?

I service my own oil burner. At work, I operate and maintain large oil fired power plants, my home heating furnace is a cute little toy in comparison.

Dave

RKS130 said:

Ditto.Whats the price up our neck of the woods these days?

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I paid $3.24 when I last filled up in August. Won't need another fill until next August.

Here's a website that tracks oil prices throughout the Northeast U.S.

http://www.newenglandoil.com/

stmar said:

The guy we bought the property from was a "survivalist" and had everything ready for the Apocalypse, 2 X 1000 gallon propane tanks were a little overkill. For instance when he had the well drilled he ran it continuously for 30 days to make sure it was a good well. Let's put it this way: If something out of the ordinary happens I like my chances where and how I am situated.

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The survivalist thought ran through my head but, I figured, can't be that

TimfromMA said:

Here's a website that tracks oil prices throughout the Northeast U.S.

http://www.newenglandoil.com/

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The Canadian version .... http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/econ152i-eng.htm

DneprDave said:

I service my own oil burner. At work, I operate and maintain large oil fired power plants, my home heating furnace is a cute little toy in comparison.

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I feel the same way when visiting our green room forum. Folks trying to reduce their footprint by a few kW per day. I run a few individual pieces of equipment at work consume in excess of 4,000 kWh in an 8 hour shift.

I too have my oil service and my oil delivery separate. I know a lot of people who have there service and deliveries through the same company and they usually get screwed on the oil price. The price is typically higher and they have no flexibility in terms of finding the best price. With my service separate I just call around and find the best price. Luckily I found a local company that updates their price daily (and they offer the lowest price I have been able to find - right now they're at $2.84/gal) on their website and I get a $0.05/gal discount because of where my wife works. I just call when I need oil and they show up the next day or the day after next. Have never had any problems and my service people (even with the service plans I get yearly) could care less where the oil comes from.

I moved here a little over a year and a half ago. When I moved I brought my stove with me. After being here for 6 months. I figure I'd better see about contacting an oil company. I went to a local company which is small. Only 1 truck and it is run by mother and son. I gave them a visit and set up an auto fill account with them. I left them with a deposit check plus had them fill the tank. The initial fill was a good one as the po had left me with a 1/2 a tank. I was home the day he came to deliver for the second time. I watched him pull up and drag the hose all the way around the back of my house. In a couple of minutes he came back and put the hose back on the truck. He handed me the ticket and he only dropped 20 gallons. I told him maybe he should have checked gauge. He said because I'm on auto delivery he had to fill it regardless. The contract I sign with them says that if I pay within 10. They will credit me 15%. Last winter I burned 87 gallons in 4 different deliveries. So if I should ever close the account. They will have to give me a check for more then what I opened the account with.

Jigger, surprising they're still coming out so often to make 20 gal. deliveries, knowing your usage is so low. My oil co. just cut my delivery schedule way back when I went from burning wood. If I stop burning wood during heating season (eg. I'm out of town and stove goes cold), I just have to remember to call them to tell them I'm back on oil, so they make more frequent trips.

Joful said:

Jigger, surprising they're still coming out so often to make 20 gal. deliveries, knowing your usage is so low. My oil co. just cut my delivery schedule way back when I went from burning wood. If I stop burning wood during heating season (eg. I'm out of town and stove goes cold), I just have to remember to call them to tell them I'm back on oil, so they make more frequent trips.

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He makes up for when he comes. As he has a lady 2 doors down the street he delivers to. I did ask him why he does not look before he drags the hose out. He said a contact is a contract and he doesn't mind.

DneprDave said:

I service my own oil burner. At work, I operate and maintain large oil fired power plants, my home heating furnace is a cute little toy in comparison.

Dave

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I know the feeling. I work on commercial baking ovens. I used to service my little Beckett burner myself, but I find that I don't want to be doing work type stuff during the little time I have off. I have also found that I don't much care for power burners anymore after a certain encounter I had with an older malfunctioning Ray burner. I survived, but the oven and burner didn't. I stll work on them, but I won't consider any of them a safe design, especially gas fired units.

It's a major saving for me after I moved. My previous house had and estimate yearly fuel burn of $3500. It was a draft old house that was built in 1850 that was close to the ocean. After I put the stove in. My fuel usage dropped down to $800. But I also burned 31/2 ton of pellets. Like I said I brought my stove with me. When I moved. I moved into a trailer unit. So much cheaper all around. But I need a good circulator fan to help move the heat out of the room the stove is in. The stove is presently in the entry room that is 10X20. The heat has to go through a door way to get into the rest of the house. The stove is directly in front of the door only 10 feet away. Any suggestions on a hanging fan ?

Get something easily reversible. Many have a switch on the fan itself, but some have reverse on the remote or the wall control. And, try to get the most efficient one that moves the most air. I have some from HD that push 10,000cfm that were quite cheap, $76, industrial-looking, but the reversing switch is on the motor.

Only problem is. I can not put up a ceiling fan. I have a low ceiling due to living in the trailer unit. /My kitchen ,living room and the room were the stove is are nice and warm. I have a problem getting the warm air to the far end were the bed rooms are.