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melissa_thomas11

Oil Tank question

Melissa Thomas
2 months ago

I am not a huge fan of the oil company i have for heating oil but i have a question because i am new to the oil world. My tank was refilled on January 5th and when they filled it, it was filled three weeks prior to that, the guy told me we only used about 55 gallons of oil. Here is a math question. If the tank was filled at 250 and in a matter of 3 weeks i only burned 55 would i be almost empty? How long does it take to burn a whole 250 gallons? I keep the temp between 65 and 70. The gadge is broken and we are replacing it so i can’t read it. I’m curious when i should call because this company was coming every 3 weeks at first. I had to tell them i would call them instead.

Comments (7)

  • sktn77a
    2 months ago

    google is your friend:

    "The average home uses 5.3 gallons of oil on 30-degree days and 4.5 gallons on 35-degree days. Therefore, the average home in the Philadelphia area will use about 4.9 gallons of heating oil per day during winter. A 275-gallon supply of heating oil will last for approximately 56 days at the rate of 4.9 gallons per day."

    Melissa Thomas thanked sktn77a
  • Melissa Thomas
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    Yes, i saw that information online. ill have to fix the gadge to get an idea of what I am burning daily.

  • Melissa Thomas
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    Yes, oil is about that. I don’t believe im burning 5.3 gallons a day, especially with the weather going up and down as it has. I also don’t raise it higher than 70 degrees because my kids are always stating they are hot. So the temp stays consistent.

  • Elmer J Fudd
    2 months ago

    Coming at it from a different direction, a search suggests 1 gallon of fuel oil has 139K BTUs of heat. 1 therm of natural gas has 100K.


    It varies of course with size of the home, its air tightness and insulation values, outdoor temperature and indoor setting. Assuming comparable equipment effiency, 5.3 gallons would be a bit over 700K BTUs gross, or 7 therms gross. In my mild weather area, 7 therms of usage for a cold day in a medium-large house a few decades old is not beyond the range of what I experience.

    Melissa Thomas thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • mike_home
    2 months ago

    Oil burners need to be serviced annually. If you are not sure when your furnace or boiler was last service, then you should find a local company you can trust to do this.

    It seems strange this oil company wants to come to you house every 3 weeks to top off your oil tank. Shop around for a better deal on fuel oil. You may get a discount if you buy 200 gallons at a time. Once you get the fuel gauge fixed you should be able to be able to determine when you can make a large purchase. I would think fuel oil prices are the best during the summer months and rise during the heating season.

    Melissa Thomas thanked mike_home
  • Melissa Thomas
    Original Author
    2 months ago

    yes it was serviced befofe we moved in. The gadge was always the issue. We are having it fixed today so that i can better map out when it needs to be filled and I’m looking for a better company.