Here in New England, including our service area in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, heating oil has long been the heating fuel of choice for homes.
And with good reason! Heating oil is the most cost-effective fuel for home heating, and it gets your home warm faster than any other fuel source. Heating oil is also right there at your home, so you never have to depend on outside utility lines as you do when you use natural gas for heating.
But there’s another reason heating oil should be your choice: Safety.
Heating oil is the safest home heating fuel. Surprised? Heating oil, despite the “oil” in its name, isn’t an immediate fire hazard. Drop a lit match into heating oil, and it will be extinguished right there. Really!
That’s definitely something you can’t do with natural gas.
Fact: Heating oil has to be heated to at least 140˚ Fahrenheit before it can be vaporized and combusted in your home’s furnace or boiler.
You know what else is safe? Today’s heating oil tanks. They’re now made with double-wall steel, as well as plastic and fiberglass, to make them virtually leakproof. There are also built-in alarms that prevent the tank from being overfilled, further reducing the risk of spills and leaks.
All of this being said, you still have to take care of your oil-fired heating system to make sure it continues to operate safely.
Maintenance is essential. A regular tune-up by the trained and experienced professionals at Wesco Oil includes a thorough inspection that lets them find problems before they become hazards.
Inspect the heating oil tank. Take a close look at the area around your heating oil tank between tune-ups and heating oil deliveries. If you spot any pools of oil, contact Wesco Oil immediately. Also check the tank closely for signs of impending tank failure such as dime-sized blistering on the paint, condensation on the outside of the tank that remains long after a heating oil delivery, and pinhole leaks.
Practice carbon monoxide safety. First, heating oil poses very little risk when it comes to carbon monoxide leaks. But they can happen, especially if your oil-fired heating system is not properly maintained. Contact Wesco Oil IMMEDIATELY if your boiler or furnace is producing black smoke or soot. Install carbon monoxide detectors on every level of your home, and outside all bedrooms. Test and change the batteries are recommended.
Wesco Oil provides safe and reliable heating oil delivery. Become a customer today!
There’s nothing like coming home to the cozy, comfortable warmth of a home heated by an oil furnace.
However, if it keeps running after your home has reached the temperature you set on the thermostat, that’s a problem. Your home may get uncomfortably warm. And heating oil is being wasted, meaning you’re in line for higher heating oil bills. Ouch!
If this is happening in your home, it’s time to do some sleuthing. There may be many causes and solutions. Remember, Wesco Oil provides quality oil furnace service throughout our service area in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
Check the thermostat setting. Is your furnace set at a reasonable temperature? The United States Department of Energy recommends 68˚ Fahrenheit in the winter for the sweet spot of comfort and efficiency. If you’ve set your thermostat in the upper 70s or into the 80s, you’re going to make your furnace run for a long time so it can reach that temperature.
Check the air filter on your furnace. A clogged air filter reduces air flow throughout your heating system, meaning the air you’re heating is not reaching your living space. Inspect your air filter once a month, and change it when you need to. It also helps your furnace run more efficiently, saving you money on heating oil costs.
Check the ductwork. As air flows through your ductwork, seals and joints loosen. That can create leaks. Other leaks may also develop. Leaky ductwork makes it hard for your furnace to reach and stay at your set temperature, meaning it will run longer and more often.
Check your weatherizing. Did you know that up to 15 percent of the heated air in your home can be lost to drafts? That heat loss makes your furnace work harder, longer and more often. Most of those drafts can be found around windows and exterior doors. A few hours with some weatherstripping, caulk, expanding foam, weatherized plastic and door sweeps can make a big difference.
There are some things you can look into and try yourself before making a request for service.
If none of this troubleshooting solves the problem, contact Wesco Oil and our knowledgeable heating system technicians will be on the job. They’ll diagnose the problem, the fix it quickly and correctly so you can relax and enjoy your warm and comfortable home.
Trust Wesco Oil to keep your home safe and warm with reliable heating oil delivery and equipment service with equipment experts. Get in touch with us today to learn more!
Winters here in Massachusetts and Rhode Island offer a lot of great things: weekend ski trips, snowball fights, ice skating and beautiful scenery.
However, if you have an outdoor heating oil tank, winter can create a problem when the temperature plummets. That problem is that when the temperature of the heating oil stored in your tank drops below a certain temperature, it freezes into thick, viscous sludge. Oil doesn’t freeze solid like water does.
This condition is called gelling, and it can impact several components of your home heating system, including your:
Heating oil tank: When heating oil gels inside the tank, the sludge settles down at the bottom of the tank. That shrinks available space and leaves behind less burnable oil.
Heating oil lines: If gelled oil gets into the heating oil line, it can build up on the walls of the line. Like a clogged drain, the passageway to the igniter is narrowed. Less fuel gets to the igniter, which means you’ll have less efficient heating. That causes higher energy bills.
Atomozing nozzle: This is what turns your heating oil into a vapor that is burned to create your heat. If your heating oil gels, it can block the nozzle. Less oil will get through to be used for heating. Again, this reduces your heating system’s efficiency and will increase your heating costs. You’ll also end up having to shell out for repairs.
Fuel filter: Gelled air that’s forced through the filter will clog it. You’ll need to replace it more frequently.
First, let’s talk safety. NEVER tamper with your heating oil OR your heating oil equipment! Let trained professionals like the experienced and skilled professionals at Wesco Oil do any repairs or maintenance you need.
Here are six things you can do:
Learn more about how to take care of your home’s heating system. Get in touch with us today!
Your home’s furnace or boiler may have a track record of working well. But every year, it gets older. And that means problems are more likely, especially if it doesn’t get its annual tune-up.
As winter begins and you’re using your home heating system more, you may encounter problems with it. We’ve put together a list of some of the more common ones to watch out for, and simple solutions you can do yourself that might fix the problem without the need for a service call.
Cold spots and drafts. Is there inconsistent heating in your home, where one room or part of a room just doesn’t get or stay warm? Do-it-yourself projects might alleviate the problem. Adding caulking and weatherstripping around doors and windows, as well as adding door sweeps, are easy weekend DIY jobs and can help reduce drafts greatly. Move furniture and draperies away from radiators, baseboard heaters and vents so heated air can circulate freely. Adding insulation if you don’t have enough can be a DIY project or you can contact a local home improvement professional.
Cycling. Is your furnace or boiler turning on and off a lot more often than it used to? Possible causes are a dirty air filter or a faulty thermostat. Check both, and replace them if needed. If cycling is still happening, get in touch with us.
Carbon monoxide leaks. This is not a problem to put off looking into. Carbon monoxide (CO) can be deadly for you, your family and your pets. There must be CO detectors on every level in your home (including the basement) and outside all bedrooms. Installing CO detectors can be a DIY project if you’re handy, but contact a local electrician if you’re installing hard-wired CO detectors and are uncomfortable working with electricity. Test your CO detectors yourself and replace the batteries every six months. CO detectors need replacing once they’re five years old. If your CO detector ever goes off, get everyone (including the pets) out of the house IMMEDIATELY and call 911.
There’s no heat. No heat in your home is understandably worrying in winter. But you might be able to solve the problem yourself without a service call! Try these troubleshoots before calling Wesco for service.
Dry air. When air is very dry, it can be a problem not just for you but for your home. Very dry air can damage furniture, woodwork, wood flooring, cabinetry, and electronics. It can also create difficulties for people with respiratory conditions. A whole-house humidifier, added to your home’s heating system, may be a solution.
Our service plans help you take care of your home’s heating system and save you money. Sign up for one today!
In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s getting pretty cold here in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. That means making sure you have enough heating oil for your home is on your mind, especially when you’re a Will Call customer.
The best way to make sure you always have enough heating oil whatever the weather is to sign up for automatic heating oil delivery with Wesco Oil. We track your heating oil usage and schedule a heating oil delivery to your home before you run low.
Whether you chose Automatic Delivery or Will Call, knowing how to read your heating oil tank gauge is essential to having enough heating oil on hand at your home.
Get in touch with Wesco Oil to learn more about our heating oil delivery options!
How do you get your home’s heating oil delivered?
If you’re still going down to the basement or outside and checking your heating oil tank gauge levels, then calling to schedule a heating oil delivery, we’ve got some good news for you!
You can save yourself all that hassle by using automatic heating oil delivery with Wesco Oil.
How does Wesco Oil’s automatic heating oil delivery work? We figure out your home’s heating oil needs based on your home’s size, your heating system, your fuel usage during the first few months of heating season, daily temperature standards and nonstop monitoring of the weather in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
Because we customize your heating oil delivery schedule, we can make sure you won’t run out of our HeatForce™ Home Heating Oil #2.
No more having to set reminders on your phone to check your heating oil, or worrying about running out of heating oil. We’ll take care of it for you!
If there are factors that change your home’s heating oil needs, like if you build an addition onto your home, let us know and we can adjust your delivery schedule.
There is no additional cost for automatic heating oil delivery, and it’s easy to sign up.
Want to learn more about Wesco Oil’s automatic heating oil delivery? Contact us today!
We’re very excited about our new, updated Wesco Oil website. It’s been designed with you, our customers, first and foremost on our priority list.
The website is even more user-friendly. The changes and updates we’ve made allow us to deliver more information you can use, creating a customer experience we think you will appreciate.
Here are some of the things you can do on our new Wesco website:
Bookmark our website and come back often for special deals and offers, useful and interesting blog posts, and other information you can use to help you save money while keeping your home or business warm and comfortable.
Like what you see? Get in touch and let us know what you think, and feel free to offer ideas for future improvements.
