What Happens If You Run Out of Heating Oil?

Written on: January 8, 2024

How To Prevent Running Out of Heating Oil

It’s January and the heating season is in full swing. This is the season when your furnace or boiler is called on to work harder and harder to keep you and your family comfortably cozy and warm in your Cold Springs area home. As a result, you’ll see your need for heating oil increase.

If you’re a Downey Energy customer, you’ve got a heating oil provider you can trust. We’re the Hudson Valley’s home comfort leader.

What Is Heating Oil?

Heating oil comes from crude oil that has gone through a refining process called distillation. During the process of distillation, hydrocarbons are removed from the crude oil and become a substance that can be further purified and blended to make the heating oil that fuels your home’s furnace or boiler and helps keep your household comfortably warm.

Avoid a Heating Oil Run-Out

Especially if you haven’t signed up for Downey Energy’s automatic delivery service, keeping an eye on your heating oil level is very important. It’s important that your tank is never allowed to run empty. What happens if you run out of heating oil? When that happens, debris can clog your oil filters. That can reduce the efficiency of your heating system or cause it to fail. So by keeping enough oil in your tank, you can avoid some very costly problems as well as a no-heat emergency.

Take note, you’ll need to check your gauge with more frequency the colder it gets, because your heating system will be using more and more heating oil to keep you and your family warm.

Here’s how to check your heating oil level:

1. 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 indicating the tank’s fuel level. If it’s not visible, you tank is either empty or almost empty.
2. 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 call for service.
3. Read the heating oil gauge the same way you would your car’s fuel gauge. F stands for full. And each fraction tells you how much of your tank has heating oil in it.
4. When your gauge gets close to ¼, it’s time to order more fuel. The colder it gets and the larger your home is, the faster your heating system will go through oil and the sooner you should order more.

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

Downey Energy has been serving residential and commercial clients in the Hudson Valley for over 100 years. We have earned the loyalty of our customers through our dedication to service and reliability. Let us deliver for you as well.

From Cortlandt Manor to Carmel, all around Dutchess County, Orange County, Putnam County and northern Westchester County, your neighbors know that Downey Energy is the Hudson Valley’s leader for reliable propane and heating oil delivery.

Contact us today to learn more or sign up for automatic delivery.