Posted: May 12, 2025
No homeowner here in Eastern Massachusetts or anywhere for that matter wants to find out that his or her heating oil tank is completely empty or doesn’t have enough fuel to do its job – especially if we are smack dab in the middle of winter. This probably goes without saying, but you are going to find yourself quite cold and uncomfortable if you run into this problem.
Luckily, there are a few ways to help prevent a fuel-run out and Medway Oil & Propane is happy to tell you what they are.
The first part of ensuring that your home has enough fuel is knowing how much heating oil can go into your tank at a time.
You may assume that if your aboveground heating oil tank is 275 gallons (the most common above-ground tank size) that 275 gallons of oil can be put into this tank. But you would be wrong.
As a safety precaution, you have to leave a little extra room in your heating oil tank for the oil to expand and for debris and sludge to accumulate on the bottom, which is almost inevitable.
Therefore, a 275-gallon heating oil tank should only ever have about 240 gallons in it at a time.
You can also help yourself prevent a fuel-run out by understanding how much heating oil you are going to use on an annual basis.
You can get a better idea of this by pulling up records of your previous heating oil orders and heating bills and speaking to a neighbor who has a similar size house to see how much fuel they use every year.
Typically a house that is 2,500 square foot in the northeast will go through about 880 gallons of heating oil annually. However, exact usage differs from household to household and is also impacted by the weather.
When estimating your annual heating oil usage you should also account for how warm you like to keep your home, what kind of condition your furnace or boiler is in (older equipment that hasn’t been well maintained over the years is going to use more fuel to create heat) and how well insulated your house is.
Even though we typically don’t use heating oil until the winter you should not wait until winter to place your fuel order. It is better to be prepared and know that your fuel supply is fully stocked and that your heating system is ready to go. Oil prices are usually lower before it starts getting cold as well so you can save a little money by placing your order well in advance.
If you need an old heating oil tank removed and a new one installed here in Eastern Massachusetts Medway Oil & Propane is whom you should call. Our team of experienced service technicians can get the job done safely and efficiently.
Contact Medway Oil & Propane today to learn more about the heating oil tank services we offer throughout Framingham, Newton, Waltham, Needham and surrounding areas in Eastern Massachusetts.
