How Much Heating Oil Is In My Storage Tank?

October 28, 2013

One of the most common questions asked by home heating oil customers is learning how to check the oil level. Most residential oil tanks have a gauge that will help you check the oil level easily without ever having to do any configurations. However, it is still a good idea to know how to do it yourself just in case anything ever happens to the gauge.

So if you don’t have a gauge on your home heating oil tank or if you just want to learn how to check the oil level as part of responsible residential oil tank ownership, this article will provide you with all the information you’ll need to know how to do it yourself. It is important to know the amount of oil that is left in your tank to prevent potential system failures that can be caused simply by running out of home heating oil.

The “Sounding” Method for Checking Your Residential Oil Tank

Contents

1 The “Sounding” Method for Checking Your Residential Oil Tank

All you need to do this method for making sure you have an adequate supply of home heating oil in your tank is a tape measure, a pen, a piece of paper and a calculator. It takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. There are three steps that you need to do when initially sounding your oil tank. Once you do it the first time, it will be even easier the next time you need to check the oil level.

STEP ONE: Determine the Size of Your Oil Tank

This is an important step because it gives you your starting point. To figure out what the capacity of your home heating oil tank is, you will need to take some measurements. Always do your measurements in inches, not in metric. If you have a rectangular-shaped tank, measure the length, width, and height. Multiply those numbers and the number 0.0043 to figure out how many gallons there are in your residential oil tank.

STEP TWO: Take a Height Measurement of the Tank

The next step is to measure the depth of the oil that is remaining in your home heating oil tank. In the business, delivery technicians will say you have so many “inches of oil” in your tank. The only way to get this figure is to take your tape measure and insert it into the top of the tank until it reaches the bottom. Be careful when you pull the tape measure back up so you can look for the top of the oil line. This will tell you how many inches total that you have in your tank.

STEP THREE: Calculate the Amount of Oil in the Tank

The last step required to check your oil level without a gauge is to figure out how many gallons of oil are in your residential oil tank. Take the figure that you got for the capacity of your tank in STEP ONE and divide it by the height of your tank. Then multiply that amount by the inches that are in your tank to find out how much home heating oil is left.

Never Ever Run Out of Oil

The best way to make sure that you never ever run out of home heating oil is to sign up for an automatic delivery program through Columbus Energies. They offer home heating oil at low prices and provide consistent and reliable services 24 hours a day, days a week to ensure that their customers never go without warm, safe heat. Columbus Energies customers can take advantage of a number of available programs in order to secure prompt deliveries, repairs and services, discounted oil prices, a worry-free payment plan and much more.

The automatic delivery program makes it convenient to schedule fuel deliveries and have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that Columbus Energies provides a no-run-out guarantee. Customers don’t need to monitor the fuel supply in their residential oil tank and then call for deliveries – let Columbus Energies take care of that for you. Using a sophisticated program that combines recent weather data with each customer’s unique usage history, Columbus Energies can accurately estimate your current home heating oil supply.

The Affordable Monthly Payment Plan allows customers to divide the cost for home heating oil on the automatic delivery program over a period of 12 months. This helps to reduce monthly costs for heavy usage months and spread them out during months when fuel consumption is greatly reduced. Plus, payment plans also earn Columbus Energies customers a three percent fuel credit on all credit balances.

Call Columbus Energies to find out more about their home heating oil and propane delivery programs. They can set you up with a residential oil tank if you are switching over from natural gas or another type of fuel. Columbus Energies serves customers in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. Call today to schedule a free consultation and get an estimate on home heating oil delivery to your area.

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