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1966

rawgerz
The hell was that?
Premium Member
join:2004-10-03
Grove City, PA

rawgerz

Premium Member

Oil furnace ?

Just wanted to ask if one ran out of oil, would it stay shut off, or keep trying to burn air?
ame101
join:2002-05-02
Torrington, CT

ame101

Member

It should lock out after 2-3 tries.

PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD

PSWired to rawgerz

Member

to rawgerz
All modern oil burners have a flame sensor inside. If the flame goes out the burner will try to reignite a few times like the last poster mentioned. After that it will need to be manually reset.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

said by PSWired:

All modern oil burners have a flame sensor inside. If the flame goes out the burner will try to reignite a few times like the last poster mentioned. After that it will need to be manually reset.

yep I had to help a friend with this.. then when he got oil back I had to bleed the air out because the flame would keep going out.

jrs8084
Premium Member
join:2002-03-02
Statesville, NC

1 recommendation

jrs8084 to rawgerz

Premium Member

to rawgerz
I thought you lived on land with a free natural gas well. Didn't you have to have water pumped out of the well about 6 years ago to restore service? I was somewhat jealous at the time.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88 to rawgerz

Member

to rawgerz
You might have clogged the filter can, or the strainer in the pump with sludge if it ran dry. The oil pump on the burner can't suck oil with vacuum, gravity must deliver it to the burner. You can take apart the pipe after the shut off valve near the burner, put a tray to catch the oil, open the valve, and it should tickle out (it won't be very pressurized and its thicker than water). If it doesn't you have a clog somewhere. If changing the filters doesn't help, you will have to CO2 blow out the fuel pipe. Google that.

aannoonn
@optonline.net

aannoonn to rawgerz

Anon

to rawgerz
It used to be that oil pumps would need to be re-primed if they ran dry. The oil delivery man should know how to do that.

Not sure if they still make pumps like that.

rawgerz
The hell was that?
Premium Member
join:2004-10-03
Grove City, PA

rawgerz to jrs8084

Premium Member

to jrs8084
Nothing is free, you pay 10K upfront to reclaim a well. This is a dead relative's property, and I'm not thrilled with the $1200 oil bill every month when the heat is at 50f.
I don't care what happens to the furnace, this **** is too expensive

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

rockotman

Premium Member

$1200 a month? Dang - that is like 300 gallons a month at today's prices! Must be a really huge place to use that much oil in a month.

I'm down here in Butler, PA, and heating a 4500 sq. ft. house with the thermostats set between 65 and 70 (three zones), I use at best 150 gallons in the coldest of months.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88 to rawgerz

Member

to rawgerz
said by rawgerz:

Nothing is free, you pay 10K upfront to reclaim a well. This is a dead relative's property, and I'm not thrilled with the $1200 oil bill every month when the heat is at 50f.
I don't care what happens to the furnace, this **** is too expensive

Get a new oil company. The cheapest road diesel is $4.15, my oil company of many years in the last year, the price sky rocketted. They had the balls to sell at $4.15 a gal last delivery. Manager said thats just how it is and he cant do anything, ULSD heating oil yada yada he said. Switched, new delivery was $3.69 a gal. Huge difference. Shop around. Some companies have a business model of subsidizing service contracts with sky high oil prices. Best choice is have 1 company for maintenance, and a 2nd, preferably delivery-only, for oil. Plus there is no conflict of interest for rich burn settings

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

rockotman

Premium Member

said by patcat88:

Best choice is have 1 company for maintenance, and a 2nd, preferably delivery-only, for oil. Plus there is no conflict of interest for rich burn settings

This is what I do. I use a local heating/cooling outfit for the yearly boiler service, and I have three different local oil distributors that I call for price before ordering fuel oil.

I just had oil delivered today, and I ended up paying $3.87 a gallon; a few weeks ago, gasoline was cheaper, so the fuel oil would have been as well. Prices tend to bounce wildly this time of year. With the recent trend upwards, I figured I better order now rather than wait another week.

PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD

PSWired

Member

Same here. Was getting gouged with contract auto delivery, so now I shop around. $3.66/gal for last week's fill, the first of the winter.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru to rawgerz

Premium Member

to rawgerz
Can I ask this.. why don't people stock up during the summer months or off-season?? I ask because I know a person that had a large area that had I think 1,000 tank or so and they could only afford to maybe put like $600 in and it would only last maybe 2 weeks at the most.. All that time I would assume summer months would be cheaper? they could get the tank most to full and not have to worry about the renters complaining about not having any heat.

Jeff
Connoisseur of leisurely things
Premium Member
join:2002-12-24
GMT -5

Jeff to rawgerz

Premium Member

to rawgerz
said by rawgerz:

Nothing is free, you pay 10K upfront to reclaim a well. This is a dead relative's property, and I'm not thrilled with the $1200 oil bill every month when the heat is at 50f.
I don't care what happens to the furnace, this **** is too expensive

Whoa, whoa. $1,200 a month at 50 degrees? I'm locked at $3.89/g and I use about 500 gallons from Sept-April under normal circumstances.

Are you paying $1,200/yr for 50F? That's at least reasonable.
Phillip
I Need A Nap
join:2004-12-21
Hatboro, PA

Phillip to rawgerz

Member

to rawgerz
I payed $3.56 a gallon back in 10/12, and I am looking at a $3.76 a gallon tomorrow. I do the same as some of the others here, I call around to see who has the best price and order it from them.

A good place to see what the average price is in your area is here..... »www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet ··· us_w.htm

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

rockotman to Subaru

Premium Member

to Subaru
said by Subaru:

Can I ask this.. why don't people stock up during the summer months or off-season??

I would if I could. Unfortunately, I only have a 550 gallon tank. And actually, this past summer the prices were even higher than they are right now.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed to rawgerz

MVM

to rawgerz
said by rawgerz:

Nothing is free, you pay 10K upfront to reclaim a well. This is a dead relative's property, and I'm not thrilled with the $1200 oil bill every month when the heat is at 50f.
I don't care what happens to the furnace, this **** is too expensive

No way it is $1200/month. If it was $1200/month then in about a year you should have saved the $10K to reclaim the well - well worth the effort - no brainer in fact.

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

rockotman

Premium Member

I think he is referring to two different properties; his own with the well, and a deceased relative's with the oil heat.

Plus during the warmer months of spring, summer, and fall, heating oil usage drops to almost nothing.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru to rockotman

Premium Member

to rockotman
said by rockotman:

said by Subaru:

Can I ask this.. why don't people stock up during the summer months or off-season??

I would if I could. Unfortunately, I only have a 550 gallon tank. And actually, this past summer the prices were even higher than they are right now.

Hmm I would of thought it would go down since hardly any demand to buy any oil.

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

Premium Member

said by Subaru:

said by rockotman:

said by Subaru:

Can I ask this.. why don't people stock up during the summer months or off-season??

I would if I could. Unfortunately, I only have a 550 gallon tank. And actually, this past summer the prices were even higher than they are right now.

Hmm I would of thought it would go down since hardly any demand to buy any oil.

But the refineries switch over to making more gasoline so the supply is scarce, as well. Net result is that the price stays high.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

alkizmo to rawgerz

Member

to rawgerz
said by rawgerz:

Nothing is free, you pay 10K upfront to reclaim a well. This is a dead relative's property, and I'm not thrilled with the $1200 oil bill every month when the heat is at 50f.
I don't care what happens to the furnace, this **** is too expensive

Costs me 200$ for a month when the temperature is below 20F.
Yet my house is 1500 sqft living space.

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

1 recommendation

rockotman to Subaru

Premium Member

to Subaru
said by Subaru:

said by rockotman:

said by Subaru:

Can I ask this.. why don't people stock up during the summer months or off-season??

I would if I could. Unfortunately, I only have a 550 gallon tank. And actually, this past summer the prices were even higher than they are right now.

Hmm I would of thought it would go down since hardly any demand to buy any oil.

The only difference between #2 fuel oil and over-the-road diesel is the dye added to signify that the fuel oil is not subject to road-taxes. As a result, the demand does not go down by much, as a percentage of the overall demand for diesel. But as pointed out above, the demand for gasoline does go up in the warmer months, so the refineries change the quantities of each such that the price really remains relatively stable, and is proportional to the overall price of crude (subject to the typical market lags as varying price point works its way through the supply chain). Generally the price of fuel oil (at least here in PA) is about 25-30 cents higher than the prevailing price for gasoline. Again, it pays to shop around.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

said by rockotman:

The only difference between #2 fuel oil and over-the-road diesel is the dye added to signify that the fuel oil is not subject to road-taxes. As a result, the demand does not go down by much, as a percentage of the overall demand for diesel. But as pointed out above, the demand for gasoline does go up in the warmer months, so the refineries change the quantities of each such that the price really remains relatively stable, and is proportional to the overall price of crude (subject to the typical market lags as varying price point works its way through the supply chain). Generally the price of fuel oil (at least here in PA) is about 25-30 cents higher than the prevailing price for gasoline. Again, it pays to shop around.

did not know about that between diesel and fuel oil.. I knew about the dye however

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

said by Subaru:

did not know about that between diesel and fuel oil.. I knew about the dye however

You can burn either or in your furnace or diesel vehicle. Works well if you get in a pinch and run out of oil. You can run down to the gas station and fill a few containers with diesel and throw it in your oil tank.

Don't get caught using dyed heating oil / off road diesel in your truck though. There is no road taxes paid on it so if they dip your tank you end up with a fine. State Police do it here but I have never seen a local / county police officer do it.

Lots of farmers will try and get away with it though.

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

rockotman

Premium Member

I think it is legal to use it in diesel equipment that does not use public roads; i.e. tractors or combines.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru to swintec

Premium Member

to swintec
said by swintec:

said by Subaru:

did not know about that between diesel and fuel oil.. I knew about the dye however

You can burn either or in your furnace or diesel vehicle. Works well if you get in a pinch and run out of oil. You can run down to the gas station and fill a few containers with diesel and throw it in your oil tank.

Don't get caught using dyed heating oil / off road diesel in your truck though. There is no road taxes paid on it so if they dip your tank you end up with a fine. State Police do it here but I have never seen a local / county police officer do it.

Lots of farmers will try and get away with it though.

A station I go to has un-dyed kero which last time I looked was around $4.29/gal I have a small heater that is tri-fuel (JP1, diesel, kerosene)

One question I have to ask.. I forgot what the PPM content was for the kero, I think the pump says it could exceed 500 PPM but I wonder what it would be for diesel? since I think diesel may be a little cheaper?

The good thing about the kerosene price is it does not go up and down much since it's use is very small.. I don't know how large the tank is but I remember the price was the same for at least 3-4 weeks once.

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec to rockotman

Premium Member

to rockotman
said by rockotman:

I think it is legal to use it in diesel equipment that does not use public roads; i.e. tractors or combines.

Use heating oil? I suppose. I have to imagine that off-road diesel may be similarly priced as well or could be once you get a fuel contract set up.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88 to Subaru

Member

to Subaru
said by Subaru:

A station I go to has un-dyed kero which last time I looked was around $4.29/gal I have a small heater that is tri-fuel (JP1, diesel, kerosene)

One question I have to ask.. I forgot what the PPM content was for the kero, I think the pump says it could exceed 500 PPM but I wonder what it would be for diesel? since I think diesel may be a little cheaper?

The good thing about the kerosene price is it does not go up and down much since it's use is very small.. I don't know how large the tank is but I remember the price was the same for at least 3-4 weeks once.

Depends on a crazy mix of

Category 1, is it heating oil, off road diesel for motor vehicles, diesel for marine, diesel for locomotive, diesel for plane, diesel for public road

Category 2 which state and county you are in

Category 3 3000, 500, 40 or 15 are the PPM sulferchoices

Its a matrix only a lawyer can understand.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

Well in this case diesel for a road vehicle.. aren't most all stations low sulfur now? I forgot what are the limits now?

I want to say 15, I never had issues with the pump that says it could exceed 500 ppm.

rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06
DSotM

1 recommendation

rockotman

Premium Member

All on and off road diesel is now ULSD by EPA mandate. ULSD by US standards is 15 ppm or less.

Even locomotive diesel is now ULSD. About the only non-ULSD is some marine diesel. And that is being forced to go ULSD some time in the next few years.