A comfortable, worry-free home. Isn’t that what we all strive for? Heat is one of our most basic needs, and the thought of being left out in the cold for one reason or another is scary. Most often, worry comes from not knowing. Since Cooper Fuel is in the business of home comfort, easing our customer’s fears is equally as important as keeping them warm. So, if you are heating your home with oil, here are 3 things you don’t need to worry about.
1. Tank Leaks
Anyone new to oil heat, gets a little nervous about the tank buried in their yard. But, with a little information on tank leaks, Cooper Fuel customers can put that worry behind them. Before every delivery, our drivers check every tank for water. Water will get into the tank before the oil gets out. If water gets into the tank, it is an indication that the tank might be starting to break down. If that is the case, we will let the customer know, and watch that tank carefully. Also, heating oil is non explosive. If a tank does leak oil into the soil (which could happen if that tank is left containing oil and unused for a long time), it will be messy, but it is not life threatening.
Additionally, we strongly recommend all our customers to register for FREE Pollution Liability Insurance just in case. PLIA is a Washington State government program that will provide up to $60,000 in soil contamination clean up to registered owners in the event of an oil tank leak. Registration for PLIA is free for the homeowner via this form. Not many things in life are free, but for the homeowner, this is one of them.
2. Dirty Fuel
When most people think about heating oil, they visualize the black, thick substance that is crude oil. Heating oil is quite the contrast. Today’s heating oil is clear in color, loose like water, and 95% today than it was in 1970. Heating oil (also called diesel), is actually the same product as the diesel that can be found at the gas pump and used for diesel engine cars. The only difference between these two diesels is that at the gas pump, an additional road tax is charged for every gallon of diesel. Heating oil diesel has no road tax applied, and is tinted with a red dye only to differentiate it from the road taxed diesel.
3. Running out
When cold temperatures are in the forecast, it is hard not to worry that you have enough oil in your tank to keep you warm. For this reason, Cooper Fuel highly recommends all heating oil customers to be on automatic delivery. We use a calculated measurement called heating degree day (HHD). This measurement takes the outside tmperature and uses an algoritym to determine how much energy a building needs. On automatic delivery, we will predict when you are due for a delivery, and deliver your fuel before you run out. This takes the worry off the customer and lets us do what we do best. If you are already a customer but would like to be on automatic delivery, just let us know and we can take that worry off your shoulder!
