The best way to deal with most problems is to prevent them from happening in the first place – a big reason why routine professional heating system maintenance is so important.
But besides having an expert look at your furnace, boiler, burner, and oil tank once a year, one of the best ways to prevent problems with your oil-fired heating system is also one of the easiest: try to keep heating oil in your oil tank throughout the year, especially as the seasons change.
An empty (or mostly empty) heating oil tank will accumulate condensation (water) on its interior walls as temperatures shift between seasons. This condensation creates “perfect storm” conditions for bacteria growth, which will eventually turn your heating oil into line-clogging, efficiency-robbing sludge. Condensation will also eventually rot the bottom of your tank, since water is heavier than oil and will sink once it falls from the tank walls.
The bottom line: Condensation build-up is bad, and keeping your tank at least half full as often as possible is the best way to prevent it. Schedule a heating oil delivery now and it could prevent problems down the road.
For safe and reliable delivery of heating oil* at affordable prices, trust the pros at Penguin Energy – serving our Orange, Sulllivan, and Eastern Ulster County neighbors since 1984!
* Need reliable propane deliveries? We do that, too!