Homeowners often feel as though they’re facing an endless list of maintenance tasks. When one item on this list is complete, two more rise up to replace it. If you aren’t mending a leaky bathroom pipe or fixing a broken fence, then you’re replacing light bulbs or clean your washing machine out.
Checking to ensure that you have an appropriate level of heating oil is yet another item to place on your maintenance checklist. Homeowners who choose to use C.O.D. or will-call delivery service have to check their oil tank levels regularly. Similarly, they will need to schedule a heating oil delivery when their tanks are approximately 30 percent full. But what happens when your life is so busy that you make the mistake of letting the tank run completely dry? What happens when furnace runs out of oil?
Like many homeowners, if you’ve let your heating oil run out, you’re probably concerned about the possible consequences of this mistake. For instance, you could be worried that an empty heating oil tank will damage your furnace, just as the fuel injector in your vehicle can get damaged when you run out of gas.
The good news is that letting your heating oil tank become completely empty isn’t going to damage your furnace.
Even though this is fortunate, it’s still best to keep your heating oil tank filled as best you can. This will prevent the inconvenience that comes with being out of fuel, especially if the outside temperatures are extremely cold. Your furnace obviously won’t work to heat your home up if it doesn’t have any fuel oil. Until you order oil and your delivery actually arrives, you and your household will have to survive without heat. Thus, to prevent your heat from being interrupted, it’s important to always have a constant supply of fuel.
When you run out of oil, this doesn’t mean that your furnace is damaged or broken. However, homeowners tend to run out of fuel at the worst possible times. Just as extremely cold temperatures move in, your furnace will start requiring more heating oil and this means that if your supply is running low already, you’ll likely run out right when you need your furnace the most. This can cause a number of problems including a drafty house and an increased vulnerability to cold-related illnesses. This is all the more true if you’ve got seniors or small children living in the home.
Notwithstanding these things, you shouldn’t worry about furnace damage due to an empty tank. Having an empty tank won’t cause any other safety issues either. Despite these things, there are still problems that can be caused by having a low heating oil supply or none at all.
If the outside temperatures are especially low, you may have a problem with freezing water pipes. When water pipes burst, they can cause a veritable slew of problems like water damages to the building structure, mold development, and expensive repairs.
After you’ve replenished your heating oil supply, your furnace will need to be set, and this is also a great time to change the furnace filter. If you run out of oil, you may have to deal with the additional inconvenience of bleeding the line. When this is the case, it’s best to have a licensed professional bleed the fuel line and restart your boiler or furnace for you.
It is important to bleed the fuel line because there are contaminants that settle down at the bottom of heating oil tanks and these can travel into the fuel lines when heating oil runs completely out. These should not be allowed to enter the heating system as they can lead to blockages and major repair issues. Due to this fact, this is a necessary service whenever the fuel oil tank runs empty.
This appointment, however, is not free so it’s important to pick a good time for your HVAC contractor to arrive. Setting an appointment for service may be something that’s hard to fit into your schedule, which is another great reason for avoiding the problem in the first place by always scheduling timely delivery of your home heating oil.
In general, you always want to fill your heating oil tank whenever it’s 25 to 30 percent full. You might even want to set up a recurring delivery schedule with your heating oil delivery service so that you’re never in danger of running out.
Finally, if your furnace needs maintenance or repairs, be sure to contact a trusted HVAC technician right away. HVAC companies can stop by your home to get you everything back to working as it should.
Tower Energy is a local heating oil supplier that offers fast, friendly, and affordable fuel deliveries. We offer different delivery plans, including will call and automatic oil deliveries. We also provide our customers with many financing options so, essentially, you can customize your oil deliveries to meet your particular needs.
Give Tower Energy a call today to find out more.
Contact us now or call us at (860) 677-7347 to find out more.
