Those who heat with oil - can you give me some advice please? We

[MJN]

have lived in this house for one year. We heat with oil and gas logs. When we moved in, we bought a huge tank of oil for $2.24/gal and it cost us $410.00. We've been skimpy and made it last until now. It's getting low, but we still have some in the tank. It's getting warm here, so we won't be using it much and can probably make it through the rest of the season. I just called to see what the price is and it's $3.74/gal. She told me now is not a good time to buy oil and to wait until summer. BUT, I'm scared it's going to go higher and with the farmers using it around here, won't that make the price go up. I don't want to pay MORE than I would if I went ahead and got it today. BUT I also don't need any until next October. She said to watch the crude oil prices in the morning news and if it or car gas goes down, to call her. I don't see car gas going down til next fall, do you? I've got the money to pay for it now since we have our tax refund, but I sure don't want to have to pay more later, kwim? So, what would you recommend?

 

Many thanks!

[Adrianne]

The price does go down (gas is somewhat different from heating oil) somewhat in the summer. We belong to an "oil co-op" of sorts and the man who runs it calls around the end of June (I think). If I remember for the past 2 summers we did really well. I would not buy oil right now unless you are running out as the prices are high. :banghead:

 

You can always get some now and some later to see how it goes. I would also call around and talk to other companies. Oil prepay tends to save money also.

 

Good luck! I know how you feel!! We keep our house at 66 during the day and 56 at night. We go through about one full tank (500 gal) a year. Our water is also heated by oil. It stinks!!!

[MJN]

bump

[JABarney]

Prices almost always go down in the summer compared to end of season heating prices. We live in Vermont and are in a similar situation as yours. We will be wearing layers and using less as it is getting warmer. I would never spend the money this time of year as many people do a prebuy at the end of summer. One suggestion that has worked for us in the past (do not know where we went wrong this year) is to purchase more than we think we might use. That way we get any extra credited to our account at the end of the season and do not have to buy at market prices this time of year.

HTH!

[Julpost]

I'm in Vermont too and I've been testing "how low can we go?" We were at 64 during the day, we'll probably stay there but I'm going to test turning the heat down to 60 at night. I hadn't thought of that. I started off having the heat at 70 and man, we just burned through the oil. But we had a baby so I didn't want him to get cold. Now that he's almost a year old, I'm willing to see how much we can save. I wear socks and slippers and multiple layers during the day now. Since I've turned the heat down, I don't hardly see a change in the gauge anymore. I used to see a change every single day! What a difference a few degrees makes! Unfortunately, we are at 1/4 tank so we are going to have to buy some more oil. Maybe I should have the tank filled during the summer-that's a very good idea!

 

I went to the library today, it was so warm, I was burning up! The librarian was wearing a short sleeve polo!

[amary]

Yep, prices go down in the summer and those of us that are in cold climates lock in at that point. Search online for when prices are usually the lowest, I think it's around July.