So it has been many years since I have lived in New England and when I did I never had to deal with oil so I have zero point of reference for this which is why i am asking here....

My Dad has a standard sized tank (275?) and is somewhat frugal about his use of heat but just told me he needs to get tank filled when I know he had it filled around Thanksgiving because I was there...does this seem soon/excessive to anyone?

How many square feet is the house? 1 or 2 story? How well is the house insulated?

When he had it filled at Thanksgiving was it filled to capacity or just a minimum amount?

Also is it now close to empty or at 30-50% and looking ahead?

If it wasn't completely full and is just getting low now his actual usage may only be 100-150 gals.

I used fuel oil in southern Indiana for about 10 years. My tank was a 1000 gal underground and I used 600-800 gallons per winter to heat a 2400 sq ft home.

Thanks for the input thus far....answers to some questions:

House is single story with non heated basement and back is floor to ceiling glass

Had it filled in November and claims it is empty now

Not sure on thermostat but I know I freeze my ass off every time i go home

I don't think it's unusual but it depends on what he keeps the thermostat at and how cold a winter it's been up there. My ex wife used to love to keep the thermostats turned up in our old house and we would burn through a good 200 gallons a month in the dead of winter. Tanks are rarely run down to empty, 25-50 gallons left is usually when a lot of folks refill.

Sounds like he is due. Dont know where in New England but found this hope it helps https://tevisenergy.com/blog-h...my-heating-oil-last/

Doesn't sound off the mark. Lots of variables obviously, but that doesn't sound way too soon to me based on my own use.

A friend made a living as an environmental engineer, remediating various local heating oil fuel tanks that leaked. There could be a leak in an older tank, due to rust, frost heaves, whatever. So, one might want to sample the soil near the tank, very quietly, without raising an alarm, just to make sure. Remediation is not cheap.

don't know about up there but down here in the south you don't want to run one empty... especially the ones on the outside of the house exposed to the weather (which I assume is not the case in NH.) run one of those down to empty and you such the water from condensation in the tank into the lines and furnace.... bad thing.

A 2,000 square foot modern home that runs single sotry temps at around 65 in the northeast could expect to burn about 5-6 gsllons of oil daily in Dec-March.

Just a starting point for you.

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
I used 600-800 gallons per winter to heat a 2400 sq ft home.

Gawd I love living in KY. I was just a little upset with my utility bill last week that was $156 for both gas and electric. The upsetting part was it was the 2nd month over $150 instead of the more normal sub $100 that it'd been running. Yeah, I freeze a bit because the wife keeps the thermostat set at 68 in the fall and winter.

I wonder how a fixed income person could live with spending thousands on heat each year. I have an idea, vote for a liberal to bring back inflation. If I lived near the Artic circle, I'd move.

Oil heat is a terrible idea. Its not cheap, clean, or without smell. I have gas. I fart a lot, but its cheap to heat.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
A friend made a living as an environmental engineer, remediating various local heating oil fuel tanks that leaked. There could be a leak in an older tank, due to rust, frost heaves, whatever. So, one might want to sample the soil near the tank, very quietly, without raising an alarm, just to make sure. Remediation is not cheap.

Meh, just weld a patch. What could go wrong?

Sounds about right. I had my tank filled that same week and I bought oil today, at 1/4 tank. But I'm heating a small apartment and keep it at 62.

not only does it not seem excessive, it seems just the opposite. If you really want to check and he has been using the same oil delivery company they can tell you his consumption rate in the past if you call. But I burn greater than 500g/month but live in an old house. If its low fill it. running out is expensive since you usually need a service call to reprime the pump and whatever extra they charge for a non scheduled delivery so you don't freeze.
For the record I seriously doubt its leaking given the time to empty, but if it was you simply cannot "quietly" sample near the tank in any State in NE. You are required to report it and depending on the State a timely report will get you financial coverage on the remediation.

That doesn’t seem excessive to me.

I was going through almost 3 tankfuls (275 gal tank, usually filled to 250 gal) each heating season in my house in PA, before I switched to natural gas.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
A friend made a living as an environmental engineer, remediating various local heating oil fuel tanks that leaked. There could be a leak in an older tank, due to rust, frost heaves, whatever. So, one might want to sample the soil near the tank, very quietly, without raising an alarm, just to make sure. Remediation is not cheap.

I seriously doubt that a 275gal tank is buried.
Thats what the house in Mass. had where I grew up, and it was in the basement, adjacent to the boiler. A leak would have been quickly detected....

I have had 2 refills this year. Sounds about right to me.

Bob

Massachusetts gives heating cost estimates for the winter every year.

You can find it here.

https://www.mass.gov/info-deta...ption-for-each-fuel-

quote:

My Dad has a standard sized tank (275?) and is somewhat frugal about his use of heat but just told me he needs to get tank filled when I know he had it filled around Thanksgiving because I was there...does this seem soon/excessive to anyone?

I wish!

We keep our thermostat at 62 and burn hardwood in the kitchen woodstove. I use between 800 and 1000 gallons of "heating oil" actually off road diesel per year. I would recommend that your father contact a local company and get on a schedule so as to remove any chance of running out at a bad time. The guys who fill ours have been filling it for 70 years. They know when to come based on temps and usage from previous years. The tank rarely gets below 70 gallons remaining.

On a side note, our house originally had two 500 gallon tanks buried in the yard that we had removed when we bought the place!