How long does a tank of heating oil last you?

Submitted by [deleted] t3_zv8c4l in Maine

I'm just wondering what other people are experiencing. It's my first winter in our new house, about 2400 square feet. I just filled the tank in late November and I just checked...it's now at 1/4 tank 😭. It cost almost 1k to fill. Is that normal? I'm wondering if my insulation is fucked or if that's what people are paying.

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Paragonne t1_j1ns57o wrote

Get a thermal-imager ( Flir ) attachment for your phone, & go shoot every visible surface of your home, at night, & also every outer-envelope surface from the inside.

SEE where the heat is leaking out, & the cold getting in.

I'm Canadian, & have tried this kind of experiment ( on friends' homes ), & it is stunning how different the heat-loss rates can be, for different areas of the same wall, or for different windows.

Mice wreck insulation, btw...

Please break the losing-resources wrongness from your life!

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[deleted] OP t1_j1nsfq4 wrote

Thank you, this is a GREAT suggestion!

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119juniper t1_j1ntzup wrote

Oh, wow. I had no idea you could get one of those for your phone. This will save me some serious money. Thank you!

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imnotyourbrahh t1_j1nxvaq wrote

Any chance there's a device that can track how water is getting into a home? I can't figure it out!

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BonelessSugar t1_j1o7gqw wrote

Could use some sort of dry media like sawdust or chalk and cover all seams. I assume a humidity monitor device would also help narrow it down.

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OhMyDad t1_j1o9ldv wrote

Flir will also aid in finding water leaks

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Paragonne t1_j1w021z wrote

Flir can show you where a wall/roof is damp, as that part stays cooler, due to evaporation.

However, the standard method for finding leaks, cars, boats, trailers, buildings, whatever, is begin hosing at possible entry-points from the bottom, up, so that the beginning of leaking identifies which height the leak was at.

If it's taking awhile to get through a wall, though, you might want to, say, hose the lowest 1/2m of the closest-to-the-right-edge of your 4 walls, then come back in awhile, getting some other area(s), maybe keeping a rigged sprinkler going on it?

Getting the things, to stomp the leak, is important, eh?

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amidnightproject t1_j1o68kq wrote

Great idea thanks for sharing. My house is from 65 and isn’t exactly efficient. Working on that is one of my goals. If it wasn’t for the wood stove we’d be spending a fortune in oil right now.

I’m going to pick one up. Thanks for the great suggestion!

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Yourbubblestink t1_j1nzlts wrote

Efficiency Maine offers a number of incentives to homeowners, including direct rebates for things like insulation. There’s one between now and December 31st that will reimburse you for up to $100 in insulation. That’s just a complete gift, but they offer other kinds of incentive throughout the year of the larger scale.

If you’re new to the house plan to spend a few hundred dollars insulating and caulking. The FLIR camera is a great idea. An infrared point at it thermometer that cost about 20 bucks on Amazon is also how much cheaper solution.

Lastly heat is a major annual expense in Maine. Get in the habit including it in your monthly budget so you are saving for heat in July. That way you feel it less during heating season when you are spending down your credit.

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[deleted] OP t1_j1o8k4v wrote

Thank you, this was so helpful. I'm from Vermont so I'm used to cold weather, but I used to heat with a woodstove with natural gas and electric backup. I'm new to the world of heating oil.

I might have to look into hiring someone to add insulation. I don't really know anything about it, and I'm pregnant so it might not be a good time to be around caulk and insulation. I'm looking at the efficiency Maine rebates now- appreciate it!!

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Yourbubblestink t1_j1oioa4 wrote

Take Efficiency Maine up on the option to have a home energy assessment - they will cover most of the cost of the assessment and it will give you a list of priorities and a good report about where things stand. Those recommendations may give you access to other resources through efficiency maine as well.

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MonsterByDay t1_j1ntyr1 wrote

If you haven’t, put plastic over the windows/glass doors.

We have double pane windows, but the first year we sealed them, we cut our oil consumption by like 30%.

Our house is a similar size, and we’ve used under 100gal so far this winter (plus the heat pump adds about $30-50/month. We keep it at about 65.

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[deleted] OP t1_j1o7mq9 wrote

Oh that's a good idea. I'll just have to train my toddler to stay away from the windows 😅

Also, how do you like your heat pump?

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MonsterByDay t1_j1o81dc wrote

We love it. Made back the investment in like 2 years, and the AC/dehumidifier is fantastic in the summer.

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Tronbronson t1_j1num1z wrote

That seems a little fast for a tank. What temperature are you keeping it? That's going to be the most important metric. I keep my oil heat at 55 and use the pellet stove to keep that bill down. The pellet stove runs about 150$ a month and keeps the oil bill usage at like 50-100 gallons a month in the winter. I usually do 750 gallons a year ish. Attic insulation would be the first thing I check if you're losing heat.

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beenjamminfranklin t1_j1nwoxn wrote

Pellet stove is less than half cost per BTU of heat. Pretty simple install. Could pay itself off during this season. Oil baseboards still good for baseline heat. I keep mine in low 60s and pellet more on demand. They burn cleaner and mire efficient on higher settings. Check for drafts as well as others stated.

I used 90 gal in 2000 sq ft house with uninsulated crawl space in 2 month and less than half a ton of pellets.

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Kazbob48 t1_j1q3b3y wrote

I second this.

I got a steal on pellets at 4 bucks a bag the end of summer.

I burn roughly a bag per day. So 4x30 =120 per month. Way cheaper than oil and the house is actually warm.

The oil furnace is set to 55. I don't like to turn the stove on when I'm not home. We have used less than a quarter tank since November

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eigenstien t1_j1nzjib wrote

3 cords of wood for a 2400 sq ft house. Backup oil heat is 500 gallons per season. Temps run between 72-75 degrees (stove is a Jotil and it CRANKS) Wood is the way.

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exhaustedforever t1_j1nq045 wrote

I have a shit insulated house—There has been 2 deliveries, neither the 100 gal minimum (on regular fills). Maybe, 170 gallons of K-1 in a 1.5 story cape with small addition and cold AF crawl space/attic. That’s a bit over $1k so far.

I’ve also had it between 62-64 until last week’s storm and a recent guest from Florida. Set to 67 now.

I live in layers, under blankets, and always with a cap. I need a handyman.

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VegUltraGirl t1_j1o87j1 wrote

That sounds like us when we first bought our house, we quickly learned how expensive it was going to be to heat. We had to keep the house at 58 when we weren’t home and 64 when we were, it sucked. The next year we got a wood stove. 3 cords of wood for the winter and we supplement with oil. Our house is now at 68-72, we got 100 gallons delivered in November and we’ve barely used it!!

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A-roguebanana t1_j1nu4ed wrote

1600 sf cape with less than adequate insulation and domestic hw off the boiler. 3-4 weeks per 100 gallons.

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RevolutionarySock323 t1_j1nxpk6 wrote

Last year I was doing roughly 1/8 tank a week in January and February at 65 in a similar size house with hot water from a boiler mate. Hope that helps. I'm mulling over getting a couple mini splits but electricity is ramping up too and feels like I'd need a lot of solar to offset that.

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doobie042 t1_j1o8esi wrote

Walk around your house with the palm of your hand feeling for drafts. Use tape to temporarily cover any. I've used 1/8 cord of wood and 40 gallons of oil since mid November in a 3000sq ft 300 year old house. Granted I keep the oil heat to 55 and ruin the wood stove usually part of the day.

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Liberally_Armed t1_j1ofihn wrote

Are you running your hot water off of your boiler as well. We used to burn through a ton of oil before we put in a separate hot water heater. Now we barely use a single tank in a season.

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Craig3416 t1_j1nzdxi wrote

Tank a month is about normal.

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Voltron1993 t1_j1o6pv7 wrote

A quarter for each month.....in Winter. In Summer, I usually get 2-3 months for each quarter. So if I fill in Nov.....I can make it til end of Feb. Keep heat at 67 during day and 60 at night. Hot water runs off oil. House is newer....2006. 3 Bedrooms.

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[deleted] OP t1_j1o7d1i wrote

Hmmm. Is your house just really well insulated? I'm keeping mine at the same temp.

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Voltron1993 t1_j1opn4h wrote

Its newer.....built in 2006. That may make a difference in comparison to a house built pre 1980.

We do use thermal curtains and thermal roman blackout blinds on all our windows, which helps with loss of heat via windows and a sliding glass door.

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steedums t1_j1ob8gu wrote

You may want to look into mini splits

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789JUNIPER t1_j1ou7lz wrote

Yes. This. They heat the areas you need most, very quick and efficient. Imo my mini split works best for accessory heat, quick heat up etc, but is a rock star for A/C

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Capable-Broccoli2179 t1_j1rv3fm wrote

Mini splits are way to go. We have 4500 sq ft house. Built and insulated terribly. Have double oil tanks. Filled both every 6 weeks at cost of $2500 every frickin time. We went with solar farm with extra capacity on electric. Put in mini splits and now we use oil for backup only. Filled tanks once and will likely not do it again for years. Up front cost for splits and CSF was over 100k but now never an electric or oil bill ever. Still need to insulate better but oil heat sucks. Get rid of it!!

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tycam01 t1_j1py93e wrote

1400 Sq ft house and heating oil is all we use. Only have gone through 1/4 tank so far, and our heat is set at 70. Insulation was completely redone a couple years ago. We are still planning on getting a heat pump installed next summer.

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johnniecroatia t1_j1q2gx1 wrote

10 weeks. October to December for a 200 gallon tank of oil. 1400 sqft house.

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saigonk t1_j1q52da wrote

3200 square feet, I go through a tank from November to around March. House is ten years old, colonial 2x6 construction with spray in foam insulation everywhere, which is huge.

Basement is a home theater space, keep it at 60 all the time unless we plan to be down there or if we have visitors sleeping there.

First floor set to 68, goes down to 60 at 10pm until around 7am.

Upstairs is set to 69 from 6-8am, then down to 60 until around 8pm, when it’s set to 65 for an hour and a half to warm bedrooms before sleeping, then it drops back to 60.

Hot water is from our furnace, I’m sure we could use less if I separated that but it isn’t a major concern.

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dahliarose926 t1_j1q6zkn wrote

I filled mine in October and just had to fill it again last Thursday.

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9wild9 t1_j1r9rad wrote

I use about 100 gallons a month during the coldest months of the year. Seems like we are using less this year with how warm November was. I filled up my tank (275 gallons) at the end of August and it dropped below 1/4 about a week who. 1200 sq.ft house. Heat at 65 during the day and 58 at night.

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NHfordamnsure t1_j1roq4t wrote

I use about 200 gallons/month to 6 weeks for 1300 square feet

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Coffee-FlavoredSweat t1_j1x3ur1 wrote

Your useage seems about normal.

I have a 2050sqft home and we use between 4 and 5 gallons a day through the winter.

Here’s a graph of our useage over the last month

We don’t have a wood stove or heat pumps though it would be a nice addition some day, but we still keep the temperature at 72, because I didn’t mortgage a $300,000 house just so I could feel like I was living outside.

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