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HEATING SYSTEMS

AFUE DEFINITION, RATINGS
AGE of CHIMNEYS & FIREPLACES
AGE of AIR CONDITIONERS & HEAT PUMPS
AGE of FOUNDATION MATERIALS
AGE of FRAMING MATERIALS
AGE of FLOORING MATERIALS
AGE of ELECTRICAL WIRING
AGE of HEATERS, BOILERS, FURNACES
AGE of WATER HEATERS
AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS

AIR HANDLER / BLOWER UNITS
AIRBOUND HEAT SYSTEM REPAIRS
ANODES & DIP TUBES on WATER HEATERS
ANTI SCALD VALVES
APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS
ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings

BACKDRAFTING HEATING EQUIPMENT
BACKFLOW PREVENTER VALVE, HEATING SYS
BACKFLOW PREVENTER, HEATER WATER FEEDER
BACKUP HEAT for HEAT PUMPS
BANGING HEATING PIPES RADIATORS
BAROMETRIC DAMPERS
BASEBOARD HEAT

BIOGAS PRODUCTION & USE
BLEVE EXPLOSIONS
BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION
BLOWER FAN CONTINUOUS OPERATION
BLOWER FAN OPERATION & TESTING
BLUE vs YELLOW COMBUSTION FLAMES
BLUERAY Recall

BOILERS, HEATING
BOILER LEAKS CORROSION STAINS
BOILER LEAKS, HOW TO LOCATE
BOILER NOISE SMOKE ODORS
BOILER OPERATING PROBLEMS
BOILER OPERATION DETAILS
BOILER PRESSURE & TEMPERATURE SETTINGS
BOOKSTORE - InspectAPedia
BUILDING SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE

CAPACITORS for HARD STARTING MOTORS
CAR MOLD CONTAMINATION
CARBON DIOXIDE - CO2
CARBON MONOXIDE - CO
CARBON MONOXIDE WARNING

CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR
CHIMNEYS & Flues - Asbestos Transite Pipe
CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS
CIRCULATOR PUMPS & RELAYS
COOL OFF HEAT, Thermostat Switch

COMBUSTION AIR
COMBUSTION AIR for TIGHT buildings
COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ
COMPLETE COMBUSTION, Stoichiometric
CONDENSING BOILERS/FURNACES
CONDENSING BOILERS/FURNACES DAMAGE
CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS
CREOSOTE FIRE HAZARDS

DEFINITION of Heating & Cooling Terms
DIAGNOSE & FIX AIR CONDITIONER / HEAT PUMP
DIAGNOSE & FIX HEATING PROBLEMS-BOILER
DIAGNOSE & FIX HEATING PROBLEMS-FURNACE
DIRECT VENTS / SIDE WALL VENTS
DIRECTORY of OIL TANK EXPERTS

DRAFT HOODS - gas fired
DRAFT MEASUREMENT, CHIMNEYS & FLUES
DRAFT REGULATORS, DAMPERS, BOOSTERS
DUCT SYSTEM & DUCT DEFECTS
DUST CONTAMINATION FROM HVAC?

ELECTRIC HEAT, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR
ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE
ELECTRIC MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH
ELECTRICAL POWER SWITCH FOR HEAT
ENERGY SAVINGS in buildings
EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEMS

FAN, AIR HANDLER BLOWER UNIT
FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch
FAN, COMPRESSOR/CONDENSER UNIT
FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS
FAN LIMIT SWITCH
FAN NOISES

FILTERS, AIR for HVAC SYSTEMS
FILTERS, OIL on HEATING EQUIPMENT

FIRE SAFETY CONTROLS
FIREPLACES & HEARTHS
FLAME COLOR, BLUE vs YELLOW COMBUSTION
FLOODED HEATING EQUIPMENT REPAIR

FLUE VENT CONNECTORS
FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING
FUEL OIL TYPES & CHARACTERISTICS
FUEL UNIT, HEATING OIL PUMPS

FURNACES, HEATING
FURNACE CONTROLS & SWITCHES
FURNACE EFFICIENCY, HIGH vs MID
FURNACE HEAT EXCHANGER LEAKS
FURNACE OPERATION DETAILS
FURNACE OPERATING TEMPERATURES

GALVANIC SCALE & METAL CORROSION
GAS BURNER Flame & Noise Defects
GAS FIRED WATER HEATERS
GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS
GAUGES ON HEATING EQUIPMENT
GEOTHERMAL HEATING SYSTEMS

HEAT EXCHANGER LEAKS
HEAT LOSS in buildings
HEAT LOSS DETECTION TOOLS
HEAT LOSS INDICATORS
HEAT LOSS PREVENTION PRIORITIES
HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION
HEAT PUMPS, DiAGNOSIS, REPAIR
HEAT TAPES & CABLES on Roofs for Ice Dams
HEATING COST FUEL & BTU Cost Table
HEATING COST SAVINGS METHODS
HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-BOILERS
HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-FURNACES
HEATING OIL CLOUD WAX GEL POINT
HEATING OIL EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS
HEATING OIL - OLD, USEABLE?
HEATING OIL PIPING TROUBLES
HEATING OIL SHELF LIFE
HEATING OIL SLUDGE
HEATING OIL TANKS
HEATING OIL USAGE RATE
HEATING SMALL LOADS
HEATING SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR
HEATING SYSTEM NOISES
HEATING SYSTEM SERVICE & MAINTENANCE
HEATING SYSTEM TYPES
HIGH EFFICIENCY BOILERS/FURNACES
HOT WATER HEATERS
HOT WATER IMPROVEMENT
HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET

ICE DAM PREVENTION
INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT

LP & Natural Gas Safety Hazards

MANUALS & PARTS GUIDES - HVAC
METHANE GAS SOURCES
MIXING / ANTI-SCALD VALVES
MIX VALVE SCALD PROTECTION, Best Practices
MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH

Natural Gas Combustion
NO HEAT - BOILER
NO HEAT - FURNACE
NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE
NOISE AIR CONDITIONER / HEAT PUMP
NOISE, DUCT VIBRATION DAMPENERS
NOISE, HEATING SYSTEMS
NOISE, PLUMBING
NOISE, WATER HEATER

ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE
ODORS FROM HEATING SYSTEMS

OIL BURNERS
OIL BURNER FUEL UNIT
OIL BURNER INSPECTION & REPAIR
OIL BURNER NOISE SMOKE ODORS
OIL BURNER NOZZLE & ELECTRODES
OIL BURNERS, RETENTION HEAD
OIL BURNER SOOT & PUFFBACKS

OIL FILTERS on HEATING EQUIPMENT
OIL FILTER MISSING
OIL FUEL TYPES & CHARACTERISTICS
OIL & GAS PIPING
OIL LINE CLOGGING FIX
OIL LINE QUICK STOP VALVES
OIL LINE SAFETY VALVES
OIL ODORS, LEAKY OIL TANK PIPING
OIL PUMP FUEL UNIT
OIL SPILL CLEANUP / PREVENTION

OIL TANKS
OIL TANK ABANDONING PROCEDURE
OIL TANKS, BURIED
OIL TANK GAUGES
OIL TANK INSPECTION REPORTS
OIL TANK LEAKS & SMELLS

OIL TANK PIPING & PIPING DEFECTS
OIL TANK WATER REMOVAL

PLASTIC HEATER VENT
PULSE COMBUSTION HEATERS
PASCAL CALCULATIONS

RADIANT BARRIERS
RADIANT HEAT
RADIANT HEAT Floor Mistakes to Avoid
RADIANT HEAT TEMPERATURES
RADIANT SLAB FLOORING CHOICES
RADIANT SLAB TUBING & FLUID CHOICES

RADIATORS
RELIEF VALVES - TP Valves on Boilers
RELIEF VALVES - STEAM TP VALVES
RELIEF VALVES - Water Heaters
RELIEF VALVES - Water Tanks

Reset Switch - Heater Primary Control
Reset Switch Broken - Quick Repair
Reset Switch - Electric Motors
Reset Switch - Stack Relays

SAFETY HAZARDS & INSPECTIONS
SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE
SAFETY, HEATING INSPECTION
SAFETY,HOME HEATING TIPS
Safety Recalls, Chimneys, Vents, Heaters
SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS
SOLAR HEATING SYSTEM DESIGNS

SOOT on OIL FIRED HEATING EQUIPMENT
SPILL SWITCHES - Flue Gas Detection
SPLIT SYSTEM AIR CONDITIONERS & HEAT PUMPS
STACK RELAY SWITCHES

STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS
STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS

TANKLESS COILS
THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS
THERMAL MASS in buildings
THERMAL TRACKING & HEAT LOSS

THERMOSTATS, HEATING / COOLING
THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES
Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues

VIDEO GUIDES: Heating System Videos
VIDEO GUIDES - InspectAPedia.com

WATER HEATERS
WATER HEATER SAFETY
WATER HEATERS for HOME HEATING USE?
WATER HEATER NOISES
WATER HEATER SCALE - De-Liming Procedure
WATER HEATER SCALE PREVENTION
WATER SOFTENERS & CONDITIONERS
WINTERIZE A BUILDING
WOOD, COAL STOVES & FIREPLACES

ZONE VALVES

More Information

Heating oil tank gauge (C) Daniel Friedman Heating Oil Usage Rate: How Long Will Tank of Oil Last?
InspectAPedia®  -      

  • How do I find the rate at which my heating equipment is using-up heating oil?
  • How long you can heat your building with a known amount of heating oil in the tank
  • How to determine how fast your heating oil consumption is likely to empty the heating oil tank
  • How to find and read the oil tank gauge
  • Types of oil tank gauges to measure how much oil is in the oil tank
  • Questions & answers about how to determine the rate at which home heating oil will be consumed

How to determine the rate of home heating oil consumption: This article describes how long you can heat your building with a known amount of heating oil in the tank, or how to determine how fast your heating oil consumption is likely to empty the heating oil tank. If your oil fired heating boiler, warm air furnace, or water heater has stopped working, one of the first things to check is whether or not you've run out of fuel. If your oil tank is above ground indoors or outside it should have a fuel level gauge installed similar to the one shown in our photo.

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How Quickly Is My Heating System Using Up Oil in the Oil Storage Tank?

Heating oil tank gauge (C) Daniel FriedmanQuestion: How long will a quarter of a tank of heating oil last?

Also see HEATING COST SAVINGS METHODS and OIL TANK GAUGES.

The thermostat and the temperature in my house is always kept at 68 degF.

If my oil tank gauge reading is 1/4 of a tank, how long will that last???

We have no other heating source, ( I'm comfortable).

Betty

Reply: It Depends ..

We cannot answer accurately how long your quarter of a tank of heating oil will keep your home heated from just the information you provided, but we can list the facts you'd need to know and how you could estimate or find out the answer:

What Determines How Long a Tank of Oil Will Last?

How long a tank or part of a tank of heating oil will last at a building depends on the following variables:

  • The size of the oil tank and how much oil it contains at the time that you ask this question. You said that your oil tank gauge was at 1/4 full. If the oil tank were a perfect rectangle, that would mean that if your tank was a 500 gallon tank, you have 1/4 x 500 or 125 gallons of oil remaining. But since oil tanks are often oval in cross section or round, the oil tank gauge is not precise, and it is giving the accurate reading of how much oil is in the tank only at 3 points: when the oil tank is full, half full, and empty. Details are at OIL TANK GAUGES.
  • The setting of the room thermostat - setting to a higher temperature makes a big increase in the rate at which heating oil will be consumed. See THERMOSTATS.
  • The outdoor temperature - colder outside temperatures increase the rate of heating oil consumption if other factors listed here remain unchanged. Because outdoor temperature varies widely during the day and season, oil companies use a better measurement, heating degree days (HDD), that describes the heating load that your heating system will have to meet.

    Heating degree days or HDD are defined using a base temperature at which it is assumed that no heat would be required, typically 65 degF. or 60 degF. For an accurate HDD measurement, the observer records the outdoor temperature minute by minute, or every half hour; but some computations simply use the average temperature for a given period. The average outdoor temperature for a given period (one degree day) is subtracted from the base temperature (say 65 degF). If (65-Avg.Temp) = 0) then that was a "zero" degree day and no heat was required. If (65-Avg.Temp) is greater than zero, that number represents the number of heating degree days for that period.
  • Outdoor wind conditions - wind significantly increases the rate of heat loss from a building, depending on building insulation and draftiness. Omitting wind consideration is a shortcoming of simplistic use of HDD or heating degree days to figure heating load.
  • Building insulation level - how well the building is insulated is a major factor in determining its rate of heat loss and thus its rate of heating fuel consumption. See INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT.
  • Building air tightness - a drafty building loses heat significantly faster than a tight building, even if the drafty building is "insulated". See AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS and AIR LEAK SEALING PROCEDURE.
  • Oil burner nozzle size in GPH (gallons per hour) of oil delivery - oil burner nozzles deliver oil into the oil burner combustion chamber in a very fine spray to aid in combustion. Every oil fired heating appliance includes a data plate that includes the range of oil burner nozzle sizes or flow rates that will work properly for that appliance. Typically residential heating oil burner nozzles deliver oil at rates from .65 gph for a small or highly efficient system to 2 gph for an older or larger capacity (in BTUs) heating appliance. Details about selecting the proper oil burner nozzle are at A Total Look at Oil Burner Nozzles provided courtesy of Delavan.
  • Oil burner fuel unit pumping pressure: oil burner nozzle sizes assume that oil is being delivered to the nozzle at a particular pressure, say 100 psi or 125 psi. If your heating oil technician has changed the oil delivery pressure then the oil delivery rate of the nozzle will also be changed accordingly. Oil burner nozzle companies such as Delavan and others provide charts of oil burner nozzle patterns and size recommendations for different oil burner models and pressure rates.

    For example, according to Delavan's "Fuel Nozzles for Oil Burners", the following simple equation and example relates oil flow rate and oil burner fuel unit pumping pressure when a 1.00 GPH oil burner nozzle calibrated for 100 psi is used at 125 psi of oil delivery:

        F125 = 100 * (125/100).5 = 1.12 GPH
  • Oil burner efficiency and state of tune - the efficiency of your heating equipment can vary widely by design, from say 65% efficient for an old antiquated out of tune oil burner, to better than 95 % efficient for a high efficiency heating system that is properly tuned. Just cleaning and tuning the heating system alone makes a huge difference. When we were in that business we found that we could improve an old oil burner's efficiency rating from a start of 68% up to 78% or better by cleaning and careful tuning and oil nozzle selection. That's 10 absolute percentage points, or a 14.7% improvement in heating efficiency. See OIL BURNER INSPECTION & REPAIR.

    Heating system efficiency numbers can be defined as the portion of each dollar that you spend on heat actually delivers heat into the building as opposed to sending it up the chimney or flue. A heating system that is 85% efficient means that for every dollar that you spend on heating fuel, 85 cents of that dollar sends heat into the building and 15 cents of that dollar goes up the chimney as waste.
  • Oil burner cycling rate - it's a bit more subtle, but most heating systems take a few minutes after start-up to reach peak operating efficiency. So if your heating oil burner is turning on and off rapidly (short cycling) you are wasting energy and the controls may not be set properly.
  • Other building heating energy efficiency factors - see ENERGY SAVINGS in buildings

How to Make a Rough Guess at How Long the Oil Tank Will Last

You can make a very rough guess by noting how many minutes per hour or day your oil burner is running. Oil burners use a spray nozzle that delivers oil at some flow rate in gallons per hour, typically on a home, around .8 to 1.7 gallons per hour.

On your boiler or furnace will be a data tag that gives the maximum recommended flow rate in gallons per hour. With the gallons per hour (GPH) and minutes of run time you are observing you can multiply GPH x (minutes of on time per day / 60 minutes per hour) = number of gallons of oil being consumed a day.

Of course this varies widely as weather and temperatures and house leaks vary, as we outlined just above.

So if you know your oil tank size (say 500 gallons) you can make a very rough guess at how much oil is in the oil tank - say 125 gallons. I'd round down to 100 to be on the safe side since the tank is probably round or oval.

Example of Calculation of Days Supply of Heating Oil Remaining in an Oil Storage Tank

G = Gallons of oil remaining the tank

GPH = oil consumption rate when the oil burner is running, in gallons per hour - the largest number on your oil heater's data plate, or the actual GPH number for the oil burner nozzle actually installed on your oil burner (usually this is smaller than the data tag maximum)

MPH = minutes per hour that your oil burner is running, averaged over 24 hours per day, from observation

GPD = (GPH x MPH / 60) = gallons of heating oil used per day

Here is an example using some sample numbers: 100 gallons of oil in the oil tank and a 1 GPM oil burner nozzle.

G=100 gallons of heating oil in the tank

GPH = oil burner nozzle deliver rate in gallons per hour (from data tag on oil heater or number stamped on oil burner nozzle)

MPH = 15 minutes per hour that the oil burner is actually firing (from observation)

30 (minutes of "burner on time" per hour) x 24 (hours in a day) = 720 minutes of burner on time per day

GPD = 1 (GPH) x (720 (burner on time per day) / 60 (minutes per hour)) = 12 gallons of oil used per day.

100 G (gallons of oil in the tank) / 6 (gallons of oil used per day) = 8 days of heating oil supply remaining

Watch out: calculating the number of days of heat that oil in your tank can provide is very rough, since outdoor temperatures, wind, and other conditions keep changing. Bottom line: if your oil tank shows 1/4 full or less and it's during the heating season, you ought to call your oil company and ask for a delivery soon.

In an emergency if you are out or almost out of heating oil and your oil company can't make a delivery soon enough, the oil company can send a technician who can bring a 5-gallon container of oil to pour into your heating oil tank, or you can yourself purchase diesel fuel (in an emergency only) at a gas station and use that.

If you run out of heating oil, re-starting the oil burner may require a service call from your heating company as it may be necessary to bleed air out of the oil piping in order to properly re-start the oil burner.

Extreme danger: Double watch out: if you are purchasing fuel to use in your heating oil tank, be sure it's heating oil or in an emergency, diesel fuel or kerosene. If you put other flammables into your heating oil tank you are likely to blow up the building and kill everyone.

Your Oil Company Knows How Long Your Oil Tank Will Last

If you are on automatic oil delivery the question of how long the oil tank will last is easier to answer - your oil company will have computerized data showing your home's oil consumption rate as a function of "degree days" - a rough measure of how many hours at what outdoor temperature your home is being exposed to winter weather. They can tell you your home's energy consumption rate more accurately.

How Much Oil is in the Oil Tank (if no gauge is installed)?

Probing a buried oil tank (C) Daniel FriedmanYour oil company can provide a stick, a folding rule, or even a string and weight that can be placed into an oil tank to locate the bottom of the tank and to determine the level of oil in the tank.

The depth of the oil in the tank is measured by marking the top of the tank on the stick or oil tank gauge, then placing the stick into the oil tank and withdrawing it. The oil level seen on the stick is compared with the distance from bottom of the stick (bottom of the oil tank) to top of the oil tank (which we marked on the stick).

In the old days people kept an oil tank stick that was already marked and calibrated to tell them how much oil was in their tank. Today if we use a folding measuring rule or a generic "stick" to "stick the oil tank" to check oil level, we need to know the volume and shape of the tank as well as the depth of oil on the stick in order to calculate the number of gallons in the oil tank accurately.

In the photo our client is discovering a surprise buried oil tank at a farm we were inspecting.

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HEATING OIL USAGE RATE

  • Scully Signal Company, 70 Industrial Way, Wilmington MA 01887-0588, Tel: 617-729-7510 or 800-272-8559, Email: sales@scully.com
  • A Total Look at Oil Burner Nozzles, available from Delavan Fuel Metering Products, a reference guide for oil burner service technicians, Delavan Spray Technologies, Fuel Metering Products Division, PO Box 969, Bamberg SC 29003, Tel: 800-982-6943 or 803-245-4347, ( Delavan is a division of BF Goodrich); web search 12/30/2010, original source: http://www.delavaninc.com/pdf/total_look.pdf
    Note & disclosure: when we (DF) were servicing oil burner equipment, Delavan nozzles gave us such excellent results, especially using hollow cone spray patterns in solving combustion problems, that this brand was our standard stock-item on our truck. Other brands of oil burner nozzles are of course also of excellent quality. It is the proper matching of nozzle size and type and spray pattern to the equipment that is critical.
  • Fuel Nozzles for Oil Burners, Technical Aspects of Applications, E. O. Olson, Chief Engineer (deceased)
    Delavan Fuel Metering Products Operation, Bamberg, South Carolina, Delavan Fuel Metering Products, a reference guide for oil burner service technicians, Delavan Spray Technologies, Fuel Metering Products Division, PO Box 969, Bamberg SC 29003, Tel: 800-982-6943 or 803-245-4347, ( Delavan is a division of BF Goodrich); web search 12/30/2010, original source: http://www.delavaninc.com/pdf/Fuel_Nozzles_for_Burners.PDF

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