Are there different grades of heating oil?

J.C.A._3

There aren't really different grades of oil, but different additive packages that the particular oil company ADDS to their fuel.

The price difference will be in the service intervals....and the TIME it takes for service with the different additives.

Full service companies, for the most part....know this and have focused on their additives. They find the one that works for them and stick with it. Initially it COULD mean lots of service calls because of certain "stuffs" being removed or released from their customers tanks....but in the long term works out to far less calls due to tank problems.

Premium Fuel is a misnomer. Premium fuel packages do and will work, if the customer sticks with it. Not JMHO. Chris

Gary_27

Are there different grades of #2 heating oil? I hear all sorts of tales about how this dealers oil will plug your filters or that dealers oil will have you changing nozzles weekly. A lot of people say that the oil companies selling for less are getting the cheaper grade of fuel oil. Is there any truth to this?....Thanks for any replies.

ChasMan

Hmmmm

This is no doubt true. Just like one gas station vs another. And it probably varies batch to batch. I don't know how you would prove it though without an array of Analytical Instruments.

Paul Fredricks_9

I don't think it has to do with grades of fuel oil. It may have more to do with what was in the customers tank. Picture this: A customer has a 20 year old tank and gets a delivery. Then their filters plug up. Had to be the oil company's fault? Or could it be that the sludge was in their tank and it just made to the outlet of the tank. Or the tank was lower than usual so the delivery stirred the tank a bit. I've also heard of deliveries with a bit of water in them which came from the terminal (salt water used as ballast in shipping tankers).

Of course I suppose there are companies that have dirty storage tanks, but my guess is that that is the rare exception, not the rule.

Keith_38

It all comes from a central pool. Gas station gasoline is guaranteed by federal law to be identical. The only difference between certain brands of gasoline may be a pint of detergent added to a 10,000 gallon tank.

Same goes for fuel oil. All the oil in America comes from central refineries and it's all the same grade. The only way that there would be a difference is if the dealer had contamination on his end. Bacteria, sludge, water, or solid debris in his hoses, trucks, or tanks.

The point is buy oil based on either the COD price or the extent of their service contract. Don't worry about oil quality.

burnerman_2

bad advice

where are you guys getting your info.our company started using an additive and i guarentee you our service calls decreaced and i noticed the filters seem cleaner. yes true oil comes from a central point and most even share loadind bulkplants but the after market additive does make a difference. and reg. service if harry homeowner gets his boiler/furnace tuned up every 10 years he is asking for trouble. royboy

Darrell

In this area last winter one of the oil peddlers was delivering heating oil...ultra-low sulphur heating oil. The other peddler was delivering Jet-A which he got cheaper but was selling at the going price. The ultra-low gave us some real fits for a couple of months...unstable, no lubrisity, wax sepration below zero, etc. while the Jet-A did what it always does...it just worked. 'Course the point can be made that the one dealer was doing right by the environment and the other was not.

Not all delivered products are created equal.

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World Plumber

Oil Problems

Most of your troubles come from the way it is handled. Those who pick up at the terminal and deliver to your home in the same truck run the chance of getting water in your tank. Some dealers have old in ground tanks and will pull out of it right after or during a delievey. You run the chance of getting all kinds of junk. Most of the dealers with a reputation for good fuel have multiple tanks and will not pull from them for delivery for at least 24 hours after a fuel drop into them. This gives all the sedement and water if any time to settle out and allows them to pump the water off the bottom. Funny how some dealers are drawing water off the bottom every week. And never get any complants. While other dealers don't even check their tanks for water.
Also I recomend treating tanks when they get to be 7 to 8 years old and on. Once sludge starts to form on the inside of the tank. Filling the tank can cause it to peal off the sides and slide down over the valve inlet. The pump then sucks it into the line and the problems begin. Often it's just poor combustion to begin with Causing the system to soot up and cause excess consumption. The lower pump pressures due to the incresed suction pressure. Change all your combustion settings. If your finding a slimmy coating on the filters get treating the tanks. I find Super Heat works the best. If you have a Suntec pump. Make sure you check the strainer.

mtfallsmikey

Also...

Keep the tank FULL...kepps out condensation inside the tank..not a sermon, just a thought.