Oil furnace question(s)

[vook]

I have an older oil furnace in my home. This year I have been burning an unusual amount of oil. I've got it figured out to over 200 gallons a month roughly.

I've never went through this amount of oil in many years since I have owned the house. The tank is a 500 gallon and it is under ground... I realize that since it's older that it is not the most efficient unit in the world but this is killing my wallet! Since winter began, I've put over 900 gallons in the tank and @ 2.50/gallon...

So, anyone have any ideas on why this is happening now? Is there any things that I should look at replacing? I had it cleaned/inspected a couple years ago, it has a new filter in it as well.

Nozzle? Hole in tank? (god forbid) whatcha think? Oh, I keep it at around 62 deg. all the time...

Thanks,

Vook

[Eric Wettschreck]

Does your house feel any warmer? I ask as the controls may be faulty. i.e.- bad thermostat causing furnace to run more. If it ran a lot more your house would feel much warmer.

Is there any type of flow meter on the fuel line to the burner? If so you can bounce the flow numbers against the gallons you're adding to the tank.

If the tanks been underground for many years, and it's steel, the chances it's leaking are very good. I know it's spendy but you should really get that checked out.

[vook]

Thanks for the reply. No, it doesn't run any more than usual and he house doesn't feel any warmer... Like I said, it's the first winter this has happened. I guess my best bet is probably to eat it this winter and replace the oil furnace w/propane. Nat. gas isn't an option out here in the sticks...

Digging up the tank and all that b.s. included, I'd probably be better off to buy a more efficient propane furnace and just go that route I guess.

[BobT]

I assume you've had the furnace checked to be sure it's burning efficiently. All else being equal I'm thinking a tank leak.

[jentz]

Back when oil burinng furnacesses were norm, It seem I would go thruough 200 per month. I have a neighbor this spring went to propane just for that reason,He was in the 200-225 gals per month.

Got to remember our winters have been fairly warm recently,This one is pretty much colder

[harvey lee]

I would have the tank checked out.

[Tom7227]

Can you contact your oil dealer and get some data from them about how this winter compares to prior winters? They must have a number of folks on some sort of auto fill program so they'd have an idea on what you could expect to have used. Wind and temp can make a big difference. Hope it isn't a leak cause that can get pricey to deal with if you follow the rules (at least it is here in Minnesota).

[harvey lee]

You can figure out if this winter is worse than last by checking out the Degree Days. An average winter season is like 7800 degree days.

When we owned some bulks plant for fuel oil delivery and we kept people houses tanks filled automatic, the degree days is how we calculated the amount used in a tank.

It works great.

What is the percenatge of increase of consumption you had this season so far Vook?

Also, whats the name of your town you reside in or the are code?

I believe I can figure your consuption out for you for this year compared to last.

I am going to guess its not a usage issue.

[icehousebob]

You might ask your oil supplier if there is any way to have your tank pressure tested to check for a leak. It would mean being without heat for the length of the test but its worth exploring. It would be a lot less trouble than digging it up. We've pressure tested different types of tanks here in the boiler room/plant operations where I work.