Anyone haul their own Heating Oil?

[SwampSurvivor]

When we bought the house in the spring, the tank was 3/4 full. Sellers didn't charge us for the fuel in the tank - so that's a win.

The local fuel oil supplier won't deliver for less than 100 gallons. We still don't need 100 gallons of fuel.

I called them the other day and the current price is $6.89 for blended fueloil delivered with 100 gallon minimum. Diesel and Kerosene are both right aroud $5.50 a gallon locally. That's going to save me literal hundreds over the winter if I get myself.

Originally I was going to just get 10 or so gallons at a time. One can of kero, one can of diesel. But that would take some time. A friend suggested getting a 55 gallon drum and doing myself. Sttarted to look into that and apparently it's legal for me to haul up to 110 gallons at a time.

I got an empty NEW motor oil barrel. I am thinking of strapping it on a pallet on the back of my small trailer and running to the pumps and buying 25 gallons of each at a time then coming home and pumping into the tank .

Anyone else do this?

 

[Rob_Roy]

No. In my area it is unusual to get a better price at the pump than you can get via home delivery. Any savings is likely due to fluctuations in pricing that won’t last for long. I would call around and see if you can do better on the delivery price.

The risk of spill when hauling your own fuel is not insignificant.

 

[IndyIan]

One neighbor does add dyed diesel to their furnace tank, which kind of makes it worthwhile I guess? I think I would just make a prop for a 5 gal jug so you can just set it up to drain into the tank without holding the jug and just run 10-20 gal in every week or so?

 

[jhellwig]

Dont use a regular barrel. There are tanks to put in the back of a truck meant for doing this.

 

[BeerCan]

Dont use a regular barrel. There are tanks to put in the back of a truck meant for doing this.

This. It's what I do for diesel around my place, I buy it 100 gallons at a time. I have a John Dow 100 gallon, but there are all kinds if you look.
It's diesel but you should still be safe and try and do it with the correct tools.

 

[dlundblad]

Diesel shortages could be coming.

I’d just fill your tank now and be done with it. Fill your tank and whatever cans you have.

 

[Skippy722]

Diesel shortages could be coming.

I’d just fill your tank now and be done with it. Fill your tank and whatever cans you have.

Yep…

but I wouldn’t be comfortable with an oil barrel on a trailer, the in bed transfer tank is a good option though.

 

[Delta]

I've been filling my tank 10-15 gallons at a time throughout the summer to get me to 3/4 of a tank. Offroad diesel has ranged from $3.99-$5.19 throughout the summer. Right now heating oil is $5.20 and Kero is $8.00 (both delivered price). Pretty sure I'm gonna grab a couple more of those electric oil filled heaters and turn off the furnace. I can't do it this year....

 

[levi]

When we bought the house in the spring, the tank was 3/4 full. Sellers didn't charge us for the fuel in the tank - so that's a win.

The local fuel oil supplier won't deliver for less than 100 gallons. We still don't need 100 gallons of fuel.

I called them the other day and the current price is $6.89 for blended fueloil delivered with 100 gallon minimum. Diesel and Kerosene are both right aroud $5.50 a gallon locally. That's going to save me literal hundreds over the winter if I get myself.

Originally I was going to just get 10 or so gallons at a time. One can of kero, one can of diesel. But that would take some time. A friend suggested getting a 55 gallon drum and doing myself. Sttarted to look into that and apparently it's legal for me to haul up to 110 gallons at a time.

I got an empty NEW motor oil barrel. I am thinking of strapping it on a pallet on the back of my small trailer and running to the pumps and buying 25 gallons of each at a time then coming home and pumping into the tank .

Anyone else do this?

Brings back memories from many years ago. Only one distributor available and he didn't want to deliver unless I was down to about a quarter of a tank, and then he could be non-committal about when he'd deliver.

Had a lot of 5 gallon cans that I would fill with No 2 diesel and dump them into my tank. Tank was in the basement, and the fill spout went through the foundation to the outside. Even with an oversize funnel it still got messy. Kept me going, though.

 

[oldcodger]

Yes I can vouch for the problem of hauling a filled or partially filled 55 gal drum. Those things are heavy when loaded and will beat the bed of a truck up and make a trailer tow crazy. You really need to secure them good. An in bed tank or several 5 gallon cans would be best.

 

[Rand]

7$ a gallon? How many gal a year do you use?
I'd be investigating alternative forms of heating.

I hear the new heat pumps are 3-4x as efficient as electric resistance heating.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Diesel shortages could be coming.

I’d just fill your tank now and be done with it. Fill your tank and whatever cans you have.

I don't meet the minimum for delivery from any of the local companies.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

7$ a gallon? How many gal a year do you use?
I'd be investigating alternative forms of heating.

I hear the new heat pumps are 3-4x as efficient as electric resistance heating.

First winter in the house. Not sure yet. Within the next year or two, we'd like to go with an outdoor gas furnace. But that requires getting a gas line run to the house.

 

[Cujet]

I moved 6500 gallons of Jet-A in 55 gallon barrels and a pickup truck. They are not hard to deal with, as long as you have a way to move the fuel to and from the barrels. Furthermore, barrels are approved to move fuel, simply because they very reliable and generally leak free. Strap them into place, use an electrical grounding (bonding) wire, and move fuel to and from the barrels without worry.

I can't understand why people above say barrels are difficult. They are superb, and often considerably easier to deal with on a temporary basis than dedicated, heavy and expensive tanks.

 

[JohnnyG]

I moved 6500 gallons of Jet-A in 55 gallon barrels and a pickup truck. They are not hard to deal with, as long as you have a way to move the fuel to and from the barrels. Furthermore, barrels are approved to move fuel, simply because they very reliable and generally leak free. Strap them into place, use an electrical grounding (bonding) wire, and move fuel to and from the barrels without worry.

I can't understand why people above say barrels are difficult. They are superb, and often considerably easier to deal with on a temporary basis than dedicated, heavy and expensive tanks.

Me too. Yes, you have to be careful, but it's easily accomplished. It's a lot safer than trying to handle flammable liquids, such as gasoline.

 

[redhat]

What's yer trailer look like?

I'd do it.

 

[incognito_2u]

I don't meet the minimum for delivery from any of the local companies.

How big is your Oil Tank?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Me too. Yes, you have to be careful, but it's easily accomplished. It's a lot safer than trying to handle flammable liquids, such as gasoline.

There's a station about 1 mile down the road that sells kero and diesel. Speed limit is 35 the whole way. It's not like I'm running long distances.

But I do know people who transport gasoline in barrels like this. Realistically, you can drop a match in a bucket of diesel and it won't light on fire.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

How big is your Oil Tank?

175 gallon. We're still around 3/4 tank

 

[dlundblad]

I don't meet the minimum for delivery from any of the local companies.

I mean haul diesel fuel yourself.