FAQs about Heating Oil Delivery Services in Southern Maryland, Southern Charles County, Southern Calvert County and St Marys County MD.

If your question is not answered here, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
We’re happy to answer any questions you have.

Is your heating oil treated?

Yes, our oil is treated with UltraGuard™. Read the UltraGuard™ Brochure (PDF) for more information.

What is your delivery time?

Most deliveries are the same or next day, no more than 2 days. (Please note that sometimes weather may play a factor and increase delivery time.)

Should I turn my furnace off before a delivery?

If you are low or out of fuel, we recommend you turn your furnace off before delivery. It can be turned back on about 20 minutes after the delivery. This ensures any sediment in the bottom of the tank does not cause an issue.

What can homeowners expect in the way of rates for heating oil?

Fuel prices, as with all commodities, change daily. We will do everything possible to ensure our customers receive the lowest prices in Southern Maryland.

Is there a minimum order for heating oil deliveries?

Yes, there is a 75 gallon minimum on heating oil deliveries. All deliveries less than 150 gallons will have a $20.00 delivery charge applied.

Is there a minimum order for off road fuel deliveries?

Yes. Off Road Fuel Deliveries have a minimum order of 150 gallons. There is no delivery charge on off road fuel orders.

Heating Oil News

Why Choose Oil for Home Heating your Southern MD Home?

Oil heating isn’t something a lot of people think of for home use, but it’s actually one of the safest and most efficient options on the market. Oil heating is energy efficient and provides you with a steady source of warmth, and is quite affordable, too.

Fuel oil is one of the most stable and easy to work with products for heating. It has a relatively high BTU (energy) content, and is safer than gas because it is not explosive. It’s also good because it will only ignite using a fairly sophisticated system in a furnace – it’s not going to accidentally catch fire while in storage.

Oil heating systems are a minimum of 85% efficiency, often as much as 95% efficient – which means that for every dollar you spend on the oil, you can expect to get up to 95 cents worth of heat or hot water – that’s far more efficient than most other types of heat. For most homes, the annual cost of heating them with an oil system will be lower than that of using electricity or natural gas. In fact, the Department of Ecology said that oil heating is around 16% more efficient than a natural gas heating system. Because the oil flames burn so hot, you should find that they heat your home up more quickly, and your water heats up more quickly too.

It’s for those reasons that oil heating is becoming so popular in the United States. It’s easy to get oil refills, and it’s in steady supply. Throughout the year you can get deliveries of fresh supplies of oil, and you can store some while it’s not in use if you have the space, without worrying about it being dangerous. This means that you could save up a supply ready for the winter if you’re worried about getting deliveries during the bad weather.

Oil heaters do need maintenance, and it’s important that you get this done, because it’s the maintenance that will make sure the oil is burning cleanly and that the system is properly ventilated. Any combustion system, whether it burns coke, gas, oil or wood, must have good ventilation to be safe to operate.

If you are building a new home, or are looking to improve your existing heating system, then an oil system is well worth considering. Oil heating is efficient and effective, and it is surprisingly affordable too. You’ll have hot water far more quickly than you do with most alternatives, and you don’t have to worry about lighting wood or stoking coal or coke furnaces, cleaning up ash, or managing the storage of volatile propane gas cylinders.

If you’re not sure whether your home is suitable for an oil based heating system, call a reputable heating engineer in your area. Most properties can take such systems, and you should find that they are easy to install and will save you money in the long term as well.

Three Ways To Keep Your Heating Oil Tank Secured This Winter in Southern Maryland

Winter is on its way, which means now is the perfect time to get your heating oil ordered and delivered ready for the colder days ahead. It is unfortunate that heating oil becomes the target of thieves when your family needs it the most. Heating oil theft is sometimes an opportunistic crime, but it can also be one where your home is targeted in advance. Consider these three ways to make sure the heating oil you order remains on your property this winter.

Don’t Advertise Your Storage Space

If you don’t want your heating oil storage space to be targeted by thieves, then the number one thing to do is to make your storage area less visible. There are a number of ways you can do this:

* Plant trees or shrubs in front of the tank to stop it being easily seen from the road.
* Conceal it behind a wall or building.
* Paint it a color that blends with the landscape so it does not obviously stand out.

Remember, however, that if you hide the tank, it must still comply with local council requirements and the oil delivery company still needs to access it easily. Therefore, for example, you cannot cover the tank with something extremely flammable that is going to void your insurance if the whole thing goes up in flames.
Embrace Technology

Technology has come a long way, and this is particularly true of security monitoring equipment. There are ways that you can now monitor the inside of your home using video cameras and an app on your cellphone. So, why not use this technology to monitor movements around your heating oil tank as well?

Security cameras are advanced enough that you can purchase ones that will contact you when movement in detected in the area. The camera software will send a notification to your app so you can immediately check in and see who is in the area. This may seem a security overkill for heating oil, but when you compare it to the cost of having to replace stolen oil it is an investment that will pay off over the longer term.
Create Deterrents

Just as thieves will think twice when they see CCTV cameras, there are other types of deterrents that you can use that will make someone look for an easier target than your heating oil storage tank.

For example, if you have a dog, relocate their kennel so it is close by to the storage tank. Thieves hate dogs because they don’t want you to be alerted to their presence because of a dog barking. Also, make sure you put a heavy duty lock on the tank. The stronger it is, the longer a thief would need to spend breaking it, and that puts them at risk of being caught.

Don’t make your heating oil tank an easy target this coming winter. Instead, get it secured now so that you do not have to worry about it going missing once the winter months start to take hold.

What you should know about home heating oil…

Heating Oil is a product that is actually created in the off season in the refineries that make gasoline during the winter. The way this works is simple. An oil refinery doesn’t make any money unless it’s making product. Even going full bore 100% of capacity which is almost impossible, the oil refineries throughout the country are unable to meet the demand for fuel or heating oil during the winter and gasoline in the summer. The answer to this dilemma, while also recognizing the need to keep the plant operating at peak efficiency, is to make heating oil in the summer and store it in tanks for deliveries in the autumn and winter cold seasons. They also do the same in the colder winter months by manufacturing gasoline for use in the summer. This allows the oil company to keep the refinery operational while also turning out the products we depend on every year.

What you should know about energy and heat loss leakage from your home…

Often overlooked, there are several major potential areas where you should check for heated air loss.

Fireplaces. These are a chimney or hole to the outside. Check and see if the damper is tight. Use glass window fireplace covers. And if you decide not to use the fireplace, consider getting some 2 inch rigid foam insulation from the hardware store and making a plug to close off the fireplace even better. To make a fireplace plug, measure the fireplace opening below the damper, cut a piece of foam insulation to fit and wedge it into place. A good safety idea is to attach a short piece of rope to the plug to not only help remove it when you are ready to use the fireplace but also as a safety device to make certain it’s remembered before the fireplace is used. Make certain the short piece of rope or even ribbon is long enough to easily be seen. Mine touches the fireplace logs and acts as a reminder the plug is in place.
Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, and outside electrical outlets. A good way to seal the electric plugs is to pick up some plug gaskets and install on all outside electrical outlets. These are simply a thin rubber about the shape of the outlet cover that fits over the plug and seals around the outlet and the cover.
Doors are a special problem because you can’t simply seal it up. They need to open and close regularly and seal. Weather stripping around the perimeter of the door is a good way to seal out the leaks around outside doors. Another suggestion is to take fabric material, cut 2 pieces about 3 inches wide and make it 6 inches longer than your door opening. So if the door is 46 inches, you want 2 pieces of fabric 3 inches by 42 inches. Sew the fabric together along the long sides and one small side. This will give you a pocket similar to a pillow case. Next turn the pocket inside out so the finished seams look good, and fill with any small material. Any cooking beans, rice, popcorn, even sand is a good material. You now have a bottom door seal that can be placed against the door sill at the bottom, keeping the cold air out but can also be removed during the day. This is also a great idea for rooms that have been closed off for the winter. Have a guest room that isn’t being heated? Make another bottom door seal and save energy. You can even purchase similar door seals from many stores because they’re so popular and very efficient.