heating oil

[librarybrandy.livejournal.com]

My landlord informs me that we're on oil heat (not gas as I'd thought), and that our tank is almost empty. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of money to fill the tank, so we'll have to get only a partial (about 150 gallons, landlord suggests). So: what companies will do this, and of those, who's the cheapest?

Comments

[rmd.livejournal.com]

newenglandoil.com (http://www.newenglandoil.com/massachusetts/zone2.asp?x=0) usually has a good rundown on prices.

[fanw.livejournal.com]

You'll likely have to get it refilled every month or two throughout the winter. Faulkner Bros is one local distributor, but there are others. You may want to contact MassEnergy first. They are an organization that tries to negotiate lower prices, but you do have to join them (for about $15/yr) in order to get that benefit.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Also, you may want to double check your lease, since the landlord has to specify if you are in charge of paying for heating. If the lease doesn't specifically say that you are responsible for it, then they are. Many landlords either try to sleaze out of paying for it, or just don't pay attention to the lease that they give you. I'm not advocating you to piss them off by threatening legal action or anything, but if they are responsible then they should be made aware of it. Our last landlady was a real piece of work, and tried to make us not only pay for the oil (which we agreed to do, even though it wasn't in our lease) but also pay for the repairs to the furnace when it stopped working every week or so (which we begrudgingly did and then subtracted out of the rent). (Then she had the audacity to kick us out when the lease ran out, after we'd gone way out of our way to be nice to her, and she did it by lying to us about selling the place. Man, I hope whomever moved in doesn't take any of her crap!)

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I think they're all about the same pricewise. I use Cubby Oil and they will deliver 100 gallons minimum (or however much more you want). They take credit cards too. And a lot of oil companies have a deal whereby you can spread out the cost over the year, or sign up for a plan where they deliver a certain amount each month, etc.

Also, you'll probably be able to claim the cost of the oil as a tax deduction, which will help somewhat.

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

We just converted to gas heat, and have nearly a full tank of oil left.
The oil company won't buy it back, and we hate to just throw it away, so we'd sell it to you very cheaply if you're interested--you'd just have to come get it somehow, either find a company who will come pump it of our tank for you, or just make sevral trips with a big bucket and drain it out. Faulkner can't pump it out, but maybe another oil company can.

[artic-monkeys.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the heating oil but I am pretty sure gas prices will be going up shortly after the elections on Tuesday.

soylent green is diesel

[foxalbers.livejournal.com]

I'm not quite so cynical, since gas prices often dip significantly in the winter (it's the switch over from the more expensive summer mix to the cheaper winter mix). It certainly happened last year, and it'll probably happen next year too.

But if you are concerned about such political machinations, I have some bad news -- heating oil is naught but dyed diesel fuel (the main difference from its cousin on sale at your local Exxon station is simply a far lower tax rate).