Here in the Portsmouth, Virginia, area, it gets very cold throughout much of the winter. Average low temperatures remain in the teens and low 20s from November to March, so keeping your home warm is a necessity at this time of the year. To maintain comfort, you need to make sure that your furnace doesn’t run out of oil at any time.

Call Your Heating Oil Company

The first thing to do if your furnace is out of oil is give the heating oil company a call. A technician can come out and refill your tank. But if you’re in the middle of a winter storm, snowy and icy roads may make it difficult to get to your house.

Keep a reserve of fuel as an emergency backup option. However, it is best to ensure that you have all you need at the beginning of the season. It is also a good idea to have alternative heating systems on standby. If you run out of oil, use your space heater or fireplace, for example, until you can arrange for delivery. Just be sure whatever option you use is safe.

Refill the Tank

If your heating company can’t get to you in time, use your supply of fuel to fill the tank in your furnace. This can be dangerous, so you should only attempt to do so if you can’t get help from an experienced HVAC technician and you are comfortable with the process. After you fill the tank, wait at least 10 minutes to allow it to settle. Any impurities or sediments within the fuel will fall to the bottom during this time, ensuring that clean fuel will move through the fuel intake line.

Restart Your Furnace

Your furnace may have a red reset button that will turn the system back on. After you replenish the fuel supply, you might have to bleed the fuel line, so it registers the presence of fuel in the reservoir. A small supply of fuel should provide enough heat to get you by until your heating technician can come to your home.

Routine furnace maintenance helps to reduce the risk that you’ll run out of oil. But if you’re having trouble with your heating system, call us at Weather Makers at 757-263-4869 for assistance.

Image provided by Shutterstock

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