Guides: how fuel delivery really works
Every guide here comes out of the same place: years of loading trucks, dragging hose through Ohio snow, and answering the same questions at the fill pipe. No sales pitch, no invented statistics — just how the business works and what to ask.
Delivery basics
Minimum delivery gallons
Why there's a minimum at all, the typical 100–150 gallon range for oil, how propane minimums work differently, and why small drops cost more per gallon.
Will-call vs. automatic delivery
The two ways fuel shows up at your house, what degree-days have to do with it, and who is responsible when a tank runs dry under each plan.
Read your tank gauge
Oil gauge fractions converted to gallons for common tank sizes, and the propane rule everyone learns the hard way: 80% is full, 30% is "call now."
Ran out of oil? Do this first
Check the simple things first, the one-press reset rule, when a tank needs bleeding, and when to stop troubleshooting and call a technician.
Money and contracts
Tank fees explained
Rental tanks, minimum-use fees, monitor fees, pickup fees — and the big one: why only the company that owns a propane tank is allowed to fill it.
Budget plans, caps, and pre-buy
How equal-payment plans are calculated, what a price cap really guarantees, the risks inside pre-buying your winter, and the questions that reveal the catch.
Why heating oil prices change
Crude markets, winter demand, refinery and trucking costs — why the price on your ticket is never the price your neighbor paid last month.
Questions to ask a fuel company
A checklist to run before you become a customer: minimums, fees, contract terms, emergency service, and who actually answers the phone in January.
Choosing a fuel
Propane vs. heating oil in Ohio
Heat content per gallon, tank ownership freedom, equipment, and availability — the real differences for an Ohio homeowner choosing between the two.