Oil company Delivery Accuracy

[Charlie T]

I'm a little unsure about posting this on a public forum but given all the recent issues and questions concerning a local Oil I'd like some input from my fellow trusted forum members.
I'm a long time customer of that oil company on automatic delivery, during the recent "crisis" period I received an automatic delivery but for the first time in over 10 yrs of doing business with them they didn't fill my tanks, they delivered an even 150 gal during the second week in Jan. I thought nothing of this at the time and noted during a visit a to the house a week later that the tanks (2) indicated slightly over 3/4 full. I promptly paid the invoice. I just today got another invoice for another automatic delivery of and additional 280 gallons that were delivered exactly 20 days later. Doing the math I have to question the ability of my tanks to hold this amount of additional oil (280 gal) with such a short time frame of 20 days between deliveries. I know it's been cold at the lake but this would represent historic high consumption for me.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this subject? Any insight as to accuracy and security of meters on the delivery trucks? Any history of oil being delivered to one address and billed to another? I don't want to make unfounded allegations against a business that has been long established but by the same token If this business has gone bad I don't want to be in the line of consumers that have been taken in a scam.

Thoughts? Comments?

Mr. Moderator if this is inappropriate please delete.

Thank you
CT

[Formula260SS]

I'm a little unsure about posting this on a public forum but given all the recent issues and questions concerning a local Oil I'd like some input from my fellow trusted forum members.
I'm a long time customer of that oil company on automatic delivery, during the recent "crisis" period I received an automatic delivery but for the first time in over 10 yrs of doing business with them they didn't fill my tanks, they delivered an even 150 gal during the second week in Jan. I thought nothing of this at the time and noted during a visit a to the house a week later that the tanks (2) indicated slightly over 3/4 full. I promptly paid the invoice. I just today got another invoice for another automatic delivery of and additional 280 gallons that were delivered exactly 20 days later. Doing the math I have to question the ability of my tanks to hold this amount of additional oil (280 gal) with such a short time frame of 20 days between deliveries. I know it's been cold at the lake but this would represent historic high consumption for me.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this subject? Any insight as to accuracy and security of meters on the delivery trucks? Any history of oil being delivered to one address and billed to another? I don't want to make unfounded allegations against a business that has been long established but by the same token If this business has gone bad I don't want to be in the line of consumers that have been taken in a scam.

Thoughts? Comments?

Mr. Moderator if this is inappropriate please delete.

Thank you
CT

I had 100 gallons delivered in the "crisis", it went quick. When they returned well less than a month later the tank was below 1/8. You mentioned two tanks, seems like you may burn a lot of oil. I highly doubt anything has "gone bad", I drive by their main office in Hudson every day seems like biz as usual to me.

[secondcurve]

I would question anything associated with Fred Fuller Oil Company. They have been operating in disarray so mistakes could certainly have occurred. Please see the article below.

Why anyone would continue to do business with this company is beyond me.





Home » News » Business
January 31. 2014 8:12PM
Fred Fuller to meet with NH officials on reimbursement of oil delivery hot line
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By DAN TUOHY
New Hampshire Union Leader

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Fred Fuller says company will reimburse state for hotline costs

Gov. Maggie Hassan's request for Fred Fuller Oil to repay the state $20,972.44 for running an emergency customer hotline last month could be resolved as early as Monday.

Simon C. Leeming, an attorney representing Fred Fuller Oil & Propane Co., said Fred Fuller plans to meet Monday with state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Perry E. Plummer.

In an email Friday, Leeming said, "the determination" would be announced then.

Leeming declined to expand when asked whether the company would pay the amount, or possibly arrive at another agreement.

While no resolution has yet been announced, Hassan spokesman Marc Goldberg said the state and Fred Fuller Oil have had "positive communication" about the issue.

Hassan and Plummer launched the hotline Jan. 7 after fielding customer calls concerning heating fuel deliveries and tanks either nearing empty or running on empty amid a cold snap. Some customers were unable to get through to the Hudson-based Fred Fuller Oil, which had experienced major phone system problems.

The hotline was staffed around-the-clock for nearly six days.

In a letter to Fred Fuller Oil on Jan. 23, Plummer noted that the call center handled 3,832 incoming calls and 1,862 different cases, and made 2,745 return calls to residents as follow-ups.

"We all recognize that this was a difficult time for you and your business, and I appreciate that you recognized the tremendous assistance our dedicated employees provided to Fred Fuller Oil & Propane Co., Inc. and the customers they serve," Plummer wrote in the letter. "Although there may not be a legal obligation to reimburse the State of New Hampshire for the expense of the call center, we believe it would be appropriate for you to do so."

[Rusty]

Nozzle size for oil burners range from 0.8 to 1.7 gallons per hour of operation.

You would need to know what size nozzle you have and how long your burner ran during that 20 day period to find out how much you consumed. Also was the burner running as efficient as it could...was it tuned up lately?

Looking at the rough numbers that you gave it appears that you used somewhere around 6-7 gallons a day. IMO that is possible during that period of time.

A typical 1500 sq ft home during real cold weather could burn 6-7 gallons a day.

[ITD]

I had the same situation, I received 100 gallons in the beginning of January, then received 237 gallons on Monday. I have a 250 gallon tank. There were many very cold days during January and I thought the usage was normal.

If you have two tanks, you probably burn a lot of oil normally. Look at the maintenance slips on your burner, it most likely lists the nozzle size and fuel pressure. The nozzles are rated at 100psi and are pretty accurate for flow rate. Mine is set at 150psi which increases the flow, you can see a chart on page 12 here http://www.delavaninc.com/pdf/total_look.pdf

If you are suspicious you can install a Hobbs style meter on your burner to record how long the burner runs, record the Hobbs reading each time the tank is filled. For instance, if the burner runs for 200 hours from one fill up to the next and your nozzle runs at 1 gallon per hour, then you should get 200 gallons of oil at that fillup. I would say it should be within a couple percent and after you get through a few fill ups it should be even closer as you determine the exact rate.

[Rusty]

I had the same situation, I received 100 gallons in the beginning of January, then received 237 gallons on Monday. I have a 250 gallon tank. There were many very cold days during January and I thought the usage was normal.

If you have two tanks, you probably burn a lot of oil normally. Look at the maintenance slips on your burner, it most likely lists the nozzle size and fuel pressure. The nozzles are rated at 100psi and are pretty accurate for flow rate. Mine is set at 150psi which increases the flow, you can see a chart on page 12 here http://www.delavaninc.com/pdf/total_look.pdf

If you are suspicious you can install a Hobbs style meter on your burner to record how long the burner runs, record the Hobbs reading each time the tank is filled. For instance, if the burner runs for 200 hours from one fill up to the next and your nozzle runs at 1 gallon per hour, then you should get 200 gallons of oil at that fillup. I would say it should be within a couple percent and after you get through a few fill ups it should be even closer as you determine the exact rate.

Well done and excellent information! Thank you!

[brk-lnt]

Keep in mind too that the little float-meter on your tank measures *level*, not *volume*.

If your tanks are like every other tank, they are rounded at the top and the bottom. A reading of 1/2 would be accurate, because the tank is symmetrical top to bottom. But a reading of 1/4, means 1/4 *level*, which would be less than half of 1/2 tank, due to the rounded portion of the bottom of the tank not holding as much volume. This is also assuming the gauge unit was setup with at least a minimal amount of calibration. If the gauge reading of 1/2 represents 7/16 of a tank, then things are just going to be further misleading.

All things considered, your readings were probably accurate. It's very difficult for the driver to fake the reading, and they'd have little incentive to do so. If you were mis-billed, the mix-up probably happened at the office.

Did you verify the amount on the delivery slip matched the amount you were billed?

I have my 2 furnaces at home tied into my automation system to measure daily usage. During the recent cold spell our usage was up by about 10% over normal. My guess is that you have nothing to worry about.

[Formula260SS]

I would question anything associated with Fred Fuller Oil Company. They have been operating in disarray so mistakes could certainly have occurred. Please see the article below.

Why anyone would continue to do business with this company is beyond me.

"

I continue to do business with Fuller because I get good service from them.

[TiltonBB]

There are some things you could check to confirm that you got what you paid for. The delivery trucks are required to have a meter that is certified and sealed annually by the NH Department of Agriculture. Your delivery ticket should have the start and end reading specific to your delivery. Also, most companies deliver to their automatic customers based on "degree days". The company should be able to tell you in advance approximately how much you have used since your last delivery and therefore how much you will need to fill your tank(s). You could do some research to see if your actual useage corresponded to the degree days that had elapsed.

Another way to save money: I owned a house for 20 years that I had installed three 330 gallon tanks in the basement. I used to call around to different heating oil companies in July and have them filled for a very low price. I didn't need oil again until April or May each year so I avoided the higher winter prices. If you have the room the savings is substantial.