Frequently Asked Questions

Can you tell me what time my delivery will arrive?

A: We will do our best to give you an estimate. We too have had the frustration of service companies who tell you your delivery will be between and eight hour span. Several factors typically impact our route, weather, loading times and traffic. The best advise we can give is to call the morning of the delivery after 8AM. We will try to pin it down within a few hours. Keep in mind specific time request cannot be done.

Where do you buy your oil?

A: We buy our oil from various vendors at the Wethersfield Terminals. We purchase from Global, Inland Sprague and Buckeye, all large reliable companies.

Do you offer automatic delivery?

A: YES! Click here to read more about auto delivery

Do you offer help with your rates?

A1 Oil offers Budget Plans for set payments throughout the year as well as Senior Discounts. Volume Discounts and Capped pricing contracts. Also available are Service Contracts priced at three different tiers customized to fit your needs.

Do you plan to offer lock-in rates?

A: Yes We have and so far it has worked very well for our customers Each year A-1 Oil is getting better at offering our customers more advantages that benefit our customers. We will continue to offer a low daily cash price. Each year we will examine the results and if we find it necessary for your benefit to offer a “PLAN” we will, otherwise count on us to save you money by offering simple buy and pay solution

Are you qualified to accept fuel assistance?

A: YES, we are.

What is a “Degree Day” and how does it work?

Our automatic oil delivery depends on a dress day system that helps us keep track of how cold it is and when you need an oil delivery.

Most homes start using their heating systems when the outside temperature falls below 65 degrees. A degree-day is the average number of degrees below 65 on a given day. For example, if the average temperature on October 22nd is 55 degrees, we would say that 10 degree-days accumulated on October 23rd (65 – 55 = 10). If the average temperature on October 23rd is 50 degrees, that would mean that 15 degree-days (65 – 50 = 15) accumulated on October 23rd. Add the degree days together (10+15=25) and we see that 25 degree-days have accumulated since October 22nd. We keep this up throughout the entire heating season. During a typical heating season in Connecticut, we accumulate about 4,500 + degree-days.

Depending on the size and construction of a home (and how high the thermostat is set), the home will use a relatively constant amount of oil for every degree-day. A small home might use one gallon of oil for every 10 degree-days, where as a large home might use once gallon of oil for every two degree-days. This is expressed as a “Consumption Factor” or “K Factor”. So a small home would have a K Factor of 10 ( 10 degree-days for every one gallon of oil) and the large home would have a K Factor of two (two degree-days for every one gallon of oil)

Once our computer system determines a home’s K Factor (usually after two or three deliveries) we then can project when we need to make a delivery.

For Example:

A home with a K Factor of five has a 275 gallon oil tank. Since we try to deliver oil when the tank is still 1/3 full, in this case we target a delivery of 180/gallons to a 275 tank. Since we know that the K Factor is 5, and since we want to make a delivery of at least 180/gallons we know that we should delivery oil to this house every 900 degree-days (5 x 180 = 900)

How do I read the gauge on my oil tank?

THIS WILL GIVE YOU APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY GALLONS ARE IN YOUR 275 GALLON OIL TANK

When your tank gauge reads as shown, your tank contains approximately this many gallons

NEVER let your tank go below the 1/8 reading on the tank gauge If you are not sure of the Tank Size – 275 gallon tank is 5 feet long If you need a chart to break the gallons down by inches on any size tank please call our office and we will mail you one

What if my heat doesn’t come on?

Check the thermostat:

Is it set above room temperature, or set it to the “heat” setting?

Check that the heating system switches are on:

They could be red, probably located in a stairwell or closet and one near the heating

Check the oil tank gauge to make sure you have fuel:

The gauge is located on top of your oil tank there are numbers on it ex: 1/4 1/2 3/4 full

Check the units circuit breaker or fuses:

Press the reset button on the burner relay ONCE (any only once)
If you don’t know where the button is call our office

If your unit comes on and stays on you are all set, but if the unit only stays on for 90 seconds or less, or if it does not fire at all DO NOT HIT THE RESET BUTTON AGAIN call our office as soon as possible for a service tech to come to your home 860-627-9474