You are using the option to buy at $2.99 as insurance against the price going above $2.99. If the price is below $2.99, then you buy at the lower price and throw away the option (of course, losing any premium you paid for the option). If the price is above $2.99, then you are glad that you have the option to buy at $2.99.
Low 60s is about as high as I set the heat (and lower at night).
We set our temps at exactly what emilybee does. And yes, we needed it a few days ago as well, as the temps dipped to 39 overnight.
We used to have a 1000 gal. underground tank, but removed it over 15 years ago (thank goodness, no leaks from the tank) and replaced it with a 500 gal. above ground tank. We didn’t want a 1000 gal. tank above ground as it would be a huge eyesore (as opposed to a little eyesore of the 500 gal. tank).
Where I live tanks are not allowed underground and no one has an above ground tank (don’t think they are allowed either.) Everyone’s are in their basements.
I get 4 deliveries per season between 150-200 gallons. and tank never gets below 1/4 full.
“You are using the option to buy at $2.99 as insurance against the price going above $2.99. If the price is below $2.99, then you buy at the lower price and throw away the option (of course, losing any premium you paid for the option). If the price is above $2.99, then you are glad that you have the option to buy at $2.99.”
What I gain when the price goes below the lock-in more then pays for the “insurance” I buy. I am much happier when the price is below my lock-in then I am happy when the price goes above my lock in. My “insurance” also allows me to pay the lower price. People who pre-pay OTOH, do not. They pay the lock in price regardless of the ppg at time of delivery. So, they are not happy when the price goes lower.
I’m sure you know that if you are about to run out of oil before a delivery can be made, you can put kerosene in the oil tank. I used to advise customers to go and buy a 5-gallon container and fill it with kerosene at a gas station. My rule of thumb was at most 10 gallons of either oil or kerosene would be used during a very cold day. So customers would make two or three stops to the gas station so they didn’t run out of fuel.
On my work computer I had the customer’s gauge percentage based on their usage patterns and current temperatures. It was generally 90% accurate and a big help if the tank’s gauge was broken, or the customer was out of town. People have no idea how hard heating fuel drivers and furnace technicians work in the wintertime. They appreciate it when customers are thankful or write letters expressing their gratitude. One letter written about a good job that I did ended up in my company’s national newsletter. The guy was in customer service and felt I was responsible for saving his food and other items.
My oil company knows when I need a delivery based on past usage and the size of my tank. I usually get a delivery in Oct, Jan, Feb and March. I don’t have to call my company to set up a delivery.
emilybee,
Most oil customers are on automatic delivery and if you prebuy you usually have to be on auto.
I’m giving advice to other people on “will call” who may not know much about oil, or what to do when they are almost out of fuel. Young adults and college graduates moving into an apartment might not know the first thing about an oil furnace or what to do if they are almost out of fuel. I ran out of oil one time when I was in my 20’s and learned a lesson.
My company has a 100 gallon minimum delivery and at one time offered a same day delivery by 5 pm provided you called in before 10 am. Most companies assign routes to drivers which means they are only in your area once a week or once every two weeks. You can pay an off route fee of $50 to $100 to guarantee a delivery the same day (the rates double on weekends and after 5 pm).
We have auto delivery. The company bases it on past usage as well as temperature changes. For example, this past winter we got a couple of deliveries that were only three weeks apart…because if the frigid temperatures…and likely also because they didn’t want to get caught shirt if there was a snow storm.
Tony, we are not required to have auto delivery with our prebuy…but I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t do it.
There may be a few cases where the prebuy customer prefers to call first for a delivery…he doesn’t want the heavy oil truck in the driveway for various reasons is an example.
Like any business, fuel oil deliveries can spike on the last week of a business quarter to reach certain goals.