What Is An Oil Tank Gauge?
An oil tank gauge is a device that measures the level of oil in your heating oil tank. The gauge is located at the top of your tank and has a float that displays the oil level. While most tank gauges lack the ability to provide you with a precise measurement, they do provide homeowners with a reasonable assumption of how much oil is in the tank.
Why is an Oil Tank Gauge Important?
An oil tank gauge really is not an integral part of your heating system but can share desired information with a homeowner who likes to monitor their usage, or just know when they are getting low. Automatic delivery companies do not use common float gauges to schedule their deliveries. They generally go off an internally calculated degree day system or use a remote monitoring device that sends a signal back to their system of how much oil you have left in the tank.
What Causes an Oil Tank Gauge to Malfunction?
Poor Installation: If the float was never properly aligned during installation, it may get stuck against the wall of the tank or not properly rise all the way to the top when the tank is full.
Extended Use: Most float gauges are very simple devices and over time the hinge on the float arm may loosen or start to warp causing the float to either sink or just not float at the top of the oil level.
How Do I Know if my Oil Tank Gauge is Broken How Will it Affect My System?
The most common way to tell that your gauge is broken is after a full delivery of oil, your gauge still does not read full. Another way to tell is by recording what the gauge read prior to a delivery and calculating how much the delivery should have been for compared to how much oil it actually took to fill up your tank.
A broken oil gauge will have no negative effect on the operation of your system unless you rely on it to place orders for a delivery. If you use an automatic delivery company, a broken float gauge will not change their delivery schedule.
What To Do & What To Expect from a Levco Technician
Replacing an oil gauge is a fairly simple task that can be done by a homeowner, but we recommend doing so if you have the proper tools. Otherwise a qualified technician can replace a gauge in 15-30 min.
An alternative option to your standard float gauge is a remote monitoring device. These tank monitors provide a more accurate reading and they communicate directly with your company to provide up to the moment levels to make for more efficient delivery schedules.