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EJCLJ01
LIF Infant
Member since 8/08 213 total posts
Name:
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Contract -VS- COD for oil
Well if my wife and I ever close the deal on the house we will also have an oil tank. Its a 275gal tank.
I see alot of people here saying they either have a contract and others say they have COD.
What is the pros / cons of either way.
Are you locked into a price with contract? Is that why COD is better?
Thanks
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Posted 8/28/08 9:56 PM  |
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Blazesyth
*yawn*
Member since 5/05 8129 total posts
Name:
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
Posted by EJCLJ01
Are you locked into a price with contract?
Yes
Posted by EJCLJ01
Is that why COD is better?
Not necessarily; you can lock in at a lower rate than what COD goes up to.
It's a gamble. Pick one. Some years you'll win, sometimes you'll lose. It all evens out in the end.
Message edited 8/28/2008 10:11:30 PM.
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| Posted 8/28/08 10:11 PM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
Name:
Vicki
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
We have a rate lock and a contract because our boiler is 1,000 years old. Seriously, it's original to the house.
COD might be better for those who have a new boiler and don't "expect" anything to go wrong with it.
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| Posted 8/29/08 8:33 AM |
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rkoenke
my little piggys
Member since 3/08 4315 total posts
Name:
rachel
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
COD -
Typically you do not have a boiler service contract when choosing COD. If you have a 20 degree below zero day, and you heating system breaks, you are on the bottom of the list for any company you call. you have to hope that this never happens to you.
I have a brand new heating system from slomins and i have a contract just in case. believe it or not, the new system had stopped a few times (nothing major.. just a pilot light or something...)
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| Posted 8/29/08 8:36 AM |
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NinaLemon
It's a boy!!!
Member since 10/07 6453 total posts
Name:
Jeannine
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
Just want to preface that I am Upstate so things may be a little different in the LI market.
This year we found companies were charging for a lock in rate($200) and then putting the price cap really high (4.69/gal). I think they are trying to recoup from last year. We ended up finding a place that would let up pre-pay for the season at 15 cents below the daily rate. So we bought 1000 gal. @ 15 cents lower than Mondays rate.
Oil prices are still dropping so in the beginning we are losing out a little compared to COD, but later in the season if the price goes up we don't have to worry about that.
Last year we had a contract rate of 2.19/gal but the end of the season it was well above $4 so we saved a ton.
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| Posted 8/29/08 9:37 AM |
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metagefken
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/08 679 total posts
Name:
J
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
ive been doing COD for years and would never go back to a contract. i like the freedom of ordering oil from whomever i want, whenever i want. it doesnt matter what company they all get their oil from the same filling stations so the quality is the same. i have a separate company that services my boiler 24/7 if anything goes wrong.
over the years i have found that ive saved considerably. even if you lock in at a certain rate oil companies will fill you up as often as they can to make money. with COD you get what you want when you feel you need it. its easier to budget. what i would suggest is, if you decide to go COD, that you get an oil stick to measure your tank and not rely on the gauge on top. these are never accurate.
as i said ive done both and COD works best for us. good luck with the new house.
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| Posted 8/29/08 10:15 AM |
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EJCLJ01
LIF Infant
Member since 8/08 213 total posts
Name:
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
Just out of curiosity, how long approx does a 275 gal tank last.
Lets say for a small to medium sized Levitt ranch house?
Just approx to get some kind of idea.
Do boilers come rated like how many gallons per hour they use?
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| Posted 8/29/08 10:36 AM |
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NinaLemon
It's a boy!!!
Member since 10/07 6453 total posts
Name:
Jeannine
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
Posted by EJCLJ01
Just out of curiosity, how long approx does a 275 gal tank last.
Lets say for a small to medium sized Levitt ranch house?
Just approx to get some kind of idea.
Do boilers come rated like how many gallons per hour they use?
It depends on a lot of things, what temp you keep your house at, how old is your furnance, how well insulated is your house, are you also heating your water with the oil...
We have a 110 year old 1800SF house with all new windows, but some rooms need to be re-insulated and we could use some more insulation in the attic. We heat our hot water with the boiler and we keep the house around 65 degrees. In the last 12 months we have used 906 gallons of oil.
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| Posted 8/29/08 10:43 AM |
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EJCLJ01
LIF Infant
Member since 8/08 213 total posts
Name:
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
WOW, 906 gallons.
I know the house we are buying has all new windows, and dual zone thermostat for the upstairs and downstairs. The boiler is old, about 30+ years, and also heats the hot water.
We already said, since we won't really be using the upstairs much to keep that one real low, or possibly off so we only heat the down stairs.
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| Posted 8/29/08 10:48 AM |
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NinaLemon
It's a boy!!!
Member since 10/07 6453 total posts
Name:
Jeannine
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
Our boiler is fairly new (5 years old) but I should add that I am Upstate, historically in the winter LI is about 8-16 degrees warmer than Albany, so that will help with your heating.
Message edited 8/29/2008 11:13:21 AM.
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| Posted 8/29/08 11:13 AM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
Name:
Vicki
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
Our boiler is about 40 years old, we have a cape and we do not use the upstairs either so we keep the door closed so we don't heat the whole place. We also use the boiler to heat our hot water.
Last year we used about 700 gallons of oil and that is keeping the house at about 66 - 70 depending on who's home.
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| Posted 8/29/08 12:39 PM |
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Cpt2007
A new love!
Member since 1/08 5946 total posts
Name:
Liz
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
My parents are part of a fuel buyers group through NYPIRG. I think it works the same as being on a contract with a lock in rate. I know they saved a ton of money last year with their rate (which was in the low $2 range).
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| Posted 8/29/08 1:19 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
Posted by EJCLJ01
We already said, since we won't really be using the upstairs much to keep that one real low, or possibly off so we only heat the down stairs.
Be careful with not heating your upstairs during the winter.
I did this and my upstairs heating zone pipes froze. I never thought this would happen since I was always heating my downstairs.
Apparently there was a bleeder valve that was INSIDE a wall eaves (I guess exposed to the outside elements) and it failed.
$1500 plumbers bill and I had to renovate and resheetrock a downstairs bedroom from the leaking water.
I will probably just leave my upstairs at 65 degrees so at least there will be water circulating through the pipes on occasion.
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| Posted 8/29/08 4:17 PM |
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BlueDiamonds
mommy to 3 boys
Member since 2/07 3885 total posts
Name:
proud mommy
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
Posted by EJCLJ01
Just out of curiosity, how long approx does a 275 gal tank last.
Lets say for a small to medium sized Levitt ranch house?
Just approx to get some kind of idea.
Do boilers come rated like how many gallons per hour they use?
i just got a quote for a new tank. They told me the new tank should last about 30 years. My existing tank is original to the house. However, my tank is inside my house and not exposed to the eliments. I would assume that could affect how long the tank will last.
I don't know about ratings for how many gal/hour they use but i just had my yearly tune up and they told me the burner efficiency (in a percentage).
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| Posted 8/29/08 4:48 PM |
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KLSbear
LIF Adult
Member since 1/06 1908 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
One thing that I didn't see anyone mention is that with a contract you're on the top of the list for deliveries as well. If there is a shortage of oil you may have trouble getting anyone to give you COD deliveries. Shortly after we moved to LI 6 years ago there was a multi-page article about customers having trouble getting COD deliveries, having pipes burst, etc.
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| Posted 8/29/08 4:57 PM |
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Babe49
M...
Member since 4/08 1880 total posts
Name:
Maria
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Re: Contract -VS- COD for oil
We always use COD with the same company. Always get our oil the day we call and they take my debit card over the phone or fax. Never had a problem.
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| Posted 8/29/08 7:45 PM |
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