!: Beckett Oil Burner Problems - What to Do If You Run Out of Fuel Oil

Running out of heating oil is not all that uncommon. There are many things that can go wrong causing you to run out. When this happens do not panic, you can get your oil burner up and running rather quickly if you know what to do

You forgot to get more heating oil for your furnace and now you have run it out of oil. The first thing you need is a container that will hold at least five gallons of liquid. A container approved for flammable liquids is always the best. I really would not want you to use that camping water jug. It will ruin it for any future water use.

Now locate the closest place that sells either regular diesel, off road diesel, or kerosene. Any of these will work to get you going. Never use any type of gas in your oil burner! You will need at least five gallons to get the level of the liquid in the tank over the intake pipe so that you can prime the pump. Once you get the fuel into the tank you should wait for at least ten minutes to let the fuel settle back down before you try to light the burner. Dumping the fuel into the tank with very little liquid in there will stir up all the sludge in the bottom of the tank and if you try to suck it into the burner while the sludge is suspended you will just create more problems.

Now that you have the fuel in the tank you can begin to try to start the burner. If your are fortunate enough to have a TigerLoop installed in your fuel line then just pushing the reset button will purge the air and with a couple of clicks of the button you will be heating again. If you do not have a TigerLoop the burner pump has a two pipe system the pump will usually purge the air eventually but it may take quite a few resets to get it going. If you have a single pipe system, then look for my article on bleeding your pump.

Running your oil burner out of oil happens and you can remedy the problem if you know what to do. Usually this will happen on the coldest night of the year or on a holiday weekend when a service call will cost you your firstborn to get you warm again. Now you can at least get warm till you can get the tank filled at a reasonable cost.