Tips on Staying Safe & Warm This Winter

Important reminders for the season

At Jennings Oil & Propane, we want our customers to stay safe and warm in their Connecticut homes this winter. So let’s review some of the important things you should do and know to protect your family, keep them comfortable, and help our team serve you safely.

General reminders

• Make sure our delivery crew can safely access your property. Remove snow and ice from your walkway and driveway.
• If you’re not one of our automatic delivery customers, keep a close eye on your fuel levels and call us for a delivery before your tank is less than ¼ full.
• If you’d rather leave the calculating and scheduling to us, become an automatic delivery customer. It’s a service we offer all our heating oil customers and our propane customers in parts of Fairfield and Litchfield.

Reminders for our propane customers

• Fasten a brightly-colored flag to the top of your tank. This will help our delivery drivers find it in the snow and on low visibility days.
• Always maintain a clear path to your tank. 
• Never use a shovel when clearing off the tank itself. You could damage your tank and end up with a leak.
• Check your vents and flues for obstructions on a regular basis. This is an important safety step because it helps prevent the build-up of carbon monoxide in your house. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a serious medical emergency that can be fatal. 
• Test your carbon monoxide detectors monthly and replace their batteries twice a year. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for replacing the whole unit (on average, every 5 to 7 years).
• Make sure everyone in your home knows how to identify and respond to a propane leak. Click here for a refresher.

Reminders for our heating oil customers

• Maintain a clear a path to your fill pipe. And keep the fill pipe free of snow and ice.

No heat? Follow these steps

The best way to keep your system running well is to schedule regular preventative service visits, however, here’s how to troubleshoot your oil heating system when your heat is out:

1. Check how much heating oil you have. If you have less than 1/8 of a tank, call Jennings for a delivery. If you have more than 1/8 of a tank, go to step 2.
2. Raise your thermostat’s temperature to at least five degrees. (Also check that your thermostat is set to “auto” or “heat” and your fan is set to “on” or “auto.”) If your heating system doesn’t start up after a few minutes, go to step 3.
3. Are all your system’s power switches set to the “on” position? If yes, go to step
4. Check your fuses and circuit breakers. If everything looks right, go to step 5 if you have a boiler and step 6 if you have a furnace.
5. If you have a hot water boiler, go to step 7. If you have a steam boiler, check the water level in the gauge glass. Is it at least ½ full? If yes, go to step 7.
6. If you have a furnace, make sure your filters are clean and all your vents are open and unobstructed. Important: Before you check the filters, make sure to turn off the power to your system. Confirm that the gas control valve to the furnace is open. If everything is as it should be, go to step 7.
7. Press and hold the “reset” button on the burner for 3 seconds. Important: Do not push this button more than once. If your heat still doesn’t come on, it’s time to contact Jennings Oil & Propane for service.

For a step-by-step trouble-shooting guide, click here.

Get comfortable with Jennings Oil & Propane. We are a top-rated company with over 80 years of experience providing excellent service to our customers in parts of Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven counties in Connecticut. Whether you need service or a fuel delivery, you’ll get comfortable with us.

Contact us today to learn more or to schedule your next fuel delivery or service visit.