If your oil ran out and the pipes froze, call for an emergency oil delivery and have the boiler restarted, warm the house with safe space heaters, shut the main water valve if pipes may have split, and thaw them with someone watching for leaks. Heating pipes that froze may be cracked too. Keep your delivery records for insurance. Water leaking? Call (413) 603-1274.
Step by step
- Get fuel. Call your oil company for an emergency delivery. Many need the boiler to be bled and reset after a run-out.
- Warm the house safely. Electric space heaters away from curtains and boxes. Never use the oven or a grill indoors.
- Shut the main water valve if you suspect frozen or cracked pipes, so a split cannot flood the house when it thaws.
- Do not refill or restart a boiler with frozen loops until someone checks the heating pipes. See heating pipe and baseboard burst.
- Thaw pipes carefully, faucet open, with the main ready. See how to thaw frozen pipes.
- Call us if anything is leaking or you cannot find the frozen section: (413) 603-1274.
Why oil homes freeze
About one Chicopee home in five heats with oil. A tank that runs dry in a January cold snap stops the boiler, and a house with pipes on exterior walls can freeze within hours in single digits. In two- and three-deckers, one empty tank can freeze the pipes in every unit.
Insurance
Insurers often ask whether reasonable care was taken to keep the house heated. Running out of oil can be treated differently from a sudden boiler breakdown, so be ready to show delivery records, the gauge, and when you noticed. Policies vary. See burst pipe insurance in Massachusetts. General information only.
Prevent the next run-out
- Sign up for automatic delivery
- Check the gauge weekly in January and February
- Consider a tank monitor that sends a low-level alert
- If cost is the issue, Valley Opportunity Council in Chicopee runs fuel assistance for eligible households
Restarting the boiler after a run-out
When an oil tank runs dry, the burner can pull sludge and air into the line. After a delivery, the system often needs a heating technician to bleed the line, change the filter and reset the burner before it runs right. Pressing the reset button repeatedly can flood the burner with oil, which is a fire hazard. Press it once at most, and if it does not start, wait for the technician.
While you wait for the oil
Keep the house as warm as you safely can with space heaters, open cabinet doors on outside walls, drip faucets, and close off rooms you are not using. If it will be many hours in deep cold, shut the main and drain the lines. See how long before pipes freeze without heat.
Questions
How long before pipes freeze after the oil runs out?
In single digits, exposed pipes can freeze within several hours. See how long before pipes freeze without heat.
Can I prime the burner myself?
Some homeowners do, but pressing the reset button repeatedly can flood the burner with oil. Let the oil company or a heating technician do it.
Pipes leaking after a run-out? Call now
Call (413) 603-1274 now. Locally owned in Chicopee.