Home heating oil is widely used on Long Island, yet it’s not something the average person actually sees. People should understand what it looks like, what it is, and when it goes bad.
Because refineries could not keep up with demand for home heating oil if it were only produced during the winter months, home heating oil is produced year-round and then stored until needed. More than 1 million gallons of home heating oil are stored in the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR) to prevent world events and weather from disrupting the availability of home heating oil to the region, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
What Color Should Home Heating Oil Be?
Home heating oil is a distillate of crude oil produced by heating oil to very high temperatures and removing some impurities. When it is produced this way, it is chemically the same as diesel fuel and is sometimes known colloquially as red diesel.
But it doesn’t start out red. When home heating oil is first produced, it is the color of champagne, a light, golden color that is somewhat watery and smells a lot like gasoline. The good news is that it is less flammable than gasoline and must go through a combustion process to produce heat.
Before it leaves the refinery, a red dye is added to identify home heating oil. It is the same product as the diesel used to fuel semi-tractors and other large vehicles, right up until the red dye is added. Burning diesel fuel as home heating oil is unique to North America. In most of the United Kingdom and Europe, when referring to home heating oil, they are referencing kerosene.
Why is Home Heating Oil Dyed Red?
The red dye added to diesel fuel to make it into home heating oil is purely aesthetic. It’s not done to change the way the oil burns or make it more efficient as a heating source, but actually to avoid fuel taxes.
The U.S. Energy Information Agency explains it this way, “The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires heating oil and other distillate fuels that are not for highway use to be colored with a red dye. The red color identifies the fuel as exempt from the federal, state, and local taxes applied to fuels sold for use on public roadways and as illegal for use in vehicles that normally operate on roadways.”
Home heating oil is dyed red so that homeowners don’t have to pay motor fuel taxes on it. In New York, that red dye saves customers almost 45 cents per gallon.
What Does Bad Home Heating Oil Look Like?
Generally speaking, most people won’t have a problem with their home heating oil going bad. This usually only happens when the oil tank has been compromised, or other contaminants get into the tank.
Signs of bad heating oil:
- A deep brown or black color
- Sludge or sediment in the tank
- A strong, unpleasant odor.
If your oil shows any of these signs, it may still be usable with the help of a fuel stabilizer or filtration, but degraded oil can burn less efficiently and may damage your heating system over time.
ExpressCOD Delivers High Quality Home Heating Oil Fast
When you need to top off your tank or prepare for heating season, Express COD gets you high-quality home heating oil fast. Our team delivers fuel oil when you need it. Contact us today.
