Posted: February 17, 2025
In case you needed another reminder, this winter provided a case study of how frigid conditions can get in the New York Capital Region, the Hudson Valley, Western Vermont and Western Massachusetts.
When we start experiencing whole weeks of freezing weather — not to mention icy roads and deep snow — it’s a relief to live somewhere that’s oil-heated. Heating oil has unmatched heating capacity. A single gallon of this fuel can generate the same amount of heat energy (measured in British thermal units) as 133 cubic feet of natural gas or 40 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
However, if your oil tank is located outdoors, then the icy weather can present additional problems. Luckily, there are solutions to prevent heating fuel performance issues in freezing conditions — and Main-Care Energy has a winter-resistant heating oil that can do just that!
Traditional heating oil doesn’t handle extreme cold well. In fact, it can start to freeze at 16°F, though it doesn’t turn solid like ice. Instead, it thickens into a waxy sludge in a process called gelling. Early in the gelling process, wax particles form in the oil, which can circulate in your heating system and cause problems.
Components of your oil heating system can face multiple issues:
Some additives can address gelling and stabilize fuel in cold conditions. You might also have heard of kerosene as a cold-weather fuel oil option. Like traditional heating oil, kerosene is a distillate of crude oil. Distilled at extremely high temperatures, kerosene is a clear fuel with a much lower gel point.
Blending kerosene with traditional heating oil is a winterizing solution, but using 100% kerosene in equipment designed for traditional heating oil can cause damage. (It’s also really expensive.)
Fortunately, Main-Care Energy delivers a winter-ready heating oil product that has some incredible advantages over kerosene. It’s called WinterGuard.
WinterGuard is not kerosene, but it works in oil-fired heating equipment and tanks that require special protection against sustained freezing temperatures. When you choose WinterGuard for your outdoor tank or mobile home, you enjoy some considerable advantages:
Don’t let your heating system face operating issues because of gelling fuel. Reach out to Main-Care Energy today to order premium-quality WinterGuard fuel.
