Heating Oil Basics → Verifying Your Delivery
When an oil truck pulls away from your house, how do you know you got every gallon you paid for? You're trusting a meter you can't see and a ticket you may not understand. The good news: verifying a delivery is simple, and a few habits give you confidence on every fill. This isn't about assuming the worst — most suppliers are honest and use calibrated, sealed meters. It's about knowing how to check.
The single most useful habit: check your tank's float gauge right before a scheduled delivery and again right after. A standard 275-gallon tank's gauge reads in fractions (1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, Full). If you were near 1/4 and ordered a fill, you should end close to Full.
Rough capacities for a common 275-gallon tank (usable is less than nameplate — tanks are never filled to 100%):
| Gauge reading | Approx. gallons in tank |
|---|---|
| 1/8 | ~34 gal |
| 1/4 | ~69 gal |
| 1/2 | ~137 gal |
| 3/4 | ~206 gal |
| Full (safe fill ~95%) | ~260 gal |
If you started near 1/4 (~69 gal) and the ticket says 190 gallons were delivered, your tank should now read close to Full. If the math is far off, that's worth a phone call. (For more, see how to measure heating oil without a gauge.)
Every delivery comes with a ticket — left in your door, mailbox, or emailed. It should show:
Keep your tickets. Over a season they show your usage pattern and let you compare per-gallon prices between fills and between suppliers.
Delivery trucks measure oil with a flow meter as it pumps. Two things matter:
A reputable supplier will answer these without hesitation. The questions signal that you pay attention — which is exactly the point.
If the gallons billed don't match the change in your tank gauge, or the ticket is missing information:
Log every delivery in the HomeHeat app
Record gallons and price for each fill, watch your cost per gallon over time, and spot anything that doesn't add up — free, no hardware required.
Check your tank's float gauge right before and right after the delivery, and compare the change against the gallons on the delivery ticket. Delivery truck meters are tested and sealed by state inspectors, so they're certified accurate — but the gauge-before/gauge-after check gives you an independent confirmation on every fill.
Yes, when properly maintained. Truck flow meters are calibrated, tested, and sealed by state Weights & Measures inspectors. A broken seal or an overdue test is a red flag — you can ask your supplier when the meter was last certified.
Gallons delivered, price per gallon, total charge, the date, and ideally the meter start and stop readings. Many digital systems email an itemized receipt. Keep your tickets to track usage and compare prices over time.
First remember gauges are approximate. Call the supplier with the date and ticket number and ask them to explain the meter readings. If you're still not satisfied, your state's Weights & Measures office handles metering complaints.