Title: Office Manager Been at company since: 1989 Role (or Roles since start): started as a CSR Interests/about me: I have 5 grandchildren & 2 great-grandchildren who keep me busy following their activities. Hobbies: love to travel, and read.
Mark Gagnon
Title: President Been at company since: 1989 Role (or Roles since start): Started out making deliveries, working with Techs etc in 1989. Became President upon my fathers passing unexpectedly in 1991. Interests/about me: Married with three children. Enjoy the outdoors. (fishing, hunting, skiing etc) Active in several community organizations. Two time Rotary Club President, founding member of Marshwood Education Foundation, Maine Energy Marketers Executive Board, South Berwick Building Committee, Coached youth soccer when kids were little.
Scott Hemingway
Title: Sales Manager Been at company since: July 2004 Role (or Roles since start): Develop builder and contractor networking programs, commercial projects, customer retention and LP Gas sales. Interests/about me: Married w/ 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren. Enjoy family time, golf, hunting and watching the New England Patriots and the Red Sox.
Mark Leach
Title: Director of Operations Been at company since: 1977 Role (or Roles since start): Driver, Service Tech, Sales & Operations / Safety - Training Interests/about me: my family, member of the South Berwick Fire Dept. since 1975, Safety trainer for Propane Gas Assoc. of New England, providing training for first responders throughout New England.
Mike Place
Title: Equipment Sales Been at company since: 2007 Role (or Roles since start): Started here as an Oil and Propane Service Tech/Installer. Learned Air Conditioning service and installations. Then moved into sales. Interests/about me: Spending time with the family, being outdoors, and camping.
Kent Davis
Started in the business by wearing the uniforms, painting oil and propane tanks, and threading pipe for his Dad and Grandmother in the late 70’s. He has learned the difference between working for a family owned business and a family operated business. Just because a family owns a business doesn’t mean they take care of their customers like they are family. That is one of main reasons Kent has worked for the Gagnon Family since 2006. The Gagnon’s both treat their employees and customers like extended family and operate their business with the same vision. Kent’s number one role is customer retention as he considers it an honor to visit with our current customers and sign up new folks and serve them with the best products in the industry matched with excellent support and service. Kent’s longevity in the industry equips him with a vantage point of seeing what works and what doesn’t from a management perspective, a technician’s view, and from our customer’s standpoint. Kent is our heating oil salesman and focuses too, on liquid oil sales and protecting our customers with oil pricing. Kent’s family has been born and bred in Eliot and they all have a special affection for the Seacoast area. Kent considers it a privilege to be able to work in his “homeland” every day of the week. Kent and his wife live in Eliot, serve their local church in Eliot, and find joy in helping local residents by serving Kittery’s Fuel and More Board, Incorporator of Kennebunk Savings, and State of Maine and Eastern Region Advent Christian Association of Churches.
Dan Richardson
Title: Service Manager Lifelong Eliot resident and graduate of Marshwood High School. Two adult sons, Shawn and Patrick. Has been in the industry, primarily on the service and installation side, since starting at Davis Oil while still in high school. Enjoys a round of golf and spending time at his families camp. Coached youth basketball for many years. Member of the South Berwick Rod and Gun Club and former member of the Eliot Fire Dept.
These days, it’s hard to find a heating fuel and service company that isn’t part of a national chain or a major corporation. So it’s no surprise when our customers tell us how much they appreciate working with a familyowned company that’s been in the neighborhood for more than a century. We’re proud to be one of the only locally owned, family-run fuel companies in this area!
When you call or stop by our office, our friendly staff is knowledgeable, courteous and happy to answer your questions. And if you have a problem or an emergency, your call will be treated with urgency.
In our business, we believe in the golden rule: Treat your customers the way you’d like to be treated. Customers tell us they appreciate our fair and transparent pricing as well as all of the services we offer that make their lives a little easier. That includes payment and pricing plans, automatic deliveries and service plans.
So if you’ve been through the “winter wars” with us before, you know you can count on us for dependable deliveries and emergency service no matter how bad the weather gets. Just let us know what we can do to help.
Warmly,
Mark Gagnon President
A big part of what allows us to deliver the kind of old-fashioned value and service that you appreciate is our commitment to the latest technology.
A few years ago, we equipped all our technicians and drivers with computer tablets so that they could easily communicate with our office, access your service history quickly, check the availability of parts and much more.
Additionally, our online portal gives you easy access to your account anytime. It’s now mobile friendly, so you can pay your bill, check your fuel usage, schedule a delivery or request a maintenance appointment on the go.
You can also use our portal to set up e-billing and automatic payments. Most customers really enjoy the ease and the reduction of paper clutter.
By making it easier for you to work with us online, it means it’s even easier for you to work with us on the phone. Our customer-service representatives have more time to answer questions, troubleshoot equipment problems and, most important, dispatch a technician or a driver when you encounter a heating emergency.
This is the time of year when you want to make wise choices to stay comfortable while you keep your energy costs under control. Here are some tips to help you.
5 Propane Upgrades to Consider
Balance out your comfort and savings throughout the year with these five suggestions for propane upgrades.
Install a propane fireplace or propane log set. Vented propane hearths give you all the benefits of wood fireplaces without the smoke, mess or clean up — and at a fraction of the installation cost — no chimney required!
Warm up to a propane space heater. Do you have rooms that are drafty and cold? Do you do a lot of work in your garage? Vented propane gas space heaters are easy to install, incredibly efficient and extremely safe. They also burn cleaner, with fewer emissions compared to electric space heaters.
Upgrade to a new propane furnace. Propane gas furnaces are best in their class in terms of efficiency, with ratings from 90 to 98% efficient. A propane furnace can provide affordable warmth and comfort for any size floor plan, from small residences to large custom homes.
Go tankless. Swap out your old electric tank water heater for an innovative tankless propane unit. You’ll cut down on your water heating bills and enjoy a virtually endless supply of hot water.
Swap out your electric stove for a propane range/cooktop. Precision temperature control is just one of the reasons that 9 out of 10 professional chefs choose to cook with gas. Why not discover all the other benefits of a propane cooktop for yourself?
Propane — the more appliances you have, the more you’ll love it! For more propane upgrade ideas, please contact us and we’ll be glad to share our expert advice with you!
Raising Smart to a Higher Degree
A smart thermostat is a great addition for your home. A Wi-Fi enabled thermostat allows you to view and change temperature settings, check local weather conditions and more, all from your smartphone, computer or tablet.
Once the smart thermostat gets installed, you register it online. This enables access from any location. If you’re away from home, you can use your phone or tablet to adjust the temperature setting so your home is at the perfect temperature when you return.
Some thermostat models even allow you to adjust temperatures to your comfort and over the next few days your thermostat will “remember” the temperatures you like and build a schedule based on your patterns. Now, that’s pretty smart — and it saves you on both heating and cooling costs!
Put Your Comfort on Automatic
Many of our oil and propane customers get scheduled deliveries. They never have to call us for fuel because we carefully track their fuel usage and then make a delivery before their tank gets low. Automatic delivery does not cost anything extra!
This system works for most customers if usage is consistent, but there are exceptions, especially for our propane customers who use appliances at their discretion, such as fireplaces, space heaters and pool heaters.
In cases like this, we ask that you call us for a delivery when your propane tank gauge reaches 30%. This will give us plenty of time to get more fuel to you.
If you’re a heating oil customer who prefers to call in your order, you should do so when your tank reaches the ¼ mark.
Important: If you find you’re using a lot more or less fuel than you did last year, please call and let us know. We will be happy to adjust your delivery schedule.
Safety Corner
Here are a few tips on how to keep everything running safely and efficiently in your home.
Keep the area around your heating equipment as clean and clutter free as possible. Never store anything flammable near your boiler, furnace or any other appliance.
Change or clean the filter in your oil or propane furnace on a regular basis during the heating season. Dust and dirt are the natural enemies of your furnace; a dirty filter compromises efficiency and can even result in a shutdown.
Whether you heat your home with oil or propane, install carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in your home. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions about location and maintenance.
After a severe storm, carefully check your property for downed power lines, damaged gas lines or damage to your furl storage tank. Contact us to report any damage.
Did you know that all heating oil delivered in Maine must now contain an ultra-low level of sulfur content?
This commitment by the heating oil industry, in partnership with our state government, means that oil heat customers will experience some very significant benefits now and into the future: Reduced sulfur content means cleaner-burning fuel that’s kinder to your equipment. There’s less sediment, fewer clogs and far fewer breakdowns.
In short, ultra-low-sulfur heating oil burns more efficiently, helping you keep costs down and giving you more value per gallon.
Additionally, our heating oil typically includes Bioheat®, a blend of traditional home heating oil and biodiesel. This is a highly refined, clean-burning fuel made from renewable sources. It’s another important part of our commitment to bringing the cleanest energy possible into your home.
Are you hoping for an easier winter than last year’s? (Who isn’t?) Start with these tips to help things go more smoothly this year.
Call for a gas appliance safety check. We’ll inspect propane tanks and lines according to industry guidelines.
Sign up for automatic deliveries.
Enroll in Auto Pay: no stamps to buy, no checks to mail and no worrying about late payments.
Replace old heating equipment. New, high‑efficiency models can reduce your annual fuel costs.
Remove snow, ice or any other obstructions near your tank or fill pipe when the weather gets bad. This allows our drivers to deliver your fuel as safely and efficiently as possible.
Q: Why do I have to get a leak test when I run out of propane?
A: It’s all about safety, and it’s required by state and federal law, as well as by insurance rules.
All propane piping and fittings are coated with a pipe-joint compound to seal connections and prevent leaks. But if the pressure changes in the lines — as happens when you run out of fuel — there is the possibility that the joint compound could contract and create a leak.
As a result, whenever we install a new tank, or if you have a run-out, we must perform a pressure test. We need to make sure the tank is operating safely. Contrary to what some people may think, we would never perform a leak test just to charge an extra fee.
