The P. Gagnon & Son Blog

Winter Home Fuel Delivery Tips

Make sure P. Gagnon & Son can deliver your propane or heating oil

fuel delivery maineWe realize that clearing your driveway and walkways after a winter storm isn’t always a fun job.

However, if our P. Gagnon & Son delivery trucks are unable to get down your driveway or access your heating oil or propane tank safely, we may not be able to deliver your heating oil or propane.

If your driveway is on an incline, sanding or salting helps us safely get to your home as our trucks are bigger and heavier than any other vehicles using your driveway.

We appreciate a clear path of at least one foot in width between your driveway and the location of your propane tank, heating oil tank, or fill line. If you hire someone to plow and clear your driveway and walkways, ask them to keep access to your tank or fill line clear and not buried by snow or blocked by a snowbank.

A tall pole topped with a bright-colored flag or large ribbon placed near your tank or fill line helps us locate where we need to go after a heavy snowfall.

If you’re going to be taking a vacation this winter, please make arrangements for snow and ice removal while you are gone in case we need to make a delivery or service call while you are away.

While we’re talking about vacations, Automatic Delivery customers planning to go on vacation for more than a few weeks are asked to let us know. Our delivery schedule is based on your prior fuel usage, so knowing you’ll be away and thus not using as much heating oil or propane might avoid a needless delivery to your home.

Take care of your fuel tank

After each snowfall, you should clean the snow off your propane tank with a broom. A shovel might damage the tank or its components. Snow should not be left on top of your tank. The weight of heavy snow might damage fittings and joints, causing them to break and the entire tank to shift. This can lead to gas leaks. Snow can block leaking propane from escaping, resulting in potentially dangerous gas buildup.

When temperatures drop, propane shrinks and the pressure in your tank may drop so low that the propane cannot reach your home’s gas burners. When snow is cleared off the tank, sunlight warms the propane inside, keeping it at a safe pressure.

Make getting your heating oil or propane a breeze. Contact us to enroll in Automatic Delivery!