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Take It to the Bank
Ten days to pay, 30 days or more to get paid.
That’s the dilemma that fuel oil distributors know so well, especially now that the price of product is so steep. A fine-tuned working relationship with a bank, for that all-important line of credit, is crucial to operating successfully in the current market, said a fuel oil distributor and bank executives.
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Environmental Products & Services Guide
Key to products and services offered:
120: Bioremediation
128: Environmental Products & Services
144: Fluid Inventory Control
165: Leak Detectors
178: Oil Spill Recovery Equipment
208: Tank Lining & Diking
209: Tank Monitoring
210: Tanks, Storage, AST
212: Tanks, Storage, UST
213: Tank Cleaning
800: Other
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Dispatching and Driver Communications Roundup
For fleet managers of mobile fueling companies looking to run their business as tightly as possible, communication is a lifeline. Keeping tabs on mobile fueling trucks is now becoming easier with new technology that helps monitor the inventory as well as driver practices.
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2008 AHR Expo
THE 60TH AHR EXPO, HELD AT THE JACOB K. JAVITS Convention Center in New York City, Jan. 22-24, may not have been quite in the heart of heating oil country, but it was close enough to draw a record crowd of 39,298 registered attendees, including 6,778 international attendees representing 132 countries.
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Princeton’s Biofuel Project
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY HOPES TO GET A GREEN LIGHT THIS year from New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection to run its heating plant on 99.9 biofuel.
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Updated Procedures
RECENTLY ON MY WEB SITE DISCUSSION BOARD AT www.FiredragonEnt.com, we started talking about the operating benefits or lack of them regarding a principle called ‘cold-start.’ Now although most of us know that refers to system operating temperatures, I’m going to define the term and its opposites for the sake of the newbies and greenies out there. After that, I’m going to tell you why I don’t like it and throw a curveball on another cold-start problem.
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Closing the Enron Loophole: A Different Perspective
THE “CLOSE THE ENRON LOOPHOLE” HAS GAINED significant traction in recent months. While it's clear that the industry has made a strong effort to lobby Washington to initiate and pass legislation intended to eliminate trading on “dark markets,” another question also needs to be addressed. Will the time, effort and resources being allocated to “closing the Enron loophole” produce the results desired by many in our industry?
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More on Electricity
In a previous article we looked at an excerpt from one of our newer books WIRING & Fuel Burning Equipment, Volume One, Fundamentals.
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Bio-Fuel Oil in Focus — Part 1
Biofuels are inescapable both in the public domain and throughout the industry. Hardly a week goes by without another announcement of a biodiesel or ethanol facility coming on line; a merger, acquisition or strategic partnership; an increase in production capacity of an existing facility; or some new development in processing technology.
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Market Options
As I write this article, crude oil is trading around $72 and has traded as high as $78.70 in recent weeks.
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The Wheel Deal
Fuel oil distributors engaged in the task of specing a new delivery truck typically have a list of “must-have” features and a list of “like-to-have” features.
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Tank Truck Insights
Now that the summer vacations are over and school is starting that is a sure sign that it’s time for the heating oil companies to get back to work.
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Truck, Trailer and Equipment Directory
A&M TRUCK CENTER CORP., ADVANCE ENGINEERED PRODUCTS, ADVANCED TANK SYSTEMS INC., ALLIED TANK
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Nonroad, Locomotive and Marine Diesel Rule
The Nonroad Diesel Rule is part of a suite of sweeping EPA changes that tackle ozone, emissions and fine particle matter (PM) from off-road diesel equipment.
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Oil Heat Training Directory
11th annual listing of industry educational offerings
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Adding the Right Stuff
Season to season, heating oil deliverymen encounter systems clogged to varying degrees by sediment or bacterial growth, which brings us to the use of fuel additives to treat such problems.
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NEFI Expo Draws Record Crowds
New England Fuel Institute (NEFI) drew record crowds to the 32nd North American Heating & Energy Exposition that ran June 12-13, 2007 at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston’s Prudential Tower district.
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Chemicals Buyer’s Guide
A directory of additive manufacturers
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NEFI Confronts “Dark Exchanges”
Excessive speculation and volatility on the energy commodity markets have impacted small business fuel dealers and the American energy consumer, Sean Cota, president of the New England Fuel Institute, told a Senate subcommittee.
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The Magic Valve
There are two critical areas for any airplane pilot in flying from one point to the next — the takeoff and the landing.
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Draft Inducers and Controls
I’d like to preview something new with you and talk about one of my favorite subjects again — draft. When I first started writing for magazines about 20 years ago, my first editor joked to me to, “pick something easy to start off with, like draft.”
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Building a Common Sense Solution
Increased business costs have forced every energy supplier to focus on their operations and find ways to improve competitiveness and the bottom line.
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NAOHSM’s 54th Annual Convention & Trade Show
This year marked another successful Annual Convention and Trade Show for the National Association of Oil Heating Service Managers, held May 20-24, 2007, at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, Pa.
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Water Heater Roundup
A review of direct- and indirect-fired units, plus accessories, for domestic hot water
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Investing in Biofuels
The biofuels push is being driven by a variety of factors. There are commercial and industrial pressures, political pressures, ecological activist pressure and the...
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AREE Rolls High in Atlantic City
ANOTHER YEAR HAS COME TO PASS, AND ALONG with it another successful Atlantic Region Energy Expo show.
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Environmental Products & Services Guide
Our annual listing of products and services
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A New Age in Dispatching
Dispatching, by definition, always used to involve a great deal of verbal communication with drivers — and lots of paperwork. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
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A Little More on pH
A lot of you asked me for more information on pH and how it pertains to heating systems, so here we go.
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Basis — What is it?
Basis is the difference between the physical price of fuel and the underlying futures market. It is the language of price for hedgers around the world, and it is the smallest denominator of risk that a hedger has.
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The NORA Strategic Plan
That the oil heat industry has faced any number of challenges in recent years is certainly no surprise to anybody reading Fuel Oil News.
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2007 Truck Show
With more than 9,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors, this event made NTEA history.
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NEFI Convention and Big Trade EXPO to Focus on Changing Dynamics of Oilheat, Liquid Fuels
Two-day Expo, business and technical seminars provide look at future fuels, heating technology
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Fair Trade?
IntercontinentalExchange® operates a global, electronic marketplace for trading both futures and over-the-counter energy contracts.
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Tools & Service Equipment Roundup
Our Annual review of products to help the service technician
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An eye opening trip to ISH
I recently had the pleasure and privilege of traveling to Frankfurt, Germany and parts of Denmark to attend ISH 2007, “The World’s Leading Trade Fair,” take in a few manufactures tours and enjoy their countries with many of my friends in the industry.
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Biofuels conference draws a crowd
The Environmental Business Association of New York State presented a state-focused conference on biofuels on March 14. The conference was sold out well in advance, with more than 275 participants, 30 speakers and 25 exhibit tables.
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The tools you need to succeed Part 3
This is a little different then talking to them for information regarding their heating system. Do you care about your customer?
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Really basic electricity
If there’s one thing most people agree on in this business, it’s that electricity and controls are one of the most troublesome areas for them.
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Propane Products
The Bosch ProTankless™ GWH 635
ES water heaters are extremely versatile
and efficient.
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Forging ahead
Twenty-one of the biggest mixed fleets in North America are working together to help speed the development of a cost-effective, light-duty work truck that reduces exhaust emissions while improving fuel economy compared to current vehicles.
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Lost?
The costs of an oil driver or service technician getting lost on his (or her) way to the customer’s home are significant.
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What condition are your receivables in?
The combination of significantly warmer than normal temperatures along with continued high energy costs and increased consumer bad debt has affected both consumers and home heating suppliers alike.
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A modern beacon for cleaner energy
Energy independence is nothing new for the Rose Island Lighthouse, located on an island off Newport, R.I., in Narragansett Bay.
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Too grand
The following photos correspond to a February 2007 article of the same title that covered Hlavaty Plum-Heat-Cool, Inc. and Energy Kinetics’ System 2000 Boiler.
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Indirect water heaters — conventional/new applications
For many years indirect water heaters have been used as an improved DHW (Domestic Hot Water) system when compared to cast iron boilers with tankless coils.
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Earthly pursuits
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released an Environmental Technology Verification report confirming 400-percent efficiency of the EarthLinked Commercial Water Heating System.
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Delivering Reliability
“Reliability, accuracy and safety are critical. Our customers want their fuel delivered exactly when they need it, often during very narrow time windows,” said Shelley Brannan, marketing manager for Milwaukee, Wis.-based Jacobus Energy.
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Controlling cash flow
This is an exclusive interview with Tracy Richmond, executive vice president and partner with COCARD, Inc., of Beverly, Mass.
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Computer Systems
Software vendors for fuel and oil heat applications
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2007 AHR Expo
The 59th AHR Expo wowed the HVAC&R industry earlier this year, from Jan. 29-31, as it attracted an impressive number of exhibiting companies, exhibitor personnel and visitors.
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The tools you need to succeed, Part II
Some technicians are surprised at how much a homeowner knows about their system without knowing anything about our trade itself. Whenever the customer is present I always spend my first few minutes with them talking and asking questions; I have learned most customers can give you a pretty good history of their system.
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Too grand
Hlavaty Plumb-Heat-Cool, Inc., is a 31-year-old, Marine-veteran-owned, second-generation family business. The business started simply with master plumber Frank Hlavaty and one employee, George Leib, who now owns Leib Well Drilling in Ashland, Pa.
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Gauging the situation
Well, it’s time to go back to B&B Mechanical and check in with our old pals, Bruce and Bubba. The boys have been very busy, so Bruce decided to hire another guy. B&B’s coming along pretty good and with a January thaw Bruce hopped a plane and went to Florida for a week, leaving Bubba in charge.
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Look and learn
For over 20 years, Nelson & Small of Portland, Maine, has been one of the country’s largest distributors of high-efficiency, direct-vent comfort heating and water-heating systems.
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Boiler & Hydronic
HERE’S A SELECTION OF PRODUCTS chosen to provide an overview of the technologies available in “wet
heat.” It is by no means a complete list of equipment currently on the market, just a sampling.
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Hitting the target
In many cases, the Yellow Pages are the basic foundation of an advertising campaign, offering many businesses an excellent opportunity for a quick sale. Do you know that nobody reads the Yellow Pages for fun?
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When good goes bad
In many of my seminars, especially those about hydronics and cold-weather servicing of heating systems, an issue comes up that always surprises me that people don’t know about: how non-toxic or inhibited propylene glycol solutions, or system anti-freeze, can go bad and you may end up with a freezing acid.
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Warm Air and HVAC Products Roundup
THIS SELECTION OF NEW PRODUCTS has been specifically chosen to provide an overview of the new technologies available in warm air and
commercial heating/cooling/ventilation.
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Playing the percentages
I have client companies of all sizes. From one-man operations to companies that have as many as 15 service technicians. All my clients as well as almost everyone else in the HVAC industry have two things in common.
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New lease on life
Several years ago, many fleets thought owning their own trucks made the most financial sense. But numerous changes, including the increasing complexity of both heavy- and medium-duty trucks and tractors; stricter government regulations; and the need for financial flexibility have brought full-service leasing to the forefront.
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DHW troubleshooting
In this article we are going to take a look at basic rules for troubleshooting domestic hot water heaters.
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Setting the standard
Coming off a record-setting 2006 show in Chicago, the 2007 AHR Expo is on track to establish more records as final preparations are made for the Jan. 29-31 event to be held at the Dallas Convention Center.
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Slow and Steady
While 2006 wasn’t as flashy as 2005, our 29th annual profile of oilheat marketers shows it was still noteworthy.
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2007 Sourcebook
Trade groups of interest to the oilheating industry
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Directory of Manufacturers
Alphabetical listing of equipment and service providers.
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Oil Handling Directory
Products and services cross-referenced.
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Heating and Cooling
Products and services cross-referenced.
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Accessories Directory
Products and services cross-referenced.
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At your fingertips
Back in the 1970s, NASA was designing and building the Space Shuttle. Specialized on-board computers were built to handle the Shuttle’s complex navigation functions.
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Second wind
With good reason, the months of April, May and June are known as trade-show season in the oilheating industry. Not only are the oilheat companies and their employees able to sit back and relax a bit after the completion of...
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Making the most of mail
Recently, I had a client of mine ask me how he could get some business during his slow time. I told him that he should send out the Cash Flow Surge Letter that is included in the HVAC Profit Secrets Toolbox.
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Accessories Roundup
THIS SELECTION OF NEW PRODUCTS has been specifically chosen to provide an overview of the new technologies available in oil burners and components.
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Enterprising executives
Twenty-odd years ago, when computers were new in small and mid-sized businesses, the most common computer system-related mistake that business owners made was to select their computer first and then look for software that would run on that computer.
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Time is money
Playing the petroleum market isn’t just for international investors. In an era of rapidly fluctuating petroleum prices, customers such as retail gasoline stations and bulkplants monitor the market as well to get the best prices.
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A far-reaching vision
Everything you needed to divine the future of oilheat and all of its uses, short of an actual crystal ball or fortune teller, was on hand in Providence, R.I., from Aug. 21-23 as the New England Fuel Institute hosted its biennial Oilheat Visions 2006 at the Rhode Island Convention Center.
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Center of attention
A REHAU radiant heating and cooling system was recently installed in one of Canada’s most innovative and energy-efficient buildings, the Earth Rangers Centre in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada.
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Oil Handling Equipment Directory
Our annual listing of industry suppliers.
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Storage & Bulkplant
Primary and customary storage systems and accessories.
Zcl's Phoenix System Allows Relining Of USTS, Sure Seal Butterfly Valves Come In Three Seat Types, JOWA Consilium Creates Petrotape Wireless Gauge, Smith Flow Control Valves
Help Prevent Control Errors, etc. If you need to replace your underground tanks and site conditions make removal
and replacement costly, retrofit your tanks with the new...
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“Tanks” a lot
Companies from B.P. and Shell to ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips are adopting a new grounding technology for their storage and bulkplant operations known as Retractable Grounding Assembly.
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Eye of the beholder
Many of us have heard of setting up a burner by eye. This procedure ranks right up there in the annals of dumb with so many other backwards and antiquated ways of doing things that only those grouped in the clan of the criminally stupid still do this.
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Growth spurt
Trans-Tech Industries was incorporated in Maine in 1984, and was initially located in Southwest Harbor, Maine, near Acadia National Park, in a former boat-storage building that was converted into a tank-manufacturing facility.
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Two for one
The selection of a residential heating system is an investment that the homeowner will have to live with for a very long time.
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Tank Truck Directory
Our annual list of delivery rig suppliers. A&M Truck Center Corp, Adams & Fogg Oil Equipment Co., Advance Engineered Products, Advanced Tank Systems Inc., Allied Tank, and more....
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Don’t get frosted
It’s been a cold night and you’re hot to get rolling. But your defroster is taking forever to clear the windscreen.
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Priming the pumps
The demand for biodiesel continues to grow every day in the United States. The ability to keep up with that demand while trying to improve efficiencies and uptime is a challenge that all biodiesel producers must continue to refine.
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Filling a need
Faced with a growing customer base and a shortage of service technicians, the Hudson Valley Oil Heat Council has decided to provide area vocational schools with the latest equipment for their oilheat classes.
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The air in there
In my travels on the Internet, in seminars and just talking to so many people in this industry, it never seems to amaze me how many people have problems with oil lines, fuel pumps and, specifically, vacuum.
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Volume and profit
David Woods, president of York Oil, York Beach, Maine, was interested in growing his business, but also needed to make his deliveries as efficiently as possible.
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Don’t get zapped
If you travel the Internet, you will see dozens of postings about component failures and guys going nuts over these failures and the testing of both conventional and solid-state ignition systems.
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Selling service
Having spent a significant portion of my career developing and conducting training seminars, I often get asked one very important question: Why is training important for the oilheat industry, and as a business owner, why should I invest in training?
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Chemical Buyer's Guide
A directory of additive manufacturers.
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A win-win situation
When you have been in business over 75 years, the implementation of new ideas does not always come easy.
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Adding additives
Most fuel oil dealers have an understanding of the benefits of incorporating a premium additive to their heating oil. More efficient burner performance, reduced sludge and sediment, fewer service calls, extended system life — and happier customers.
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Oil Heat Training Directory
Thirteenth Annual Listing of industry educational offerings
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Making the leap
It’s time for a gut check! There are so many different solutions offered to fuel-delivery providers that it’s hard to tell them apart. Clearly, we are seeing a growing movement toward automation in fuel-delivery systems, but when is automation too much for your business?
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Water Heater Roundup
A review of direct- and indirect-fired units, plus accessories, for domestic hot water. Diversified Heat Transfer Techtanium water heater - This new product delivers all the hot water that’s needed, quickly and efficiently, and works with any...
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Tender loving care
If you’re planning to open a daycare center in the basement of your new home, it makes perfect sense to provide in-floor heating, especially if it’s a New England home, where basements can be notoriously damp.
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Hot stuff
A few years ago, 1998 to be exact, a good friend of mine, Bob Suffredini of Therma Flow/Everhot, and I put a book together on domestic hot water. Although it contains just about everything you would ever want to know on the subject, there’s one issue that keeps coming up all of the time, scalding.
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Soaring spirits
Despite being dogged for a day by torrential rains that saw visitors arrive at the Connecticut Expo Center in pairs, there was no dampening the spirits of the attendees or exhibitors as the National Association of Oil Heating Service Magazines held its 53rd Annual Convention & Trade Show in Hartford, Conn., from May 14-18.
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Waste not, want not
Starting a new company involves countless decisions and some major purchases, the largest often being equipment. Waste Oil Solutions Inc., a company involved in the collection and proper handling of used waste oil, antifreeze, oil-contaminated water and used oil filters, and starting a parts-washer service division, was incorporated in 2005.
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Desktop deposits
Henry Oil Co. in Providence, R.I., and Exeter Fuel in Exeter, R.I., are two fuel oil companies that have taken the process of making a deposit into the 21st century. They have done this by signing up with Independence Bank’s new proprietary product, Cool Deposit. Cool Deposit consists of a software package combined with a small desktop check scanner that enables businesses to create and make their deposits right from their desk.
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Fluepipe design, Part 3
Time to do some sizing of multiple-unit fluepipes and wrap this series of articles up. We finished in the last article with the sizing of everything but the common vent pipes and a discussion about the transitions.
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New and improved: Relocated AREE a hit with attendees, exhibitors
While its long-running stay at the Trump Taj Mahal on Atlantic City, N.J.’s Boardwalk was a hit with Atlantic Region Energy Expo attendees, there was no arguing that in recent years the ever-expanding show had outgrown the Taj Mahal’s environs, necessitating a move to a larger facility.
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Betting on bio
On March 30, Sprague Energy celebrated the opening of the company’s first biofuel facility at its Albany, N.Y., terminal.
New York Gov. George E. Pataki, speaking at the event said, “We recognize the need to reduce our dependence on imported energy and this new facility shows that this vital energy transition is not only possible, but already underway.”
Also speaking were John McClellan, president and CEO of Sprague Energy, Peter R. Smith, president of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick H. Brennan and Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino.
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Partners in service
When it comes to servicing your customers, especially after business hours, there is still no substitute for having someone there to answer the phones.
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Growing your own title
A few weeks ago Fuel Oil News met with Alan Mercurio, named in 2005 as Associate Member of the Year by the National Association of Oil Heating Service Managers. Also sitting in was Brian Pruiksma, the service supervisor for KOSCO in Kingston, N.Y.
KOSCO, or the Kingston Oil Supply Corp., has been in existence for over 75 years and has more than 150 employees. Vice presidents Barry and David Motzkin manage the company and are the sons of the former owners Arthur and Alvin Motzkin.
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Taking control of your tanks
Managing the administrative tasks associated with owning an underground storage tank can be challenging, especially if a marketer has numerous operations across state borders. From permit renewals and waste management tracking to Notice of Violation resolution, the skills required to effectively manage UST compliance need to be specialized and dependable.
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Fluepipe design, Part 2
OK, if you remember in the last article we looked at fluepipe design and what it really takes to do it right. Last month we looked at single units, this month it’s multiple units. Keep in mind that I’m continuing to follow the NFPA Standards, NFPA31 and 211, for this subject, and both NFPA and I can’t stress enough that any manufacturer’s requirement supersedes anything either of us have to say.
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How to save this winter
So far, as I write this on March 2, the 2005-06 winter has been a degree-day disaster. It’s true that February was pretty cold, but I don’t think March and April are going to make up for the tropical January.
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