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A basic full-service energy marketer is defined as a company that not only delivers fuel, but provides the associated 24-hour HVAC services necessary to repair heating units in the event of a breakdown. There are many levels of service being provided by full-service fuel marketers. Most full-service providers also repair air conditioning units, provide or lease propane tanks, and offer ...

Winter is around the corner, and perhaps it will be a colder one than last year, as my associates in the oil business are hoping. Recently I’ve had a chance to speak with oil dealers, manufacturers and suppliers regarding their sales for the 2015-16 season and, across the board, they all said that their sales were off and they attributed ...

It has been a pleasure to be the editor of Fuel Oil News since 2007. It has been an honor to do my small part in maintaining a publication that has been successfully serving the heating oil and, more broadly, the distributed fuel industry since 1935. I say “small part” because the magazine and those that came before me have ...

Many owners and managers are still asking the age-old question, “Where can I find good HVAC employees?” I hear it frequently. Owners and managers today go to great lengths to attract employees, using advertisements in several types of media, including radio, newspapers and trade magazines. I recently spotted a 4-foot x 6-foot help wanted ad for A/C technicians posted on ...

A few months ago I heard of a gent from California who was doing some interesting things with old propane tanks. I Googled him, and the images of propane tank creations on his website blew me away. So I called him.   His name is Colin Selig. I explained my connection to the propane industry and we spoke for some time. ...

by George Lanthier* The production of domestic hot water is an important issue in controlling the spread of disease in humans and animals. DHW is essential today in residential, commercial and industrial applications, not only in the preparation of foodstuffs, but also as a key element of most local, state and national health codes. In this article we will discuss ...

For those of us living in northern climates it’s hard to believe that the summer fun is already more than half over. But, a short summer and a long winter tends to pay the bills in the heating industry, so there’s not much room to complain. Looking through the energy-related bills being pushed in Washington, it’s also apparent that we ...

By Shane Sweet In August the Northeast Propane Show (NPA) will again come to its home at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, Mass.   The dates are August 10 and 11. I have been saying for years that if you throw a rock in any direction during the spring and summer months you will hit a least one trade show.  If ...

By Charlie Bursey Over the past 8-10 years, many of the established full service oil company owners have diversified into new areas of business, such as A/C, water conditioning and LP gas filling stations etc. From what I hear these opportunities have worked well and have added much needed revenue for many operations. I also continue to hear about how ...

By Charlie Bursey Solar power for those of you who may not know, is the energy taken from the sun and converted to electrical energy. The solar panels are semi-conductors that we often see on the roof tops that absorb the radiation from the sun which in turn releases electrons that are converted to electricity. Solar energy can also be ...