Thursday, March 30, 2017

Creating A Tank Management Program



A tank maintenance program will help ensure that you have uncontaminated used oil.  

Find below some helpful tips for creating a tank management program.

1.      Schedule a waste oil hauler to pick up the oil from your tank if:

·         your tank hasn’t been cleaned in the last two years.
·         you have any question about whether the oil is contaminated with anti-freeze, water, sludge, or chlorine. 

2.      IMPORTANT:   Make sure to supervise the waste oil hauler to ensure that they remove all the oil AND sludge from the bottom of the tank.  If you do not supervise the waste oil hauler, they will likely leave the sludge, etc in the bottom of your tank.


3.      Re-fill the tank with uncontaminated used oil.


Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Ridding Contaminants IN Your Tank

Ridding Contaminants IN Your Tank

Contaminants such as anti-freeze, sludge, and water in your waste oil storage tank can all adversely affect the operation of your Clean Burn.  Chlorine in your supply of waste oil WILL cause expensive damage to the operation of your Clean Burn waste oil heater. 
Eco Heating Systems recommends you contact your local waste oil hauler to bring their vacuum truck and have them empty and clean your tank after heating season.  Please make sure your waste oil hauler does a thorough job - it is essential that all of the sludge is removed from the bottom of the tank. We absolutely suggest having someone watch to confirm the tank has been thoroughly cleaned.

Keep your Clean Burn furnace happy by getting your waste oil storage tank cleaned after heating season and by keeping contaminants out of your oil supply!  This allows you time to save up more oil for the heating season.

Monday, May 11, 2015

A Healthy, Happy Furnace

There are important things that you can do to protect your investment in your Clean Burn waste oil furnace.  Using only acceptable fuels consistently is extremely important. 

Following a maintenance schedule is also critical for your furnace.  Cleaning the flues and cabinet will prolong the life of your furnace.  As your furnace runs, ash accumulates in its flue tubes.  If this ash is not cleaned out on a proper maintenance interval, it will clog the tubes causing heat reduction and, if left too long, damage to your furnace.


Please get into the habit of recording your operating hours at the beginning of each month during the heating season.  When you are getting close to 700 hours, please call our office to get on the schedule for maintenance.  Some of our customers are very proactive and have us do minor periodic maintenance midway through heating season.  They do not want to run the risk of damaging their furnace or invalidating their warranty.

If your fuel source frequently contains contaminants, your furnace may require more frequent clean out of ash.  (Please Note:  We do NOT recommend burning contaminants.)

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

It's All About The Oil

Disposal of used oil is an important aspect of operating many businesses.  Burning your waste oil on-site in a Clean Burn waste oil furnace is the most economical way of dealing with disposal of your used oil.  There are some things you need to keep in mind after installing a Clean Burn heater at your facility:

1) Don't Run Out of Oil - Many waste oil haulers are in the habit of just stopping by your shop and sucking out the waste oil you have on hand.  If you don't have oil, your furnace will not operate!  It is essential that you do not let a hauler take your used oil at any point during the heating season.  If you are overflowing with oil, and must have some hauled off, only allow the hauler take half of your oil.  We recommend at least 12" of oil be available at all times, preferably 1/4 - 1/2 tank.

RUNNING OUT OF OIL IS OUR #1 REASON FOR SERVICE CALLS!

2) Keep contaminants out of your waste oil supply.   Water, Anti-Freeze and Brake Fluid - these are the three most common oil contaminants that will cause your furnace to stop operating, and can cause major damage to your furnace.   Other contaminants including biodiesel, Oil-Dri or cat litter, dirt and sludge in your oil tank can all cause your furnace to shut down and cause costly repairs.

Feeding your Clean Burn furnace or boiler with "Clean" used oil is important!

3) Establish a used-oil management procedure for your employees.

4) Get your used oil storage tank emptied and completely cleaned out in the summer by your waste oil hauler.  It is important to get rid of the sludge in the bottom of your tank each year.

By following these simple steps and getting proper periodic maintenance, your furnace will be happy and continue to provide reliable, economical heat all winter long!

For more information about Eco Heating Systems and Clean Burn, please visit our website at http://www.ecowasteoilheaters.com/

Keep Your Clean Burn running properly

COLD weather is here. Please help keep your Clean Burn running properly during cold weather.


1. Monitor the oil supply in your tank. Make sure you have sufficient good oil. Make sure there is plenty of oil in the tank to last overnight. Make sure your oil is not contaminated with antifreeze, water or sludge. Please see the list below for approved oils.

Crank case oil
Transmission Fluid
New Fuel Oil # 2, #4, and #5
Synthetic Used oil
Hydraulic Fluid (up to 90 Weight)
Diesel Oil and Diesel Fuel (New or Used)

2. Make sure your air compressor is in a warm environment . Make sure there is no water in your air compressor or the air compressor line. Water in the air compressor could freeze and cause your air compressor not to work. Your furnace will not operate without air coming from your air compressor.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

2014-15 Winter Forecast by First Hand Weather -- Sharing Article

http://firsthandweather.com/283/early-2014-15-winter-forecast-region-region-breakdown/

This is a more simplified version of the preliminary 2014-15 winter forecast that I released on July 20th. In this post, I want to go region-by-region and tell you what I believe this winter entails for those areas. Before I do, please understand that this winter forecast is subject to change, but at this time, I am fairly confident in my current predictions for this upcoming winter. Only time will tell if my predictions verify, and if any changes need to be made, I will do so in my final winter forecast which will be coming out in October.
Two of the points that I made in my preliminary winter forecast was that the strength of the El Nino matters and the placement of the above-average sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific matters. That’s why you can’t come out with one of those “this is your typical weak El Nino winter maps” and call it a winter forecast. It simply won’t work. Also, there are other factors that will be big drivers of this upcoming winter because we will likely only be in a weak to weakly moderate El Nino. The warmer waters in the northern Pacific over the Gulf of Alaska could again be partially responsible for another cold winter in the central and eastern United States, while the West has above-average temperatures.
The warmest waters still remain over the eastern equatorial Pacific, while the central Pacific waters have cooled quite dramatically. I’m not too concerned about this because we’ll likely see those waters across the central Pacific really start to warm back up, while the eastern Pacific will start to see a drop-off in sea surface temperatures in the coming weeks. This is going to have to occur for the El Nino Modoki to kick in, which I have been predicting for some time now. Once those cooler waters start to surface across the eastern Pacific and the waters begin to warm back up across the central Pacific, the atmosphere will likely react in a way that drives further warmer across the central Pacific, due to a larger sea-surface temperature gradient. Many of those who were calling for the unprecedented super El Nino event to develop later this year are now trying to say that nothing could happen at all. They’ll most likely be wrong both times.
If you didn’t see my preliminary 2014-15 winter forecast, be sure to take some time to read it later by clicking here. I go into detail as to why I’m predicting what I’m predicting, but just to warn you, it is quite lengthy! Right now, allow me to break down region-by-region what you can expect for this upcoming 2014-15 winter.
Southeast: The southeastern United States will likely experience well-below average temperatures with many areas across the Southeast getting plenty of snowfall/ice/rain. Last winter, many regions saw above-average snowfall, but that doesn’t always translate to a wetter-than-average winter. This winter across the Southeast will likely be wetter-than-average for most. Because of the cold air that will likely be in place, many regions that typically do not get snow and ice will get it this year. This reminds me of what occurred in 2009-10 when many people living in the Gulf coast states saw snow who hardly ever get it. Unlike last winter, Florida will likely get in on the really cold air this year since a lot of the cold air could be more focused in the eastern U.S. Expect several big storms to move across this region this winter and impact many living in this area.
Mid-Atlantic: The Mid-Atlantic could even see a snowier winter than last winter and likely experience well-below average temperatures. This winter could rival some of the “snowpocalyptic” winters that occurred a few years back, which will likely end up making this a highly discussed topic throughout the winter. This will likely be a wetter-than-average winter for the Mid-Atlantic, and this region will likely feel the effects of low pressure systems bombing off the East Coast. This area will probably be impacted by several storms this season and may even feel the effects of a pre-season storm that may try to develop.
Northeast and Great Lakes: A good portion of the Northeast will likely experience a colder-than-average winter, but it really depends on where you’re located at. Places in the northern Northeast like Maine could actually have around average temperatures and snowfall, while regions more to the south and along the coast may feel the effects of heavier snowfall and brutally cold air. The Great Lakes region will be brutally cold; however lake-effect snowfall could be considerably less this year. This was hard for me to include on my winter map, which is why I wanted to mention it here. Waters on the lakes are still very cold from this past winter with chunks of ice that were still being spotted as late as this past July 4th. This will likely have an effect on the lake-effect snow machine this upcoming winter.
Tennessee Valley & Ohio Valley: Most of this region will likely experience brutally cold temperatures with the Ohio Valley and a good portion of the Tennessee Valley having good shots at getting some heavy snowfall this year. The Ohio Valley, in particular, could have another year of average to above-average snowfall and overall, may even be wetter-than-average. The Tennessee Valley, particularly in the eastern regions, will likely have average to above average snowfall also. Sometimes, parts of this area can miss out on the good snowfall, but if this occurs, I only see this happening in the more western areas of the Tennessee Valley.
Southern Plains: The Southern Plains will also likely experience well-below average temperatures with higher-than-average snowfall/ice, and overall, most of this region will be wet, some areas more than others. This is another region that could have areas getting snowfall/ice that typically don’t get it. Several storms will likely track across this region throughout the winter with several places across Texas having a decent chance at getting some good snowfall this year. This region will be in the path of some of the Arctic blasts that will likely dive pretty far south this winter.
Northern Plains: The Northern Plains will likely be in a region that experiences brutally cold air diving south from the Arctic, but some areas will be impacted more than others, particularly eastern sections. Precipitation/snowfall could be around average, maybe even below average once you move more west. This is one of those regions that I’m a little more uncertain about and will have to watch closely as we get closer to winter.
Southwest: The Southwest may actually have a decent shot at getting some good rainfall/snowfall to help put a small dent in the drought this winter. While this region will likely have above-average temperatures overall, I’m feel pretty optimistic for the southern regions across California. The further north you get though, the drier things will get. If we do get a lot of storm systems moving through this region, that may bring the overall temperature averages down somewhat, but for now, I’m still calling for above-average temperatures.
Northwest: This region will likely be dealing with well-above average temperatures and once again, very dry conditions. This area will probably feel the effects of another winter that brings ridging over the region; therefore, warmer and drier conditions.
As I stated, some of this will change as we get closer to this winter, but for now, I think things look really good with the forecast overall. For those of you that do not follow Firsthand Weather on Facebook, you definitely want to like the page by clicking here. I will be putting MANY updates on there regarding this upcoming winter over the next several months.


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Depreciation on Equipment using Section 179 of the Federal Tax Code

Section 179 Deduction allows a business to deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income this year!  Please speak to your tax consultant to find out exactly what it means for you!
Section 179 was designed with businesses in mind. That's why almost all types of "business equipment" qualify for the Section 179 deduction.
All businesses need equipment on an ongoing basis. It's very likely that your business has purchased many of these goods during the past year, and will do so again and again. Section 179 is designed to make purchasing that equipment during this calendar year financially attractive.
Section 179 of the Federal Tax Code has been extended through December 31st of this year.  
Take advantage of it before it is too late.