Avoiding frozen pipes, furnace issues

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- It is very cold outside and has gotten noticeable colder throughout the evening. If you're trying to stay warm inside experts say you have to make sure you furnace, oil and pipes are in working order.

The coldest day in 2 years has been one of the busiest days for Apple Oil Company in West Haven. They usually get about 200 calls a day in January.

"We got about 6, 700 calls today," said Sam Livieri of Apple Oil Company.

News 8 wanted to know what kinds of heating hiccups homeowners can handle on their own. First, the furnace. If it goes off that can be an easy fix.

"The first thing they should do is go down and there's a little red reset button on the burner. Hit that once. If the furnace comes on, it usually starts up. The reason it went off is because there was a power overload from working too hard. It got tired and it shut off," said Livieri.

If it doesn't go back on that's when you call the heating specialist. They will also want to know how much oil you have. He says do not let your oil levels get down to a quarter of a tank. If it does and you need to call an oil company, this requires customers purchase a minimum of 50 gallons. At $3.79 a gallon, it'll run you about $170 and that price has stayed about the same since October.

"The price of fuel has been very consistent this year unlike most years in the oil industry when there's an arctic blast, we've seen tremendous spikes in oil," said Livieri.

The arctic blast also increases the chances of pipes freezing.

"Pipes freeze, the water inside the pipes expands and it breaks the copper and the water will go all over and you'll have damage," said Livieri.

He says the best way to guard against frozen pipes is to keep your thermostat at a minimum of 55 degrees even in a vacation or vacant home. When you're inside you may want to keep temps in the upper 60's to low 70's. Then when you go to sleep...

"You want to turn it down to about 61 to 62," said Livieri.

As the mercury continues to drop and you need more heating help, don't be afraid to call.

"We don't want anyone to go without heat," said Livieri.