As winter make an abrupt appearance in the Midlands, the rhythm of the day changes. Mornings feel a touch slower, the car windscreens need a minute or two, and the first proper frost catches a lot of us by surprise. That’s usually when the phones start to ring. Households across Offaly, Laois, Westmeath and Kildare look at the gauge, remember the cold snap a few years back, and decide it’s time to get the tank sorted. If you rely on kerosene for heat, a little planning at this time of year makes everything easier.

Why Cold Snaps Create Queues

Cold weather has a way of bunching everyone’s plans together. After the first icy morning, many people place their orders within the same couple of days, and delivery windows tighten up as routes are reworked around hills, back roads and school traffic. In an ordinary week we can often reach most areas within a day or two. During a frost, those one–two days can stretch to two–three, depending on access and timing. You won’t be left without, but you might find yourself competing with neighbours doing exactly the same thing at the same time. That’s why ordering a few days earlier than you think you’ll need to is one of the simplest ways to take the pressure off.

How Much to Order (Without Overdoing It)

How much to order is personal to every home, but there are a few steady rules that help. If you used around a thousand litres last winter, a top-up of seven to ten hundred before the deep cold usually keeps you well clear of a December panic. If you’re unsure, take a quick look at the gauge and aim to stay above a third full. It’s a small buffer that does a big job: the boiler feed is more reliable, condensation inside the tank is reduced, and you’ve bought yourself time if the weather turns.

Make Delivery Smooth and Safe

Access is another quiet detail that makes a visible difference on icy days. A clear path to the fill point, cars moved to leave a straight hose run, a gate unlocked and a cap that turns easily — each only takes a minute, and together they keep the delivery smooth and safe. Where there’s a steep driveway or a sharp bend that tends to freeze first, a light sprinkle of grit or salt is usually enough. If you’d like a quick text when we’re on the way, just ask when ordering and the driver will give you a heads-up. On the rare occasion a road is genuinely unsafe — compacted ice on a gradient, floodwater, or overhanging branches after a storm — we’ll work with you on an alternative approach or a new slot once conditions improve. Keeping people and property safe always comes first.

A Quick Word on Tank Health

Winter also asks a little more of the tank itself. Fluctuating temperatures can encourage condensation, and older systems sometimes pull a bit of sediment when levels run low. That’s one of the reasons we nudge people to keep the tank comfortably topped up. If you’ve noticed the boiler locking out lately, it can be worth checking the external filter and the position of the fire-valve, or asking your service engineer to take a look. Bunded tanks, sound bases and tidy pipe runs tend to pay you back in peace of mind when the weather is at its worst.

Christmas & New Year Rhythm

December brings its own pattern. It’s a busy month for everyone, and delivery diaries fill quickly in the run-up to Christmas. If you prefer a guaranteed pre-Christmas drop, booking during the week before Christmas Eve is a good rule of thumb. Between Christmas and New Year we keep a reduced but active service running with local crews and phones monitored; exact hours will go up on our homepage and socials in early December. When the weather is harsh, we prioritise vulnerable customers and no-heat homes first — just let us know if there’s something we should be aware of when you place the order.

Find a Routine That Suits You

None of this is to create urgency where it isn’t needed. It’s simply to say that winter is easier when you’re not racing the thermometer. Many of our customers prefer to take care of it early in the week — Monday or Tuesday orders often land mid-week — and that rhythm suits the way our routes run across rural lanes and estates. Others like to split the winter into two steady top-ups rather than one large fill. And for some, especially those managing a rental or a family property, a quick call to align diaries is all it takes. However you like to handle it, we’ll work around your routine.

A Five-Minute Winter Check-In

After fifty years on the road in this part of the world, we’ve seen most kinds of winter. The sharp, bright mornings where everything crackles underfoot. The damp, sweeping fronts that turn lanes into mirrors. The surprise cold snap just as schools finish up. Through all of it, the customers who build in a little margin — a comfortable tank level, a thought for access, an order placed a touch earlier — tend to avoid the rushes and the last-minute scrambles. They get on with the day knowing the heat will be there when they need it.

Ordering Is Easy

If you’re taking stock now, a quiet five minutes is all it takes. Glance at the gauge. Think about the next fortnight. Consider what the calendar looks like around Christmas. If your tank’s dipping below a third, or you’ve a busy week on the horizon, topping up now is a sensible move. Kerosene stores well in a sound tank and a well-maintained system, so you’re not over-ordering; you’re buying yourself confidence against the next cold turn.

Placing an order is straightforward. You can do it online in a couple of minutes, choosing a preferred window and adding any notes for the driver — gate codes, dogs, or tricky entrances. Or you can give us a ring and we’ll sort it over the phone. Either way, you’ll hear from a local team in Tullamore who know the roads you live on and the hills that freeze first. Our 48-hour delivery promise remains in place as standard, and when the weather is acting up we’ll keep you posted and work the routes as safely and efficiently as the conditions allow.

Ready When You Are

So, if you like to stay a step ahead, now is a good time to act. A comfortable tank level, a clear plan for delivery, and one less job on the winter list — that’s often all it takes to keep the house warm and the season calm. When you’re ready, order online or call us on 057 932 1000 and we’ll take it from there.