Thursday, May 26, 2011

A Bit Of Relief At The Pumps

Prices at the fuel pumps are down a bit, an average of about 5 cents/gallon in Maryland, Delaware and Lancaster County PA. However, average fuel prices in these areas are up an average of $1.04/gallon over last year! 

For more information about current gasoline and diesel prices in your area, visit The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/

For more information about how you can save money on your heating bills next year with a Clean Burn used oil heater, call Eco Heating Systems at 866-888-1103 or visit our website:  http://www.ecowasteoilheaters.com/

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Guest Blogger Marty Bennett Writes About Her Recent Travels Thru The USA

Trip Blog Installment 1

Eco Heating Systems owner Robert Bennett and his wife Marty recently took an “end of the heating season” trip to visit their children in the western United States. They drove cross country starting in Pennsylvania’s mid state and going as far west as Wyoming. Follow our blog for some highlights and insights from their trip.


Wow! This is a big country with lots of diversity and beauty. We decided to take the lower route out west and the upper route back home, so we saw some country that was familiar and some not so familiar. Apparently we made the right decision: we missed the snow in the north on our way out, and we missed the tornados down south on our way back.

Our first stop on the trip was Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland. The leaves were just starting to come out and the lake was very high. It looks like they will have plenty of water for a great summer of boating, skiing and fishing. Deep Creek is one of our favorite places to get away from it all. Besides the lake, one of our favorite places to go is the little town of Oakland. Oakland is the county seat, but it still has managed to keep a charming small town feel about it. Every time we go there, I get the sense that I have stepped back in time. This is especially true when we visit the local soda fountain and grill. I don’t think this place has changed since it first opened. It has a cute U-shaped counter with booths flanking either side. Overflow seating can be found at table and chair sets that look like they came right out of the fifties. I don’t mean that they look like they were made to look like the fifties. They truly look like they were there in the fifties. The grill makes delicious burgers and the thick and creamy shakes are served right in the milk shake can the waitress makes them in. Dottie runs the joint and adds to the 50’s ambience.

At the front of the soda fountain is an antique shop. It is always fun to look around after lunch. Again there is a sense of nostalgia as one browses through the antique dishes, books, jewelry, and paintings. Like most antique stores, there are items that aren’t worth your time, but hidden among these, you can often find little treasures. A word to the wise—make sure to get there before 3 pm as that is the time they close the soda fountain. Also, I believe Wednesdays are their busiest day of the week due to activities in town.

While we are on the subject of burgers and shakes, we found a couple of other great spots. The first was Hires which is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are a local hamburger joint with two or three locations dotted around the city. My daughter swears that these are the best burgers in the world. I have to admit they are really good and their buns are particularly yummy. They also make great root beer floats with their legendry Hire’s root beer. Robert, on the other hand, claims that the best burger he found in Utah was at Crown Burger. He raved about the house burger, called the Crown Burger, which includes pastrami, cheese and lots of goop on it. He likes goop on a hamburger. I had a bite, and I have to admit it was pretty darn good too. But for the real hamburger lovers out there, you might want to try the King Kong burger we saw advertized outside of Lincoln Nebraska. They made the claim that it is made with 2 pounds of beef. To me that isn’t a burger, that is dinner for eight.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A Huge Victory for Businesses who produce waste oil

Great News –A Huge Victory for Businesses who produce waste oil or who are responsible for used oil management!

The EPA released the new Clean Air Act Standards in February 2011:

“How are space heaters that burn used oil addressed by today’s rules?"
The final rules do not impact the regulation of used oil burned in space heaters. Specifically, the EPA is clarifying that regulation of used oil combusted in oil fired space heaters that meets the provisions of 40 CFR 279.23 would not in any way change the current regulatory scheme or operations for burning of used oil in space heaters. This includes used oil generated by small facilities, such as auto repair shops and machine shops that have such units, and used oil generated by homeowners who change their own oil (referred to as “do-it-yourself” or “DIY” oil) that are burned in such units.”

To read the complete rule: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/define/pdfs/final-pre-pub.pdf