When they fill my oil tank, the level always stops at 3/4's full. The technician explained they stop filling when they hear a whistle sound. The level guage is ok, it was jiggled in case it was stuck. Is it common to not have the guage ever read "Full"?

 

The whistle is a safety device - the driver is doing it right.

I don't trust those gauges. If you really want to know how full it is, untwist the gauge, push it over to the side and stick a piece of wooden dowling in and see what the depth of is is.

 

There can be several reasons for your tank to only be filled to "3/4":
1. As Who said, the gauge could be wrong. Check this first.
2. The driver, doing as he should, is stopping when the whistle stops & either there is a lot of foam or the stem on the whistle is too long.

 

Just be glad the driver doesn't go back to the truck while he waits for your tank to fill cuz his hands are cold, and not pay attention to the whistle, and overfill your tank to the point that oil is spurting out all over the place, both inside and outside the house. Be very happy you only get 3/4 of a tank!

How do I know ? Cuz that's what the idiot did on my last fill up last week.
Then his boss made up some lame excuse that the whistle wasn't working... yeah right, a brand new tank and whistle, and it wasn't working... well, he did eventually re-cant that statement. I guess he spoke to the driver who admitted that he messed up. They sent a guy out to do a half-butt cleanup. My shop still smells like fuel oil a week later, and probably still will next year, because he spilt so much oil it ran down the fill and vent pipes and inside the wall, soaking the insulation. And of course I can't get the stuff out of there because there's a full tank of oil in the way... yeah, I'm pissed...

 

Time to call and request a claim against their insurance carrier for damages. That will get their attention.

 

Troop,
I indeed would force the issue. This driver broke the law. He has to stay with the nozzle at all times during a delivery. In fact, I think the law states he has to be in contact with the nozzle.

 

This could also involve an EPA clean up. This could be very expensive.

 

Uh-huh, and that's precisely the reason I've got the new tank indoors, and above ground... yeah, I know ALL about leaking oil tanks... unfortunately.

 

If your tank is inside then they are being extra carefull to avoid a spill.
Mine is outside under ground and they fill it to the bottom of the filler tube.

 

Even with underground tanks, there should always be at least 4" of freeboard. The tank should never be filled completely.