OT - Oil Tanks

[citizensmith]

I post this as i am guessing a lot of you live a little "off piste" and use oil for your CH & water. Our supplier (who in general i have been very happy with and has given good service and prices) last week dropped the bombshell that they would no longer be prepared to deliver to our tank as it was "split".

Upon inspection, there is a "crack" or "moulding fault" around the filler hole. I think it is no different now than at any time over the 4.5 years we have been here (but cant be absolutely sure). Anyway - a bit of a surprise to say the least! and no sympathy when i said "there is little oil left in the tank and its January, what am i to do?"
I managed to establish that this new policy was the result of a hefty fine/cleanup bill from a tank that burst during delivery and that drivers have been told to refuse delivery if they find even the slightest potential fault with the tank. To be fair, I sympathise with this and would hate to be responsible for spilling 1000ltrs + of oil into the land!

I also noted a date on the tank (2004) and contacted the mfr, who sounded supportive and asked for photos. Got a reply today and told "no warranty as base is not constructed as specified by their warranty" I am not surprised at all - yet another "warranty" that is never intended to be honoured!

So some possibly important lessons?
1. Check your oil tank for frost damage (esp if plastic)
2. be prepared for an unexpected refusal of oil delivery
3. If you are thinking of getting a new tank anyway - avoid plastic! ours managed only 6 years! Friends with steel tanks seem to have had them for decades!

Anyone out there had similar problems?

 

[Flyfisher]

There was a plastic tank at our house that had been there for at least a couple of decades, maybe more, and it was fine. It's gone now so I can't comment on delivery pernicketyness (is that a word?) but I would question the manufacturer about how a misconstructed base could cause a "split" around the filling hole. I might even argue that the delivery company could have caused the damage during their deliveries.

Also, you mentioned "moulding fault" - I'm not sure how you could tell, but if it could be shown to be such then clearly it was a manufacturing problem even before the tank was delivered and installed.

It's bad luck though as new tanks are not cheap and, I understand, are now subject to quite strict bunding and other requirements.

It might be worth checking your household insurance. I doubt it would cover wear-and-tear but it might cover damage by a delivery tanker pipe.

 

[AMc]

That sounds pretty irritating. I'd start with trying your luck with another oil supplier first if you're reasonably confident in the tank. What's the worst that could happen?

I have an old redundant steel tank but at one point I mentioned moving it to the delivery driver - he told me that as its an unbunded steel tank if I moved it it would be considered a new installation and he'd not be allowed to fill it - as an existing installation he was allowed to fill it up.

 

[Mickey]

Hi,

sorry to hear about your tank. We had a similar issue albeit the tank was only about 4 years old, it had split completely across the top, leaving a gaping hole. I mentioned this to my Father who is a plumber and he told me that apparently there had been a period of faulty manufacture with the particular tank we have and to phone the contact no. which was on a sticker on the side of the tank which i did. They promptly sent out someone who inspected the tank ....principally to make sure the base was properly constructed, thankfully it was, they then arranged for new tank to be delivered, cited and the oil pumped out of old tank and into new one. I am sorry that you don't seem to have received this same service, I couldn't fault them really, they definitely took it v. seriously due to environmental consequences (fines I guess!), we had not taken out any kind of extra warrenty when the tank was put in by our plumbers. Anyway if you want me to check what make of tank it is and let you know then happy to do so.

Mickey

 

[citizensmith]

The tank is a Harlequin 1400HZ tank made in N Ireland. Their beef with the base is that it is not on a solid flat base. Its sitting on two piers with a reinforced concrete joists across them each spaced about an inch apart. Never mind oil tank - you could park a sherman tank on it! But its their way of getting out of it and i am not surprised. There is little I can do as the tank pre dates our buying the house.
There has been a LOT of oil thieving in the area lately and I think i will stick to keeping the tank about 20% full by fetching 50L or so every week as needed. Then get a steel tank with a decent lock in the summer. I know building regs for tanks have altered since it was fitted, but i dont think i need a bunded one for 1400l domestic use.
Any way - whats the point of a bunded plastic tank? Its the external shell that will fail first due to frost damage or impact. It will never act as a "bund" just as a second skin. So if you didnt know the outer had failed, when the inner split you would get quite a shock!

 

[MdB]

Our (5 year old I think) oil tank failed with a split from one side to the other over the top. It was half full of oil at the time but fortunately none leaked as the split didn't quite do down that far.

It was supported on two concrete lintels along it length which allowed it to bow width ways changing from round to oval if that makes sense. It certainly wasn't the complete support that the guarantee required unfortunately. It wasn't a great loss to us though as it only powered the rayburn which we were going to get rid of anyway.

 

[worms]

It will never act as a "bund" just as a second skin. So if you didnt know the outer had failed, when the inner split you would get quite a shock!

I think most have a sensor in the bottom of the bund, so that you can test that there is no fluid in the bund.

 

[Penners]

I think most have a sensor in the bottom of the bund, so that you can test that there is no fluid in the bund.

What sort of sensor is that, worms? Our plastic tank has the word "bunded" moulded into its outer skin, but the only sensor that I'm aware of is the one that sends a signal to our oil level indicator in the kitchen.

We inherited this tank from our predecessors - it's only three or four years old. Should we also have inherited another meter of some sort that would warn of oil in the bund?

 

[citizensmith]

Interesting. I have never heard of a bund sensor, but it would make sense. Our only gauge of level is the sight gauge on the tank itself. How accurate are the "remote" sensors? Is it "watchman" thats the trade name for them. We have been caught out in the past because of my lack of diligence checking the oil level!

 

[worms]

What sort of sensor is that, worms?

I'll need to wait for daylight to go and get the brand name and details! Ours has a test button and a row of LEDs. When you press the button, the LEDs all flash to confirm that they are working and then settle down with (hopefully) the critical bund one not lit, but another one lit that confirms that the sensor is OK. I thought they were standard issue, but obviously not! Whole set-up is ten years old, perhaps they fell out of favour.

 

[Penners]

How accurate are the "remote" sensors?

Our remote gauge is pretty good. It's digital, rather than analogue, which perhaps reduces its accuracy to an extent, but it's good enough for me. The tank holds 1000 litres and the gauge is divided into 10 level bars, so one bar represents 100 litres.

I recently order a refill of oil (at a fearsome price!). The gauge had shown two bars for a week or two when the delivery came, and the refill amounted to 866 litres. Not bad accuracy.

 

[Penners]

What sort of sensor is that, worms?

I'll need to wait for daylight to go and get the brand name and details! Ours has a test button and a row of LEDs. When you press the button, the LEDs all flash to confirm that they are working and then settle down with (hopefully) the critical bund one not lit, but another one lit that confirms that the sensor is OK. I thought they were standard issue, but obviously not! Whole set-up is ten years old, perhaps they fell out of favour.

Ooh - that sounds much more technical than ours! Flashing lights, eh? How exciting!

 

[worms]

OK, I've now had a chance to look at the tank and do a bit of Googling. Seems what I have is a Bundman, made by Sensor Systems, (who make the Watchman series of kit as well). There are some details and a picture on this website: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/tt/health_and_safety/pdf/SOP012_Waste_oil_disposal.pdf. If you scroll down, it is the second image.

I can't find any modern references to it, so I guess it is no longer sold. Mine came with the Titan 2500L tank and most of the web references mention the two together, so perhaps only Titan tanks used it.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

We have a "Watchman" digital sensor with a plug-in display. Like Penners it is connected to a 1000l tank, and has a readout of 10 down to O (E). Works very well - even flashes at you in a friendly way when you're getting low on oil.

It doesn't seem to be as linear a scale as Penners' one though. Ours falls very slowly initially, and then from 5 to 0 drops rapidly according to the increase in the price of oil. The quicker the rise in price, the faster our level seems to fall. .

Still I was "pleased" to only pay 57p a litre recently (self-collected) during the snow when everyone else was paying 73p or more.

I was less pleased to pay 137p a litre for unleaded on the M6 today - when I left Scotch-land I filled up at the Co-op in Inverness for 123p. :shock:

 

[Penners]

It doesn't seem to be as linear a scale as Penners' one though. Ours falls very slowly initially, and then from 5 to 0 drops rapidly according to the increase in the price of oil. The quicker the rise in price, the faster our level seems to fall.

I know that was intended to be dark humour, FW, but it's actually not as unlikely as it sounds. It's my experience that the colder the weather, the higher the price of heating oil rises. Hence, weather gets colder, central heating uses more oil so level drops more quickly - meanwhile oil companies push up the price.[/quote]