Heating oil tank (green plastic, 2000 litres) sprang a leak yesterday

[MM]

Had an emergency yesterday afternoon. I happened to be hanging the washing outside when I noticed that the heating oil tank had split for about an inch about half-way up the side. The oil wasn't gushing out, but something Had To Be Done urgently. This was at 5:30 pm so the heating oil supplier had gone home. The next door neighbour and I managed to seal the leak temporarily with wet potter's clay and tape so that it just dripped, but I thought I can't leave it like that until the morning, so I called the fire station in Boston for advice (non-999 number).

There is no fire station in the small town where I live in South Lincs, so I called the Boston station and caught the resident fire officer just as he was about to leave. He said straightway he'd send a fire engine, as they had better sealing putty than the potter's clay. They use it on lorry tanks. Anyway, they arrived 20 minutes later - five blokes! Very helpful. Within just ten minutes the guy who seemed to have done it before had sealed it with the stuff they use, which is called Dammit (I've since looked it up on the internet). They covered the Dammit with several layers of what looked like black duct tape.

In the interim I called my heating engineer, who is coming first thing this morning with temporary bund tanks to pump out my tank into. I'll have to get a new tank, but I don't know whether to get a single-skin or a bund tank. The fire officer thought bund tanks were mandatory now, but I still see firms on the internet selling single-skin ones, which my current one is.

Thing is, I took delivery of heating oil yesterday mid-morning and it filled the tank brimfull, so probably the extra pressure of 2000 litres pressing on the tank was enough for it to give way. The tank was manufactured in 2004. I'm just hoping the repair will last until tomorrow morning, but if it bursts open again, the fire officer said just ring 999 as my details will now be on the system already.

Update: I didn't sleep much, so went out to check the repair during the night. It lasted about 6 hours completely dry, but at about 01:30 am this morning I noticed it was weeping slightly. At 04:30 am it was weeping more, and now, at 08:00 am it is dripping ~slightly~ (about a drip every 3 seconds). I gathered the leakage in a plastic bowl, which has accumulated about 2 litres overnight, though some of that may well be rainwater as it6's been raining off and on throughout the night.

The other thing was, a neighbour across the road two or three doors down had exactly the same thing happen to him, according to my immediate neighbour. He had his tank filled right up and it developed a leak soon afterwards! These tanks are now over 11 years old on the estate. They are, I see from the internet, guaranteed for ten years, but I had assumed they last forever.

Questions:

1. What other course of action might I have taken?

1. Should I get a bund tank or is single-skin okay? Note that bund tanks don't come in as many sizes (capacities) and are at least twice the price of single-skin. Howeverm I'm not worried about the cost at the moment. I just want to get it sorted.

2. Should I NEVER AGAIN fill the new tank up to the top?

1. Any further suggestions as to replacing the tank with the new one? My friendly heating engineer will do all the work, but I'm asking what points to remember? How heavy are these plastic tanks when empty?

The tank is round cross-section, about 1m diameter and 2m long.

MM

[Adrian]

IIRC, single-skin is permissible up to a certain size and at least a minimum distance from waterways.

If t'were me, it'd be bunded, no question. 2,000 litres of heating oil is not really what you want spilling all over the garden.

Our neighbours have a scabby old steel tank - and, frankly, it stinks of oil. I try very hard to ignore it, but if t'were mine, it would've been replaced by now... I like our gas tank.

I dunno about where you are, but our local builder's merchant have several oil tanks in their yard, and a catalogue on the counter. You, surely, know the bloke behind the counter at yours? Ask him what they tend to sell. Ask your heating engineer what he tends to install, and what he'd do if it were his.

If it hadn't been filled to the brim, might it have split when filled half way? If not this time, next time?

[Andrew Mawson]

ONLY replace it with a bunded tank - the Environment Agency will be after you if you have a spillage.

I keep a 1000 litre 'IBC' palletised tank for shifting oil from one tank to another (we have three separate oil central heating systems on the farm) using an electric imersible pump, so in you instance I'd have been able to reduce the leaking tank, and given room, transfer the oil into another one.

Andrew

[Huge]

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If you're near any kind of watercourse you MUST have a bunded tank. Otherwise you can have a single skinned one. We have an (unused) well in our garden, so we had to have a bunded one. Thinking about it, I'd probably have had one anyway.

[1 lines snipped]

[Brian-Gaff]

It does seem a bit short lived. Kind of makes me wonder if perhaps the mounting has put it under some kinds of stress, so when its full its being twisted or something. Maybe the whole batch was made with a slight flaw. I'm sure a guy down my road has had a plastic tank for 20 years or so. another case of they don't make em like they used to? The fact that it split tends to suggest some uneven loads to me. Brian

[Dave Liquorice]

Hum, sounds like a bad batch or consitently bad installation. Are these tanks fully and solidy supported underneath? Did your neighbours claim on the guarantees? If so the manufacturer should have a record of those claims and might accept the "bad batch" theory and honour the notionally expired guarantee. Get brief details of the failures (address, date, tank model, actual failure) from as many people on the estate as you can and write (paper) to the manufactuerer pointing out the high failure rate and asking nicely for them to honour the guarantee on your tank.

If you don't ask you don't get.

What you did seems fine to me, can't think of anything I would have done differently.

Check the regs, you might not have the option. These days if I was replacing our tank I'd go for a bunded one. If the EA get to hear about a leak of kerosene they are going to want it cleaned up, so all "contaminated" soil removed and disposed of (hazardos waste, not cheap).

A bunded tank also means that you still have the oil should the inner one leak.

Seems a bit of a design flaw to make a 2000 l tank that can only hold

1000 l safely. Not to mention false advertisng.

Doesn't it say in the spec on the website?

You've got me worried now, took a delivery of 2250 l the other week. I check the sight glass every week to track consumption, the level can be a bit wild the week after a delivery, expansion, entrained air, etc so when it went up that week I wasn't bothered. Trouble is it went up the second week as well, thinking that rain might have been getting in clambered up to inspect top of tank and spoted a small crack/tear at a high stress inside corner, don't think it's full thickness and it's above the oil line. Tank is getting on for 20 years old and sits in full sun.

[Dave Liquorice]

Not just near a water course, "above ground level" triggers the must as well.

That'll quietly rust from the inside at the bottom.

[Huge]

Is that a recent change?

Hmmm, quite possibly.

I'd still rather have a steel one.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Dave Liquorice escribió:

Might be time to run it empty and replace it. Of course, this has happened just as the weather is beginning to get colder...

[Michael Chare]

My neighbour had a steel one that eventually leaked. He replaced it with an expensive bunded one.

He and later is wife died. Someone bought the house, demolished it and built a new one. I coveted the tank, however that was the only thing that the developed kept.

I think with plastic tanks you have to make sure that they are on a firm flat level base. If buying a new one which can be unbunded up to 2500 litres (IIRC and away from water courses) I would suggest getting one from a well known brand.

I bought a new steel tank 30 years ago when I moved to my present house. I painted it with Micaceous Oxide paint.

[NY]

Good luck with getting it replaced before the tank splits any more.

We had a minor oil leak in join in the pipe (nowhere near the tank) and when the insurance loss adjuster came to authorise payment for the fairly small cleanup and repair costs, he examined the rest of the system and found that our existing single-skin tank was rusting through and needed to be replaced urgently. We went for a slightly larger-capacity one to increase the chance that we'd be able to order oil in 1000-litre multiples as this is a price-break point (ie we wouldn't have to let the oil level get so low before ordering more). And we went for bunded as being safer: two skins rather than one have to fail before you get a leakage.

As it happens, when we later had to get our boiler replaced (it never rains but pours) the engineer who did that said that the new tank should not have been placed where it was (close to buildings and a wooden shed) and should have been on proper mortared base rather than stacks of breezeblocks, and ideally should have its exit a bit higher - as far as he could tell there was very little fall from the tank outlet to the boiler level. But he said he was under no obligation to report that to anyone so he suggested that we all pretend he'd never noticed it. Any comeback would be on the fitting company not on us who can't be expected to know the rules.

[Dave Liquorice]

don't

That's OK it'll empty quicker. Current estimate of the next refill date based on the use for the last 4 weeks is Jan '17... Jan '16 would be more realistic.

Bigger problem(s) are more likely to be all the regulations it breaks due to its position and the oil line being plain 15 mm copper threaded through black plastic pipe. Thick walled and pretty damn tough, much tougher than the white plastic coating on pukker oil line pipe. How many of the modern regulations would have to be accomodated I don't know.

Titan tanks offer a free "site survey":

But I note it's actually done by "your local Titan Accredited Installer".

[MM]

When the heating engineer this morning had finished setting up the pump and started pumping out my tank into a temporary one, he went across the road to check two of the neighbours' tanks. Verdict: Both are ready to burst any time! One neighbour was expecting 1000 litres tomorrow, but quickly phoned and cancelled her order.

My heating engineer said the tank had not been installed in accordance with the regs in force 10 years ago when the 40 properties on the estate were constructed, as it is too close to combustible material (wooden fence) and too close to water courses. Engineer said he will ONLY consider a bunded tank for my replacement, which I fully agree with. I wouldn't wish this hassle on anyone, even if I sell and move on in a couple of years.

A friggin' nightmare, I can tell you. But now all is in hand with the temporary tank containing 1000 litres and I can relax. The leak stopped dripping as soon as we'd pumped out abound 300 litres, so it was deffo that brimful delivery I got yesterday morning that triggered the leak. Thank goodness the fire brigade was so ready to help. He said I was quite right to contact them, as it was a genuine emergency. Some people call 999 to report a kettle that won't come to the boil, he said.

MM

[MM]

Absolutely. The heating engineer who arrive promptly pretty much first thing said he would only consider a bunded tank. Also see my comments earlier re non-compliance with "building" regs (dunno if it was building regs, or some other kind of regs, but the installation was deffo not legal when the poroperties were constructed in 2003/4).

Won't apply now in my case, but as a matter of interest, what does a palletised tank cost? This is exactly what the engineer brought with him this morning.

MM

[MM]

Suggests the same to me, too. As I was looking side on at the tank after the panic was over this morning and we'd transferred 1000 litres to the temporary tank, I could see a definite dip in the middle of the tank. Simon could see it, too, when I pointed it out.

But that 500 litre delivery I had yesterday was definitely the last straw for this old tank. The fire officer said it certainly looked like it had experienced a good few winters and summers.

MM

[MM]

My heating engineer said the current concrete platform will have to be extended as it sites the tank too close to combustible material. But he's going to do the whole job for me. I've had him many times to service the boiler so I don't expect to get ripped off. Plus, he services most of the other neighbours' tanks on the estate, so he does have a reputation to maintain (unlike VW it seems!)

MM

[MM]

They're only guaranteed for ten years and they're at least a year older.

Yep, bunded it will be. The heating engineer said he would not consider single-skin at all.

Yeah, you're right!

The crack in my tank is also in a corner. Opposite it in the other corner there is an obvious crack ~starting~ to happen, but wasn't leaking yesterday. In any case, we've now brought the level down to well below the line of the leak point, i.e. below the horizontal seam.

Mind you, I'll only be able to sleep like a baby once again when the new tank is in place, filled, checked for tight joints etc and a nice hefty bill to pay. Thank goodness for having had frugal living drummed into me as a kid, which has always made me save, save and save some more.

People without savings, which category many Brits fall into, are really stuffed if this happens to them.

MM

[MM]

My heating engineer this morning was telling very similar stories. I do have a mortar base, but it will have to be extended or replaced first, as it is too close to the fence, even for bunded, which I'm getting.

MM

[Michael Chare]

Apparently you could have used soap!

I am rather hoping I might be able to get a good discount on a new 2.0 litre TDI VW.

[Adrian]

Bugger all. They're on eBay from less than £20, if you can collect. £70 delivered seems to be the cheapest at a quick glance.