Need advise on buried oil tank service vs replacement

[Steven W. Orr]

I need advice on what to do with my buried oil tank.

I have a 1000 gal buried oil tank that was installed when the house was built in 1987. We bought the house in '95. The house is a slab house so we have no basement for a tank to be placed. The tank was installed with a 15 year anode.

I like having a big tank because I get substantial discounts when I make my annual oil purchase. We use about 750 gallons/year.

Because the time period for the anode is more than over, I wanted to be responsible by replacing the tank. Of course the new tanks are double walled, fiberglass, with double walled flexible lines coming into the house, and with monitoring capability.

I haven't yet gotten the proposal for the job of replacement but I know it's not going to be small. While I'm waiting for the estimate, I asked them for a breakout 3 different ways:

1. I want to know the cost for 1000 vs 2000 gallons. If I can fill up once every two years, the price will decrease even more substantially.
2. I want to know the cost of placing the new tank in the ground covered in peastone, vs putting it in its own underground house, i.e., floor, four walls, and a roof cover.
3. I want to find out the cost of an automatic monitoring system vs the cost of a manual monitoring system. The automatic systems check for leaks and provide for notification. If it's allowed I want to see if a manual system can be allowed by my town.

Those three questions should yield six different costs. Then in addition, it occurs to me that I should also be able to dig up the top of the old tank and see about simply replacing the anode.

So that's my story, and I'd really like to get people's feedback on what sort of thoughts people have. What should I do? Is it crazy to talk about just anode replacement? Is the 2000 gal tank a mistake?

I appreciate your input.

[RBM]

I don't know if it's federal or State, but in NY, I'm told you can't have more than 1000 gallons of oil storage on a residential property

[SJF]

Well, anodes can be replaced. My experience with a pipeline suggests you may want to do that. Is the anode still working? If it is mounted away from the tank and connected by a cable, you might break the lead and check for current -- probably a few milliamps. We used to check them periodically and read about 50 ma. on a large anode as I recall. I'm not familiar with the arrangement on buried tanks but some research of such through the manufacture or a contractor might be useful. If soil conditions are favorable, the anode may still have considerable life. If not, it may be exhausted.

SJF

[Edwin Pawlowski]

You may fall into a different category if you exceed 1100 gallons.

This may help as many states us the same guidelines. Check yours to be sure you comply.

[Joe]

There may be diffiiculties with long term storage of that much fuel. We know jet fuel gets microbes, gasoline goes sour, so diesel and heating fuel may have similar problems, especially with the recently mandated low sulfur. Perhaps a knowledgable customer service person at one of the major oil companies would have an answer. HTh

Joe

[trader4]

That's what I was thinking too. If he only uses 750 gallons a year, even a 1000 gallon tank seems excessive to me. Letting a large tank sit with most of it empty is going to lead to more condensation, which is never good. And diesel does have similar problems, ran into this with a rarely used Mercedes, where the tank accumulated sludge. Since being regularly used, never had a problem again.

Before deciding what to do, I'd also discretely check what homeowner's insurance company's position is on age of tanks, insurance coverage, reqts for new tanks, etc.

[hallerb]

I was told kerosene is highly stable and stores well nearly forever...

[George]

True in a sealed container but not at all in a typical storage tank situation. It is hygroscopic which promotes the growth of "creepy crawlies".