First off, the incident was a result of criminal activity, not of a problem with the tank/furnace. It does not get counted for the same reason that recent gas explosion / arson / suicide in NYC does not get counted.
Secondly there is not enough information in the above story. How was the insurance company able to weasel out of covering damages resulting from a criminal act committed against the homeowner? They would be covering in the case of a burglary, arson, etc. Also why was there no additional source of assistance like a crime victims compensation fund?
That is also not counted because it is not in any way a failure of and oil tank or furnace. The fill pipes should have been removed and are required to be removed or at the very least capped on both ends by most codes.
Nope, since I always insure my equipment is properly maintained, I look at the risks from that properly maintained equipment and with gas that risk is greater.
Indeed regardless of the fuel source, when you upgrade a decades old system and more importantly address deficiencies in insulation, windows, doors, etc. you can make a big difference in total efficiency and operating costs.
I would suggest that before considering a fuel switch or equipment upgrade for the same fuel, anyone with oil equipment manufactured in the last couple decades would be better served to properly address insulation, window and door issues first and wait a month or two to see the change. In many cases the non equipment issues can losses 25% or more.
If you have equipment (oil or gas) that is more than say 40 years old you should be looking to replace it unless it's a particularly high end model and efficiency testing shows decent numbers. The 50 year old boiler that was replaced at my mother's house had been testing in the
79-80% range which while not as good as a modern unit wasn't bad at all for a 50 year old unit.
65 tons certainly is a huge house, a commercial building or a deep freeze.
I'm north of Dallas and currently all electric. When I look to replace the older A/C in a year or two I will likely go with a geothermal heat pump. I've got a few acres so the newer trenched vertical "slinky" loop configuration will probably be most economical given the modest ~3 ton requirement.
Unsaleable to the uninformed perhaps. To those who understand that removing a few yards of soil and giving it to a construction company for use under a road (where there is plenty of petroleum contamination anyway) is pretty simple it should not affect saleability.
Too much uninformed and irrational hysteria in this country.
Of course not. We'll just take your word for it, since you appear to be so knowedgeable.
uninhabitable is
people dying in
If you think that an oil spill and petroleum contaminated soil is merely "killing some bacteria" than you don't have even a remote clue at what you are talking about. Soil removal and remediation is mandatory by law. Just because you don't mind living atop a toxic site doesn't mean that it is safe for everyone else or legal.
doing all of
tank break
decade or two or
"Probably."
gasoline/petroleum mess
Huh?
Yeah the "eco-nuts," like the oil industry that came up with MTBE.
reason it was
this ether is
Cite for your 'same emissions' theory? Come on, don't be shy. I"m sure you have it "bookmarked!"
Which technologies are you discussing? Cite?
eliminated federal
The federal government never mandated the product, they mandated the outcomes. In fact some companies (e.g. Getty) chose to meet their goals without using MTBE. MTBE was one way to meet these outcomes. I don't really have a problem with MTBE per se by the way. I *DO* have a problem with leaking tanks.
oil doesn't
Oh and if
any concerns
walls were
"At any rate, there is no requirement under Use Group R-3 to provide secondary containment for fuel oil storage in the
basement, regardless of the amount of fuel oil stored inside the building. For Use Group R-4, Section 2701.2 of the CABO code states that the maximum amount of fuel oil stored inside of a building shall be 660 gallons with no mention of any requirement for secondary containment."
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like a backhoe
matter if your
Yep. Well you are right about one thing. Gas explosions only happen with gas. Good thing houses with oil never burn down.
since you can
into the house,
it's moot with
Yeah, it's just my claim that natural gas burns more cleaner than oil.
"Natural gas burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, and produces less greenhouse gas per unit energy released. For an equivalent amount of heat, burning natural gas produces about 30% less carbon dioxide than burning petroleum and about 45% less than burning coal"
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he's very
brand new oil
would it cost so
market is just so
keeps blowing
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You can "prove" anything with anecdotal evidence. From your cited articles:
"Now, bomb and arson investigators are calling the blast suspicious and have declared the fire a possible arson."
"Authorities blamed the blast on a gas leak that opened when a line was hit during an excavation. "
"A natural gas explosion that killed three people last December was due to a metal pipe connector that failed because it was not designed for use on plastic pipe, state officials said Wednesday."
"Officials said preliminary investigations showed that a pit dug by construction workers who were trying to remove an underground oil tank collapsed and pinched a gas line just before 9 a.m."
Oh yeah. Unsaleable to the informed dolts who don't want an oil mess and environmental liability on their property. How stupid they are! Thank goodness we have 'smart' people like you around.
Funny, earlier you said that you couldn't have a hole in the ground (e.g. a gas well) and just pipe it to your furnace. Now you say that it is just "less clean." Actually the quality of the gas depends on the well. Gas companies actually use mass spectrometers to measure the content (and in the end the BTU content) of the gas that ultimately gets served to customers.
I'm not sure I understand all the details and I really don't want to ask for clarification because my friends are reluctant to discuss it further. I believe their insurance company covered most (but not all) of their legal and restoration costs. However, shortly after the initial restoration work was completed their policy was cancelled. Now they can't obtain coverage elsewhere and they can't sell this home because the Department of Environment won't sign off on the work (the trace contamination might be from the church next door but how do you prove that?). Any additional clean-up that is required will thus be at their expense.
I do know a considerable amount of earth was removed and I believe they drilled a number of wells and injected a water/fluid mix containing some sort of microbe that was suppose to "eat" or breakdown this oil. I don't believe it worked as well as they had hoped (possibly due to colder ground temperatures?). I'm not sure if their neighbours can resume using their wells at this point (several were contaminated and rendered unfit for consumption).
In any event, through no fault of their own, they're left holding the bag and it has caused them a tremendous amount of anguish.
For the last couple of decades THIS is what came on a domestic oil burners;
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and before that, it was THIS;
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As soon as you purge yourself of the "three strike/ decades" sales blurb, only then can you move forward.
Many examples? I know you are greenhorn, thats OK, however now your a greenhorn know-it-all. This will be my last post responding to you.
Yes, this is one of the better controls NOW available. I referred to this below.*
Read it again slowly and carefully starting from; "The nucleus of gas...."
Read it again slowly and carefully starting from; "Until recently, most all gas furnaces..."
There is less risk involved in lighting off main gas fuel with a supervised established ignition (a pilot), then there is lighting off main oil fuel with a spark , unsupervised. This is probably beyond you. Never mind.
There are better controls available for domestic oil burners
Yes, you're new to this. So are the Carlin programmed controls.
There are no pilots on little oil burners Read it again..
You don't know what you are talking about regarding oil burners/combustion and safety. All you know is what you installed this spring. There's more to learn. Good luck.
THE big problem with oil is that you require electricity to operate the oil burners.
Thus, your oil heat is no more reliable than your electric service.
Gas can be used for ventless heaters (if legal in your area) that can keep you quite comfortable without electric power.
But any "modern" gas furnace will also REQUIRE electric power. A "power vent" gas water heater will also require electricity but a natural draft heater will not. If you have public water, your water heater (believe it or not) can provide a significant amount of heat to your house from your kitchen and bathroom(s). It might seem silly now, but if you lose electric for more than 24 hours and it's COLD outside, having hot water makes a real difference in morale.
Finally, you might want to consider getting a gas cooking stove. Most cooks prefer gas over electric for stove tops. The gas stove can also provide emergency heat when the electric fails.
Because gas is so clear burning you might not notice any leaks which permit combustion products into your living areas. Thus it's a good idea to get a battery powered CO detector "just in case."
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