Hi DIYers,
I need to install a new oil tank. I've got one of these 1300 litre Titan plastic ones. I have the paving slab base made up and now just need to connect the tank up to the fuel line going to the boiler. Do these tanks use the kind of pipes, elbows and unions you find at the sheds or are they only available through specialist suppliers? How easy/ difficult a job is it compared to, for example, installing a new radiator? thanks, Jules.
Julian Barnes scribbled
See screwfux
I'd be reading up on it to see what Regs are needed to comply. Sump is a requirement now IIRC. Also, an automatic cut-off is required.
Ta, Jonno. That's interesting; so just 10mm fittings from the sheds will do the trick, then. Seems pretty straightforward.
No worries, m8. Reinforced concrete!
I have bought parts from
The 10mm pipe I used is plastic coated. You should not used soldered joints. I believe that you are supposed to use flared joints, though my Camray boiler came with compression joints.
Aye the rules have changed a lot in recent years. Our tank fails on the best part of half a dozen points maybe more.
Bund, donno if you can get a single skinned tank these days. The requirement is for a bunded tank and the easy way to do that is with a double skinned tank, rather than building a proper bund. So there is little market for single skinned tanks.
Not quite sure I follow you on that one. A "press to read" for the sight glass instead of a manual valve that can be left open is a requirement.
Fittings, ordinary compression, pipe white (IIRC) plastic coated soft copper.
/Bund, donno if you can get a single skinned tank these days. /q
Yes
/The requirement is for a bunded tank and the easy way to do that is with a double skinned tank, rather than building a proper bund. So there is little market for single skinned tanks. /q
No.
"Do I require a bunded or single-skin oil tank? In all cases an OFTEC risk assessment should be carried out by a suitable qualified engineer with OFTEC registration. OFTEC are the regulatory body for the oil industry. If the following apply then a bunded oil tank is to be installed. Tank capacity in excess of 2500 litres Tank within 10m of controlled water Tank located where a spillage could run into an open drain or to a loose fitting manhole cover Tank within 50m of a borehole or spring Tank over hard ground or hard-surfaced ground that could enable spillage run-off to reach controlled water Tank located in a position where the vent pipe outlet is not visible from the fill point Tank supplying heating oil to a building other than a single-family dwelling"
Jim K
He probably means the anti-flame device where the pipe enters the house.
IMHO avoid sight glasses, they are prone to leaks. You can buy a float-type gauge that screws into one of the tank inlets and shows the reading on a clock face. About £20.
Fire Valve, they have been a requirement for quite a while. The valve should be situated outside the building at point of entry, it's operated via a capillary with with the bulb mounted in the boiler casing. Shut of oil supply if the inside of the casing gets "too hot".
That's why they have the "press to read" these days. Ours is manual and has never leaked. Just changed the tube though as the old one was so discoloured from the oil and clouded from sunlight it was rather hard to read. I'd already turned it round once to present an unclouded bit of poly. Old tube was pretty brittle but as it's supported in a split ali tube and not disturbed not a great risk and I turn the valve off anyway.
For the pikeys to see from 20 yards away. "Oh look that tanks nearly full..."
Grandfathered kit is allowed some leeway but as soon as you replace it the new installation is supposed to be correctly installed to the regs.
These days most have an electronic depth gauge like a Watchman or similar rather than an external sight glass.
That pretty much describes my installation. I thought there were some restrictions on who could install oil tanks these days...
There are plenty of old unbunded ones round here. Very old ones still have the odd soldered elbow on pipework instead of compression joints.
Domestic oil installations tend to fail on one or more of the following:
Usually both the first and last one but not always. Few people have their oil tank easily visible from the roadside - it encourages theft.
Anyone know whether it's permitted to have a second tank connected to the first? Between looking at this house, and moving in, the old metal tank must have leaked because on moving in we found it had been replaced. Unfortunately they only installed a small tank - rather than throw it away I'm wondering about a second one.
That would be a problem, I don't think this tank complied with the regs when it was installed, even though OFTEC approved Shell did it. The line is plain 15 mm copper shoved through some thick walled black plastic pipe. Actually that is proably better protected than modern plastic coated pipe. The firevalve until recently was inside at floor level next to the boiler. There was no filter at the tank and there was a low point in the line. No filter meant water got to the low point then froze blocking the line. No filter also meant all manner of gunk, besides water, was in the line that got dislodged and blocked the fire valve. Just what you need with a foot of snow on the ground partially covering the line and -5 C outside.
Not accurate enough to predict the re-order date within 7 days at 3 months.
Our old metal oil tank was worryingly near a window. The new one isn't.
Ouch. Ours has the opposite problem with the boiler installed in the loft (don't ask) with a Danish Heath Robinson oil lifter to pump the oil up. The bat dung dust accumulating in its reservoir eventually causes trouble. Usually failure is on the coldest day of the year too...
It is all due for replacement soon which will be a big job since they don't seem to like installing boiler in the loft any more.
I don't understand why do you need that? I log my oil usage (when I remember) and it is pretty consistent. Barely tickover in summer for hot water and in midwinter about one division per week running flat out.
Mine counts down from F,9,8,...2 1 0 with flashing order new oil light at 2 and there is a fair reserve on 0. I have had it running on vapour once or twice when reorder time coincided with Xmas.
Wood burning stove with back boiler can make the oil last out. But it requires a lot more man handling of fuel to power the CH that way.
It is better than the old sight glass which due to frozen water in the bottom of the tank would sometimes be the only thing with oil in it!
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