Home heating oil leak

[Dave Walsh]

So the burner wouldnt fire up, odd I thought...checked everything...finally went out to the 2500 Litre tank that was only filled to the top 5 months ago... checked the filter...all good..hmmm lets see how much oil we've used in the past 5 months....YOIKS!!! empty!!!!!!!..WHAT???...cant be..checked again...yip empty. No way we could have used that ammount of oil. Heres my question, could we have a leak?..if so how would I find it?..Should I dig up the pipe feeding the boiler, approx 50m run. Are there any detectors sniffer dogs deviners you can recomend??..

waiting in anticipation for any suggestions...

Thanks all Dave W.

[Peter Crosland]

You need to tell your insurers ASAP because you are likely to have a large bill for clearing it pu.

Peter Crosland

[Grunff]

That's just foolishness. He needs to first establish whether there is a leak.

While a leak is one possible explanation, there are several others. How much oil do you normally use over the winter? Could your oil have been stolen? Could the tank not have been filled up when you thought it was?

[Dave Liquorice]

It's winter (still ground frost the last few mornings, patches of snow still on the fells), we are over half way through 2000l delivered mid Feb, thats after 2000l delivered beginning Nov (ie about 5 months ago) are you *sure* you haven't used it? But consumption is falling and the remaining 1000ish litres should last through the summer to October/November with a bit of luck.

If you have had a leak keep quiet 'cause if the Enviroment Agency get to hear about it they'll want it cleaned up. Removing and disposal of contaminated soil isn't cheap.

[Dave Walsh]

All good questions..I dont think its possible to use 2500 litres in 5 months, it would only be on during the evenings for about 6hrs. I doubt the oil was stolen as the neighbours would have spotted something, they used to own the house and are good people. The oil supplier is a reputible company. All of these went through my mind aswell. There are no visible signs of a leak but I wonder should I dig up the feed line anyway. I guess I should to be on the safe side.

Thanks again for your time Dave W

[Grunff]

Ok, you can probably rule that one out.

I don't know your exact situation, but is it really inconceivable that someone could have stolen it without your neighbours noticing?

But mistakes can happen. Did you personally see a full tank 5 months ago, or are you assuming it was filled to the top? Could they have put in 1200 litres by mistake?

Buried oil pipes don't burst of their own accord. If you have a leak, then it's in one of these place:

1. At the tank
2. At the tank - pipe join
3. At any other joins
4. Somewhere where the pipe has been damaged. Does the run go under the road or drive? Think about places where the pipe could possibly have been subjected to mechanical stress.

If you've really lost 1000 litres + of oil over a period of 5 months, you should have noticed a *big* puddle, and a strong smell. Oil floats.

When we bought our current house, there was an area near the house where several tanks had leaked over several years. I doubt the total quantity was over a few hundred litres, but it had spread over a large area, and was quite noticeable.

[The Natural Philosopher]

2500 liters lasts me about 4 months in winter.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Its very possible to use 2500 liters in 2 months actually.

If the weather is cold and the house is not top spec insulation wise.

If your boiler is averaging 15kW for every day for 6hrs, thats 90Kwh a day. or 9 litres a day. Assuming a decent boiler. If its crap it could use twice that say 18 liters a day

multiply that by 152 days and you are over the 2500 liters no sweat.

also there schristmas, and weekends...bet you have it on more then - and hotr baths and showers...

I doubt the

If you can't smell it there is no leak. I can smell less than an egg cup full of kerosene - I had a small weeping joint and the place stank for DAYS after I fixed it.

[Mike]

everything...finally

I doubt if you actually have a leak but to prove it either way call in an OFTEC registered engineer and ask him to run a pressure test on the oil line. That will prove if the line is sealed or not.

I bet it was just the heatings been on more than you think though. Faulty timer controller operating overnight or in the day perhaps ?

[John]

"Dave Walsh" wrote in message news:42696119$0$48812$ [e-mail]...

For a start you could disconnect and cap (or close any service or firestop valve at the boiler end) then disconnect the pipe at the tank end. Make up a connection to the pipe end with a tee and fit a manometer or pressure gauge to one branch and a pressurisation means to the other. There are gas test kits available for "dry testing" which would be suitable and would cost a few pounds to buy but be a lot less hassle than digging up your pipe run. If you carry out a drop test on the pipe you will instantly see if it is sound or not. You will not need to empty out the liquid to carry out a pressure test. If there is no drop in pressure over a couple of minutes then your pipe is sound. If there is then you should either dig it up and examine as you go or run in a new pipe via a more accessible/protected route. Any new pipe should be protected against corrosion by using plastic coated copper tubing. Old cinders surrounding bare copper underground pipes are acidic and commonly cause corrosion problems also careless spade work when gardening. 50metres in one length is no problem to source from Plumb Centre or similar. Take a look at the OFTEC website for specifications as to burying and protection against mechanical damage If you do find a leak underground and assuming it is kerosine don't panic. Kerosine evaporates so unless you are rabidly wanting to incur a lot of crap and over the top expense from officialdom dig out the contaminated soil and spread it out thinly on a large plastic sheet to allow it to dry out. After a sufficient length of drying time it will even grow grass again if seeded. Most real world cases simply get left and dry out anyway.

[Peter Crosland]

You are missing my point. If there is a serious leak, and I accept that there may not be, he needs to tell his insurers as soon as he knows because they may be at risk of having to pay out a large sum. Not to tell them would be a breach of the insurance contract and might enable them to refuse to pay out.

Peter Crosland

[Grunff]

No, you're missing the point. You said "You need to tell your insurers ASAP...".

The point is that there is no reason to tell anyone anything until it is established that there is a leak. Even if there is a leak, careful consideration must be given to the consequences before doing anything else.

[Peter Scott]

be..checked

One other possibility. How recently did you have the jets renewed on the boiler? If they are burning badly the boiler will be on for longer periods. I would expect you to smell un-burned oil outside though, but possibly not, especially in the winter when you're indoors more. Jets are normally changed annually.

I confirm what people say about the smell of a leak. I had a very minor weep from a joint but could easily smell it. Unless of course it has just started and is well underground in porous soil.

Interesting point about a diviner. There are sensors that detect hydrocarbons. They're used for MOT tests. Is there such a thing for domestic oil leaks?

Peter Scott

[Peter Crosland]

You still don't get the point! If there IS a leak, or a strong possibility that there has been one, and there IS, a possibility of a claim then the insured IS obligated to tell the insurers as soon as possible. Insurance contracts are ones in which "uberrima fides" or "of the utmost good faith" is required. Not telling your insurer as soon as the possibility of a claim becomes apparent gives them the opportunity to repudiate the claim.

Peter Crosland

[David Lang]

Grunff wrote;

A few years ago someone demolishing a building on a local industrial estate knocked over a tank containing less than that. Roads were closed for days, local area evacuated for a short while, half the fire engines in the county on stand by etc.

Grunff is dead right, you would notice.

Dave

[John]

If it was bad enough to show severe over use of oil you "WOULD" know about it from the soot formation unless you deliberately chose to ignore it until the boiler ground to a premature halt.

[Michael Chare]

Inspect tank. Steel tanks can rust and develop leaks.

If the tank is sound and there is no sign of a leak from the tank itself, I suggest that you put some more oil in the tank and then check the level at regular intervals. I assume that there is a valve on the tank which you can turn off shoudl you need to.

Do you know for sure how much oil was actually in the tank after it was filled 5 months ago. I've used about 2200 litres in that period. What is your annual consumption?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Indeed. Neighbours had a split oil line that dumped the whole contents of the tank under their house.

A year later the floors are back in the house, and so are they.

You may consider that a year out of your house is not worth the trouble of reporting it to the insurers. who HAVE to take action to be UTTERLY safe.

Like a car that got stuck in a flood. Had to be written off because flood water may give the next owner a case of the squits. Or something.

Talk about nanny state.