Clearance around oil tanks

[Dan Mages]

Good evening,

After a year of wandering, loml and I have finally found a house and settled down. The best spot for the workshop is back by the oil tank

I have never had to deal with an oil tank before, so I was wondering if I need to allow any clearances around the oil tank for safety reasons. I do not plan to box it in, but I might but stuff next to it.

Thanks!

Dan

[Steve Schoene]

There are building code requirements concerning heating oil tanks. Your local building department would have the answer.

[Dave Lehnert]

Always check with local code first but around here all oil tanks I know of are right up against the house/shop. I even know a few in the basement.

[Brian Penning]

In my garage workshop I hide mine with a lot of my lumber is leaning against it.:D

[Peter Quinn]

I wouldn't aim my bench grinder at it, but otherwise not much to worry about. Keep a clear path for servicing (they typically need an annual filter change with heating system tune up). Heating oil doesn't burn easily like gasoline, but do avoid starting a fire under it.

[Bob Feeser]

I used to have a 250 gallon oil tank in the basement until I converted the house over to natural gas. I hired professionals to remove it. They cut it in half using a reciprocating saw. The whole time I was envisioning the thing blowing up whereas at least one spark had to result from the blade moving in and out at a fast rate. Not a problem.
I know that you can take a cup of kerosene, and put a match out in it. I guess the same goes with home heating oil. I don't propose tempting fate, but it definitely is not a volitale as gasoline. Consult an expert, I am not really a pro on this.

[Johnny Kleso]

Heating Oil and Diesel Fuel are the same thing..

Its pretty hard to even get that stuff to catch fire..
If you had a bucket full and threw a match in it, it would go out :)

I would worry more about saw dust and the furnace...
Also the hot water heater..

[Mitchell Andrus]

Protect the line to the furnace, likely soft copper. On hit and you're sleeping at a motel for a few days, maybe weeks.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I used to have a 250 gallon oil tank in the basement until I converted the house over to natural gas. I hired professionals to remove it. They cut it in half using a reciprocating saw. The whole time I was envisioning the thing blowing up whereas at least one spark had to result from the blade moving in and out at a fast rate. Not a problem.
I know that you can take a cup of kerosene, and put a match out in it. I guess the same goes with home heating oil. I don't propose tempting fate, but it definitely is not a volitale as gasoline. Consult an expert, I am not really a pro on this.

Did you notice if they put dry ice in the tank first? I watched a tank being removed and the company had an ice machine that crushed dry ice blocks on site to be put into the tank to get rid of any fumes and to cool any remaining fuel oil.

[Dave Norris]

Probably need to keep in mind that oil tanks have a breather on them to allow air in as the oil is used so a vacuum doesn't occur. You might want to consider some sort of filter to allow air in, but keep the sawdust out.

[Charles Lent]

Fire safety with a tank of fuel oil in your home should probably be the least of your concerns as it would be necessary to heat the oil to over about 160 degrees before it would burn. The biggest headache with these tanks in a basement is the possibility of a leak. When they get 20+ years old they can develop leaks. This won't be a big leak, likely a pin hole, and with only gravity causing the pressure it will be a small drip. If you are going to pile wood against and on top of the tank you should try to remember to keep a space open so you can look underneath of it for any signs of oil on the floor (they make rubber covered magnets to temporarily plug these leaks). The valve/filter area should also be kept reasonably clear so the filter can be changed and so you can get to the valve in case you should need to shut it off due to a leak or other problem with the line and the furnace.
My basement workshop in my last house had one of these in it and my biggest complaint with it was the space that it took up. I was about to have a tank burried in the yard so that I could get more useable space in my shop, but my job moved South and I sold the house instead.

Charley

[Charles P. Wright]

My basement workshop in my last house had one of these in it and my biggest complaint with it was the space that it took up. I was about to have a tank burried in the yard so that I could get more useable space in my shop, but my job moved South and I sold the house instead.
Can you even bury a new tank now? If they leak underground, the cost to clean it up can be in the 100s of thousands of dollars.

[Greg Cole]

Also the hot water heater..

Heater for hot water?:D;)

As others have said, see what the local code is & common sense in regards to supply lines and storage vessel for a flammable liduid.

Greg

[Bob Feeser]

Did you notice if they put dry ice in the tank first? I watched a tank being removed and the company had an ice machine that crushed dry ice blocks on site to be put into the tank to get rid of any fumes and to cool any remaining fuel oil.
Tony,
That is a great idea. No they just sawed away. I was there the whole time, and no ice or any other preventative measures were taken. They just sawed away. I was starting to wonder if I should vacate the house. Oddly enough they do this all of the time. Once they cut the top half off, they used rags and some oil absorbing material to clean out what little residue was in there.
Here is a funny one. When I converted my house from oil over to natural gas, someone told me to be sure and remove the oil fill spouts from outside of the house. They knew of someone who converted but never notified the oil company, and they came for their scheduled fill up, and wondered why it was taking so much oil to fill up the tank. Once they dumped more than 250 gallons in it, they knew something was wrong, but by that time there was 250 gallons of fuel oil in the basement. They had to call out the EPA and everything because the oil seeped into the ground from the basement. Ouch. :eek:

[Joel Goodman]

My oil tank was recently moved to the basement as it was old and leakage was a concern. Heating oil is not very flammable. I would call your oil supplier -- they usually are up on the local code requirements.

[Mark Berenbrok]

I assume you're talking about an above ground tank. If you're talking about an underground storage tank (UST), standards change. Because of environmental issues associated with USTs, its not unusual for lenders to require that an UST that is not being used to be properly abandoned before they'll consider a loan for a property.

Industry standards for an UST require that the vent be at least three feet higher than the roofline of the structure that its next to.

Heating oil tanks normally have copper in-feed and out-feed lines. Be careful with any digging you're doing in the vicinity of the tank.

Check your local building codes and talk to your heating oil supplier before doing anything around the tank.

I've been involved in regulating USTs for 20 years and have seen too many instances where someone under-estimates how much trouble a tank, whether it be above ground or underground, can be.