Tank safety – extra checks recommended!

Many consumers and businesses have taken advantage of the recent low cost of heating oil and some may even have purchased new and/or second hand tanks to store the fuel in. These tanks are likely to have been placed in rear gardens adjacent to an existing tank, with little thought given to the tank base, fire safety or whether the total volume stored now exceeds the domestic storage regulations.

While the low oil price is great news for customers, we are hearing from a few distributors that they are getting increased calls about spillages. This is due to tanks that were previously only regularly at 30 or 40% fill level, now being filled to the top and consequently many weak/unsuitable bases are coming to light.

We would recommend that technicians are extra vigilent when undertaking inspections or maintenance work, and give appropriate advice to the homeowner on the suitability of the base, separation distances and whether secondary containment is required due to the volume of oil stored on site.

This article originally appeared in the 2020 autumn issue of Oil Installer magazine. View the magazine