Oil Tank Leak

[old wrinkly]

I have a Balmoral BRMH2500 (this size was recommended by the boiler installer) single skin oil tank that was purchased in December 1994 and installed shortly after (along with full central heating system). I believe Balmoral are no longer trading.

Early today I found that there was oil leaking from the large band that goes around the tank. Closer inspection showed a small pin prick. I called out a repair company I found with Google and because they were able to get to me within 2 hours I went with them qwithout trying anyone else. They have pumped out approx 1700 litres into temporary storage tanks (at a cost of £350+VAT each) so that the oil level is below the leak. They couldn't leave the tanks as there was nowhere safe to do so and have taken them to their yard marked with my name and quantities.

The company concerned only install Atlas tank and say I have to have a new bunded tank not single skin. I have checked a couple of sites and as far as I can tell I don't meet any requirement to need a bunded tank.

I don't actually use 2500 litres per year, my usage is nearer 1900 litres. As an example my 3 latest deliveries were 17/8/15 900 litres, 6/1/16 600 litres and 15/6/16 11 litres (yes I have just topped up). With each delivery the tank was more or less full.

I have a few questions:

a) Can the Balmoral be repaired aqnd if so how and is it worth it?
b) If I keep below 2500 litres do I really need a bunded tank. My wife and I are both in our mid seventiesand as the Balmoral lasted over 22 years a single skin, if it gave the same life, would outlast us.
c) The company concerned only install Atlas tanks and I think their recommendation will be the Atlas 2500 BHA which as far as I can is is about £1400 incl VAT to which must be added labour etc. The guys that pumped out my tank were saying that would have to lay some slabs or something on the base as my tank is pitched forward and modern tanks need to be pitched back.
d) If I were to decide to go with another installer would I be right in thinking they would charge me for bringing back my oil and pumping it into my new tank.
e) As I will have some oil in the tank, approx 500 litres, this would have to be pumped to a temporary tank, it would be galling to have to pay another £350 just to have the old tank emptied before installation of the new. Is this normal??
f) If I want a smaller tank, to reduce cost, this could be pumped to my neighbour but again I suspect they would probably charge.

Thoughts and advice please???

 

[Burnerman]

Only my opinion and a friendly OFTEC person would advise you best, but there are very few installations (I believe) that don't require a bunded tank.
Maybe you could consider a smaller tank (1500 litre maybe) and go for 1000 litre deliveries.....that's the cheapest small order, as a rule.
Plastic tanks need a full, smooth, fully supported base and can be sited level - hence the reference to using slabs......I've used concrete beams for mine.
I guess you are at the mercy of the people who came to your rescue.....although it seems somewhat pricey at least they did what was required and they will charge for any future services. I've used plastic oil drums courtesy of a local farmer on occasion when I was in bother......the time honoured method of rubbing soap into a crack only worked for a while!
Maybe the company will be willing to hold your oil for you until you need it?
John

 

[Echo the husky]

Why don't you want a bunded tank? We do temporary electric installations for an oil leak cleanup company, I've seen houses where they have had to remove the entire ground floor, floorboards joists and all in order to get the oil out of the ground. I would be doing everything I could to prevent an oil leak if I lived in a property with an oil installation.

 

[dcawkwell]

1. Get new plastic tank.
2. Although regulation will most likely mean you need a bunded tank. There aren't any police that are going to come around and
demand you put one in and most plumbers oil engineers will put you one in if you are paying but don't expect anyone
to give you a receipt for the work as they might be liable should there be a problem. Single skin tanks are fine and if you
are getting on in years isn't worth the expense of a bunded.
3. 1250 litre tank is usually fine for most people just means you have to fill it a little more often.

Hopefully you can fit the new tank next to the old one. It will just need a few paving slabs and can then
transfer the fuel from old tank to new. Very straightforward. Or just use the old fuel until the old tank is empty
and then swap over. Job done.

 

[dilalio]

An oil leak is a big environmental "no-no" and, as such, is treated as an emergency - hence the price you've just had to fork out!
On the plus side, it seems you have been diligent and spotted the leak before any costy clean-up/ decontamination was necessary!
As for a new tank, your statutory rights give you the right to shop around, you are not locked in with the firm you called out! Although, they may offer to waive the return delivery charge of your oil, as an incentive to secure the tank replacement order!
I would get a few prices in and do the math, then you could try negotiating with the firm you called out using the other quotes as a yard stick, if they are cheaper!

 

[old wrinkly]

Thanks for the replies.

It's not that I don't necessarily want a bunded tank it's just that my single skin has lasted all these years and there is a significant cost difference between single skin and bunded and to be honest I am trying to reduce the cost as much as I can.

I haven't quite got over the shock that it has cost me £700 for 2 men to come with 2 temporary tanks and take an hour and a half to transfer the oil from my tank to the temporary ones. I don't know if this standard for the industry but at the time I need a quick solution so was rather left with no choice.

They have taken the 2 temporary tanks back to their yard with my oil inside because the 2 guys couldn't get them over my fence into the tank area, they didn't have any mechanical aids i.e hiab and it didn't seem a good idea to leave them in the open on my front garden.

I will have to do some research today to see what tank options are available, a smaller tank being one, and perhaps ring around a few installers Monday before I speak to the original firm just to see that what they quote me is average. Whatever happens they will have to bring the oil back and pump it into the new tank but not sure if they would charge for this, despite having already paid £700, if I go to another installer.

I have been reading up on oil tanks and it seems that they only have a limited life i.e about 15 years before they should be replaced. My neighbours oil tank is older than mine and I wonder if they know that.

 

[Nige F]

Just a thought - does your house insurance cover all/part of the problem ?

 

[dilalio]

You could try asking the other "call out" providers in your area, what they would have charged for what was done, but I'm guessing they are few and far between and are likely to price monitor the competition!
As I said, it will have been treated with all the importance of "averting an environmental catastrophe" and that means they can pretty much charge what they like - with hindsight and all that, you could have asked their callout rates and a likely estimate to evacuate the tank, when contacting them

 

[old wrinkly]

Thanks, to be fair the firm I used they did tell me their charge up front so no complaints in that respect, it was just a bit of a shock given the time it actually took (they were just finishing a new tank install not far from me at the time I rang).

Probably a pointless exercise now seeing what others would have charged, I assume as you say they will all be around the same. Looks like I will be busy on the phone on Monday getting quotes

NigeF....no will only cover any oil lost and I haven't lost enough to cover the £250 excess.

 

[Bosswhite]

I sympathise with you OW,
our Delivery Driver recently refused to deliver oil due to what looks like slight crack similar to your problem, There is no oil leak to our tank, but he stated he was not prepared to deliver the oil in case it got worse, to be honest it looks more like a scratch than a crack , but being single skin he is refusing to deliver.
Plus I have since found out the Tank must be replaced because it has a sight tube which I gather is now against current regulations the sight tube can be damaged and the Tank would leak without anyone knowing.
It looks like its going to be in the region of about £2000 plus, to replace Tank about £1200 plus VAT labour, storage of oil, getting rid of old tank,
we may wait until the oil runs low to avoid storage costs, but then the gamble is that the oil price will go up
A bit of a Dilemma .

 

[dilalio]

Am I glad I don't have to use oil for heating! Sounds like a nightmare! Are there insurances you can take out? Just curious.

 

[Agile]

My mother lived in Cornwall and the nearest neighbour lived about 400 m away but about 8 m higher up.

Their unbunded tank split and the oil boiler ignighted the oil which ran down the public lane for about 80 m and then turned right down my mother's driveway.

It ran for about 100 m along here drive and then found an easy way into the adjoining field where it soaked into the ground within about 10 m x 10 m area. Possibly it was diverted by a neighbour with a spade.

This oil was burning and the fire brigade came and put it out.

She was frightened at the time that the burning oil would reach her house and set light to that.

She managed to claim on the neighbour's insurance and the total claim came to about £5000 because a lot of the oil soaked sand had to be removed and disposed of safely. Then her lane reinstated along the damaged 100 m.

Motto: even if another property is not set alight, a lot of damage can still be done.

Perhaps the regs have changed but I thought a single skin tank was still allowed if you are not within a distance of a water course or very close to other properties.

Tony

 

[old wrinkly]

Thanks for the replies, as always you get a new perspective of things with the replies on forums such as this.

As far as insurance, I think some tank manufacturers offer something but not sure and haven't investigated. General household insurance will in most cases only cover the cost of new tank if it has been damaged by a third party.

I have advised my neighbour whose tank is about 2 years older than mine to check it and also about the sight gauge which was something I wasn't aware of.

My own tank has no cracks as far as I can tell and the leak came from underneath the wide band that goes around the tank and below the actual join of the two sections of the tank,as can I hope be seen in the image of the actual leak area.

As far as I have been able to ascertain I do not meet any of the criteria for NOT being able to install a single skin tank, which is about £400 cheaper but I am becoming inclined to believe that this might be false economy as they only have a 2 year warranty and a very limited life expectancy (I have seen as little as 5 years mentioned). Perhaps older single skin tanks like my Balmoral were different.

 

[dilalio]

I think I'd be getting a bunded tank AND building a bund wall around the enclosure (like I have done in plant rooms, with a paint-on lining/tanking system, just to make sure

 

[oilboffin]

You've been had mate you don't need a bunded tank if it's under 2500 ltrs I'm OFTEC registered
it's better to be bunded but not law yet as for the charge for temp tanks outrageous if I did it
you'd get charged for a new tank and time I have temp tanks I would think£850-00 for the tank
and £300-00 labour you should have gone to an OFTEC firm my sympathies to you and your
wife just a case of old people being ripped off