Heating oil Tank

lough

Well-Known Member
Have a Harlequin plastic tank and there is a hairline crack in it so need to get a new tank. What do people recommend, is plastic any good, will they all eventually crack, would it be worth getting a bunded plastic one and that way the inner layer will be protected from the weather and maybe last longer.
 
Kingspan tank here, my previous tank cracked/split across the top Last year. Didn’t get a bunded one as are over twice the price of a single walled item. They eventually breakdown from sunlight as the UV light damages the plastic. Harlequin are a reputable brand, did you contact them about it. One piece of advice I did get was to make sure the tank is properly supported across the whole bottom of it, not just sitting on blocks etc. This seemingly is the single biggest cause of tank failure
 
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Kingspan tank here, my previous tank cracked/split across the top Last year. Didn’t get a bunded one as are over twice the price of a single walled item. They eventually breakdown form sunlight as the UV light damages the plastic. Harlequin are a reputable brand, did you contact them about it. One piece of advice I did get was to make sure the tank is properly supported across the whole bottom of it, not just sitting on blocks etc. This seemingly is the single biggest cause of tank failure
I thought all oil had to be stored in bunded tanks now.
 
An insurance company won't cover the tank against accidental damage unless it is supported fully underneath its length with concrete lentils. I've seen tanks on pallets, blocks, sleepers and scaffold planks and the tank just bends with a ton of oil on board, inevitable failure. Carbery tanks all failed on the top corners, we have Kingspan here now, all tanks indoors and about twenty years old and perfect.
 
@Arthur

All oil storage tanks over 2500 litres supplying a domestic dwelling should be bunded. Tanks under 2500 litres should be bunded if the tank:
• Is located within 10m of inland freshwaters or coastal waters; or
• Is located where spillage could run into an open drain or to a loose fitting manhole cover; or
• Is located within 50m of sources of potable water such as wells, bores or springs or
• Is located where oil spilled from the installation could reach the waters listed above by running across hard ground; or
• Is located where tank vent pipe outlets cannot be seen from the intended filling point.
 
When full it bulged slightly,a crack started then one night walking past it I could smell diesel,I pumped it out into another tank and was happy it failed without losing much at all.
Yeah a few thousand litres lost would not be a nice job to clean up or pay for, well spotted (sniffed)
 
Changed my home heating tank from single skin to a bunded plastic one a few years ago. Old one was about 25 years old no issues but tank is located a few metres from my bored well. If a leak developed it would be a costly recovery.
I also changed to top outlet from the tank to eliminate any risk of leaks. Burner sucks the oil now from floating hose in the tank. Float is the ball from a ball cock and small weight on the hose end, no risk of contamination getting to the burner.
Great peace of mind that the well is safe.
Regardless of location and cost if your changing, it’s worth going the extra few quid for the bunded one in my opinion.
 
I’ve x2 double skinned steel tanks now,you’ve got love the bollocks regarding double skinned plastic tanks when the outlet is at the base of the tank and the most likely place for a leak,it should be law that they empty from a floating hose or stack pipe.
 
All bunded tanks I know of can be viewed to see if there is anything in the bund.
We install bunded tanks for diesel driven pumps at work and on more that one occasion have organised the local oil supplier to fill the tank before commissioning of the pump only to arrive for commissioning and find he filled the bund and the tank empty.
Those ones at work have sensors in the bund to indicate if diesel is leaking in there.
 
Kingspan tank split at the top here, on the north side of the house. I don't know the exact age but it looks fresh enough.
 
Kingspan tank split at the top here, on the north side of the house. I don't know the exact age but it looks fresh enough.
Bar of soap if it’s only weeping will keep you going, used to fill a tank with a burt hole in it 3/4 way up, tha was the overflow….
 
It's at the very top so not leaking thankfully. Good base of concrete lintels too.
Carbery tanks were notorious for that, I presume the sunlight does the damage causing it to become brittle?
 
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