"EXT" wrote in message
anews.com...

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
et...

"EXT" wrote in message
anews.com...
I have never heard of a "tank cleaning service" -- it sounds like a
revenue generating idea created by the heating oil company.

Any tank that is 25 years old, cleaned or not, may be questioned by your
insurance company with a demand to replace it with a new tank. Insurance
companies don't want a huge payout for environmental cleanup if it
should leak.

Underground tanks have a life of 15 to 30 years. Above ground tanks
considerably more. You can do ultrasonic tests that reveal rusting of
the tank. I've never heard of one being replaced because the insurance
company requested it, but I guess it can happen. I know of may tanks
that are 50 years plus and still working.

Here in Canada, it is common for Home Insurance companies to require tanks
that are 25 years old or more to insist on them being replaced, because of
this they actually caused a shortage in tank supplies as the replacements
increased in number.
I can understand that on tanks exposed to weather or ground moisture, but a
basement tank? (Assuming a dry basement, of course.) As long as outside
shows no signs of rust, I'd think a borescope inspection of interior every
five years or so (I assume these things have a bunghole?) would be more than
adequate. I know the pickup tube isn't on the bottom, but as long as no rust
flakes are visible in the drained sludge, what are the odds of major
interior rustout with no outside evidence?

(Having said that, any interior tank should of course have a spill berm
around it, or be sitting in one of those giant kitty litter pans.)

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