Hey Mike!
I work for a construction company that builds gas stations as well as
sells oil tanks. Have seen your dilemma before. I am going to respond
to some of your questions listed below:
On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 13:22:45 -0400, "mike"
wrote:
I currently have a 400 gallon underground oil tank for heating my house...
the tank is 11 years old and i moved here last here..
If your tank is eleven years old, and if you could be inside the tank,
empty...looking at the tank walls...you might see thousands of
pinholes representing corrosion eating through the walls from the
outside. Or, if the soil in your property is not particularly "hot"
causing rapid corrosion, your tank may be as good as it was when it
was installed!
I was thinking about
getting an above the ground oil tank, because i worry that someday it could
spring a leak and would be an enviromental disaster...since everyone up here
has well-water...
Well now, no disrespect for your 400-gallon tank but she ain't the
Exxon Valdez! Just how much environmental contamination do you think
she is capable of producing?
was wondering what your opinions are on an above the ground oil tank instead
of the underground one.. I just talked to my oil company over the phone and
they said i would have to substitute kerosene for the oil during the winter
time if i had an above-ground oil tank since the temperature here in
north-east PA gets down to around -10 faurunheit at times.. i never know
this before.. and kerosene costs more money too..
I personally think aboveground tanks make your property look like an
oil refinery operation or an industrial plant...very unattractive.
any input would be appreciated..
mike
If I were you Mike, I would continue using your underground tank. I
would also act responsibly by monitoring the contents of the tank for
leakage. What I mean by that is, in the off season when you are not
using fuel, go out there and drop your stick in the tank once a month
or so and see if the level is dropping. If you have a leak it will be
very obvious. If you notice it is leaking, have your oil supplier come
and pump it completely dry. Then just let it sit there! It ain't
hurtin nuthin just sittin there...empty! It is not polluting anything
because there is no fuel oil in there to leak out.
Oh yeah, about those pesky real estate people...they absolutely freak
out if they walk around your house and see those little sections of
two inch galvanized pipe sticking out of the ground behind your
bushes. (these represent your filler pipe and vent pipe screwed into
the top of your tank) Any real estate person worth their salt can walk
around your house and spot an oil tank buried under these little
pipes. If you go down to Home Depot and get you an 18" Ridgid Pipe
Wrench and connect it to those damnable pieces of pipe sticking up out
of your yard...you can wrench them right out of the ground! No point
in getting your real estate agent all upset about an underground tank.
There are probably a couple of 3/8" supply/return tubes coming up off
the top of your tank and fishing through the wall going to your
heater. If your real estate agent is a super eager beaver and he
starts crawling around under your house...better clip those copper
tubes off too! Of course you will be using a different type of heating
system by the time you are not using your underground tank anymore.
That's my opinion Mike!
Regards,
Bill
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