Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

The tank i'm looking at is 160Cm long by 70 wide by 140 high.

Thanks,

Paul.

wrote:
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

Its definitley DIY able.


1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?

So about 1 tinne overall yes?
Not a lot frankly. About 4" of concter should be adequate.

2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?

What I have here for a 2500 liter tank is this.

First we cast a base of about 4" of concrete over assorted rubble
smashed into the wet clay. Shuttering was used for s 'naice' finish on
the sides.

Then two walls of concrete blocks were used to make up the height.
Finally, because the support ribs on the tank ran parallel to the walls,
4 reinforced concrete lintels were laid on top and mortared in: The tank
sits on these.




3) Any special considerations planning permission

may need a buidling notice as there are strict regs about siting and
bunding.


4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?

see above.

5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.

Ah, but replacement rather than repair brings you into building regs,
and these are more stringent than when the intiial was installed.


6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.

I used plastic coated 10mm copper. I have to say we did lay some in a
scaffold pipe under the drive for protection. Even though the tank is a
meter and a half above the burners, the damned pipes didn't fill with
oil without a lot of sucking. I never figured out why a down and up was
worse than a straight down..

7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

No. Not really. However keep compression jonts to a minimum. You cant or
shouldn't solder oil pipe, and 10mm is a ******* to make leaktight
joints in. Use special gas type red whotsit - it helps.


The tank i'm looking at is 160Cm long by 70 wide by 140 high.

Thanks,

Paul.

On Sep 3, 3:57 pm, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
wrote:

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ?

Its definitley DIY able.


3) Any special considerations planning permission

may need a buidling notice as there are strict regs about siting and
bunding.

4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?

see above.

5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.

Ah, but replacement rather than repair brings you into building regs,
and these are more stringent than when the intiial was installed.

Hmm, ok. Crap. :/

P.

wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

The tank i'm looking at is 160Cm long by 70 wide by 140 high.

Thanks,

Paul.

I am assuming a 1200 litre Titon plastic tank and a mortgage to fill it,
last week ours took 1300l at 53p a litre!! we had run out :~(

1000L is a ton in weight, mine is on concrete slabs so building it up on a
small brick plinth would be work OK
I have mine on 3x2 slabs on sand.

When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube

I used 10ml plastic coated copper pipe to travel the 60 feet to the Stanley,
I buried mine about a foot down but put it through plastic water pipe for
extra protection and to make it easier to replace.

I also used a Tiger loop which makes it a lot easier to bleed and saves
running a return to the tank and will work where the tank is lower than the
appliance, Oh and a firevalve

I don't believe any of the tank installations around this area comply to any
planning or building regs!
I read the regs and it had to be placed a certain distance from the house
and boundry/ walls etc, certainly most of the ones I see in this area are
right up against walls, houses farms etc and no one seems to bother.
I certainly followed the regs.........

If you are just replacing an existing set up, check the regs (library)
follow the spirit (if not the letter) of the law.......

Des

Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

The tank i'm looking at is 160Cm long by 70 wide by 140 high.

Thanks,

Paul.

I am assuming a 1200 litre Titon plastic tank and a mortgage to fill it,
last week ours took 1300l at 53p a litre!! we had run out :~(

Now work out 2100 liters at 51p a liter.. OUCH.


1000L is a ton in weight, mine is on concrete slabs so building it up on a
small brick plinth would be work OK
I have mine on 3x2 slabs on sand.

When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube

consider a remote radio sensor.

I am SO glad to have given up on crappy sight tubes.

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop

When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube

consider a remote radio sensor.

I am SO glad to have given up on crappy sight tubes.

Funny you should say that, thats the next purchase!! sight tube and ball
after 9 years is allmost unusable, normally just open the top and look in
.........and miscalculate............

Des

Dieseldes wrote:
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube
consider a remote radio sensor.

I am SO glad to have given up on crappy sight tubes.

Funny you should say that, thats the next purchase!! sight tube and ball
after 9 years is allmost unusable, normally just open the top and look in
.........and miscalculate............

Des


Reminds me of my first experience of using oil. Sight tube was perfect.
But I didn't realise that you had to operate the thingy at the bottom.
Immensely pleased with how little oil we used, the level did go down a
bit..... until it suddenly ran out. :-(

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

On Sep 3, 7:09 pm, Rod wrote:
Dieseldes wrote:
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
. ..
Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube
consider a remote radio sensor.

I am SO glad to have given up on crappy sight tubes.

Funny you should say that, thats the next purchase!! sight tube and ball
after 9 years is allmost unusable, normally just open the top and look in
.........and miscalculate............

Des

Reminds me of my first experience of using oil. Sight tube was perfect.
But I didn't realise that you had to operate the thingy at the bottom.
Immensely pleased with how little oil we used, the level did go down a
bit..... until it suddenly ran out. :-(

I don't understand why the sight tube is on a tap. Can anyone
enlighten me .. ?

P.

wrote:
snip

I don't understand why the sight tube is on a tap. Can anyone
enlighten me .. ?

Same reason as gauge glasses on steam boilers have them - to turn off
the jet/fountain if/when the glass breaks. Traditionally have a handle
that gravity pulls to the "open" position.

--
Kevin Poole
****Use current date to reply (e.g. )****

Dieseldes wrote:

wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

The tank i'm looking at is 160Cm long by 70 wide by 140 high.

Thanks,

Paul.

I am assuming a 1200 litre Titon plastic tank and a mortgage to fill it,
last week ours took 1300l at 53p a litre!! we had run out :~(

1000L is a ton in weight, mine is on concrete slabs so building it up on a
small brick plinth would be work OK
I have mine on 3x2 slabs on sand.

When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube

I used 10ml plastic coated copper pipe to travel the 60 feet to the Stanley,
I buried mine about a foot down but put it through plastic water pipe for
extra protection and to make it easier to replace.

I also used a Tiger loop which makes it a lot easier to bleed and saves
running a return to the tank and will work where the tank is lower than the
appliance, Oh and a firevalve

I don't believe any of the tank installations around this area comply to any
planning or building regs!
I read the regs and it had to be placed a certain distance from the house
and boundry/ walls etc, certainly most of the ones I see in this area are
right up against walls, houses farms etc and no one seems to bother.
I certainly followed the regs.........

If you are just replacing an existing set up, check the regs (library)
follow the spirit (if not the letter) of the law.......


The rules are all in the building regs (part J IIRC) which are
available online. They got a lot more stringent recently so you may
not legally be able to just copy the old installation. Look out for:

1. Distance from buildings. It's not just a simple distance from a
building but involves understanding of the construction of the
building wall - how high, how flammable, any openings?

2. Bund requirements. The need for a bund depends on how any spill
will run. Essentially if it would run into a protected watercourse
you're going to need a bund which can be a bunded tank (expensive but
simple to fit) or a bund wall (cheaper if you're DIY but more complex
and time-consuming to make which is why the trade prefer bunded tanks,
oh and they make more profit on them).

3. Tank support. You don't say if you're looking at a metal or a
plastic tank. Metal usually sit on treated wood above pillars as it
evens out the point loading. Plastic *must* be fully supported across
its whole surface so you need to construct a base on the pillars.
Ignore that and as the tank ages and the plastic gets slightly brittle
it will crack. Of course it will do this under maximum load which
will be when you've just emptied your wallet into it.

4. Buried pipe requirements. The pipe need to be surprisingly deep
and from memory you need to have marker tape a certain distance above
it.

Even if you're going to get a firm in to do the work read the regs and
understand them. In fact *especially* if you're getting a firm in as
I found a lot that clearly hadn't read the rules themselves but
trotted out the recieved wisdom and would have made the job much more
expensive than it needed to be.

I'm a keen DIYer and would happilly have done my own tank change but
then I considered:
The weight of the metal tank.
The storage of the oil during the change.
The disposal of the old tank
In the end it made more sense ot get someone in to do it for me and I
feel I struck lucky with the company as they were very professional
and only a bit expensive. See my posts from about a year ago if
you're interested.

wrote in message
...
On Sep 3, 7:09 pm, Rod wrote:
Dieseldes wrote:
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
. ..
Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve,
filter
and sight tube
consider a remote radio sensor.

I am SO glad to have given up on crappy sight tubes.

Funny you should say that, thats the next purchase!! sight tube and
ball
after 9 years is allmost unusable, normally just open the top and look
in
.........and miscalculate............

Des

Reminds me of my first experience of using oil. Sight tube was perfect.
But I didn't realise that you had to operate the thingy at the bottom.
Immensely pleased with how little oil we used, the level did go down a
bit..... until it suddenly ran out. :-(

I don't understand why the sight tube is on a tap. Can anyone
enlighten me .. ?

P.

Its a plastic tube that comes off the tap and has a pull lever at the base,
the tube runs up the side of the tank and shows the level of the fuel. When
you pull the lever out, it adjusts the level to whatever is left in the
tank, mine also has a little ball in the tube which floats on the top to
see the level easier (or not)

http://www.uk-plumbing.com/atkinson-...5-p-40784.html

Des

On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 11:38:57 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I don't understand why the sight tube is on a tap. Can anyone
enlighten me .. ?

So when the tube fails the contents of the tank don't run out all over the
ground. Making a horrible mess and if the EA get to hear about it a very
expensive one to clear up.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 18:56:37 +0100, "Dieseldes"
wrote:


"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
. ..
Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop

When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube

consider a remote radio sensor.

I am SO glad to have given up on crappy sight tubes.

Funny you should say that, thats the next purchase!! sight tube and ball
after 9 years is allmost unusable, normally just open the top and look in
........and miscalculate............

Is there a problem in using a dipstick?

--
Frank Erskine

The message
from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:


consider a remote radio sensor.

I am SO glad to have given up on crappy sight tubes.

Remote sensors do fail :-(

But then my current one spontaneously started working again mysteriously
after being out of commission for about 18 months.

wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.



You should have a gate valve and filter at the tank exit, and a 2nd filter
close to the boiler (according to the instruction manul for my boiler. The
filter elements need to be changed every year or two. If you don't change
them they become clogged, which if this has happened to you could explain
why your boiler can't suck the oil of out the tank.

I have just replaced my oil lines using plastic coated pipe bought from BES
and also run inside plastic drain pipe for added physical protection. I
might have used flexible electic truncing instead which is normally 20 or
25mm diameter, had I found it before I bought the drain pipes.

A more interesting question is how you join to your old pipe particularly if
it is old and 1/4" !

Installing an oil tank is DIY-able. Making joints in the pipe work and
fittings that don't leak either immediately or even months later is the
tricky bit - IME! A good reason for avoiding any burried joints.

There is quite alot of useful info on the Oftec website
http://www.oftec.co.uk/tech-info.asp


--
Michael Chare

On Sep 3, 10:39 pm, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 11:38:57 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
I don't understand why the sight tube is on a tap. Can anyone
enlighten me .. ?

So when the tube fails the contents of the tank don't run out all over the
ground. Making a horrible mess and if the EA get to hear about it a very
expensive one to clear up.

Ah, I hadn't considered a failure mode. It's only a bit of plastic
pipe. I suppose the tap should be left off then unless you're
inspecting the level then.

I was more concerned about fuel contamination, as the top of the pipe
is open to the elements !

P.

On Sep 3, 9:45 pm, Calvin wrote:
Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

The tank i'm looking at is 160Cm long by 70 wide by 140 high.

Thanks,

Paul.

I am assuming a 1200 litre Titon plastic tank and a mortgage to fill it,
last week ours took 1300l at 53p a litre!! we had run out :~(

1000L is a ton in weight, mine is on concrete slabs so building it up on a
small brick plinth would be work OK
I have mine on 3x2 slabs on sand.

When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube

I used 10ml plastic coated copper pipe to travel the 60 feet to the Stanley,
I buried mine about a foot down but put it through plastic water pipe for
extra protection and to make it easier to replace.

I also used a Tiger loop which makes it a lot easier to bleed and saves
running a return to the tank and will work where the tank is lower than the
appliance, Oh and a firevalve

I don't believe any of the tank installations around this area comply to any
planning or building regs!
I read the regs and it had to be placed a certain distance from the house
and boundry/ walls etc, certainly most of the ones I see in this area are
right up against walls, houses farms etc and no one seems to bother.
I certainly followed the regs.........

If you are just replacing an existing set up, check the regs (library)
follow the spirit (if not the letter) of the law.......

The rules are all in the building regs (part J IIRC) which are
available online. They got a lot more stringent recently so you may
not legally be able to just copy the old installation. Look out for:

1. Distance from buildings. It's not just a simple distance from a
building but involves understanding of the construction of the
building wall - how high, how flammable, any openings?

2. Bund requirements. The need for a bund depends on how any spill
will run. Essentially if it would run into a protected watercourse
you're going to need a bund which can be a bunded tank (expensive but
simple to fit) or a bund wall (cheaper if you're DIY but more complex
and time-consuming to make which is why the trade prefer bunded tanks,
oh and they make more profit on them).

3. Tank support. You don't say if you're looking at a metal or a
plastic tank. Metal usually sit on treated wood above pillars as it
evens out the point loading. Plastic *must* be fully supported across
its whole surface so you need to construct a base on the pillars.
Ignore that and as the tank ages and the plastic gets slightly brittle
it will crack. Of course it will do this under maximum load which
will be when you've just emptied your wallet into it.

4. Buried pipe requirements. The pipe need to be surprisingly deep
and from memory you need to have marker tape a certain distance above
it.

Even if you're going to get a firm in to do the work read the regs and
understand them. In fact *especially* if you're getting a firm in as
I found a lot that clearly hadn't read the rules themselves but
trotted out the recieved wisdom and would have made the job much more
expensive than it needed to be.

I'm a keen DIYer and would happilly have done my own tank change but
then I considered:
The weight of the metal tank.
The storage of the oil during the change.
The disposal of the old tank
In the end it made more sense ot get someone in to do it for me and I
feel I struck lucky with the company as they were very professional
and only a bit expensive. See my posts from about a year ago if
you're interested.

Thanks for this, i'll take a look.

I was considering a plastic tank, how much (ball-park) did the work
cost you if you don't mind me asking .. Also who do you call, the oil
supplier, a plumber, or a heating engineer ?

Thanks,

Paul.

On Sep 4, 2:02 am, "Michael Chare"
wrote:
wrote in message

...



Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

You should have a gate valve and filter at the tank exit, and a 2nd filter
close to the boiler (according to the instruction manul for my boiler. The
filter elements need to be changed every year or two. If you don't change
them they become clogged, which if this has happened to you could explain
why your boiler can't suck the oil of out the tank.

I have just replaced my oil lines using plastic coated pipe bought from BES
and also run inside plastic drain pipe for added physical protection. I
might have used flexible electic truncing instead which is normally 20 or
25mm diameter, had I found it before I bought the drain pipes.

A more interesting question is how you join to your old pipe particularly if
it is old and 1/4" !

Installing an oil tank is DIY-able. Making joints in the pipe work and
fittings that don't leak either immediately or even months later is the
tricky bit - IME! A good reason for avoiding any burried joints.

There is quite alot of useful info on the Oftec website http://www.oftec.co.uk/tech-info.asp


Thanks for the references. Much appreciated.

Rgds

Paul.

wrote:

On Sep 3, 9:45 pm, Calvin wrote:
Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
....
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

The tank i'm looking at is 160Cm long by 70 wide by 140 high.

Thanks,

Paul.

I am assuming a 1200 litre Titon plastic tank and a mortgage to fill it,
last week ours took 1300l at 53p a litre!! we had run out :~(

1000L is a ton in weight, mine is on concrete slabs so building it up on a
small brick plinth would be work OK
I have mine on 3x2 slabs on sand.

When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube

I used 10ml plastic coated copper pipe to travel the 60 feet to the Stanley,
I buried mine about a foot down but put it through plastic water pipe for
extra protection and to make it easier to replace.

I also used a Tiger loop which makes it a lot easier to bleed and saves
running a return to the tank and will work where the tank is lower than the
appliance, Oh and a firevalve

I don't believe any of the tank installations around this area comply to any
planning or building regs!
I read the regs and it had to be placed a certain distance from the house
and boundry/ walls etc, certainly most of the ones I see in this area are
right up against walls, houses farms etc and no one seems to bother.
I certainly followed the regs.........

If you are just replacing an existing set up, check the regs (library)
follow the spirit (if not the letter) of the law.......

The rules are all in the building regs (part J IIRC) which are
available online. They got a lot more stringent recently so you may
not legally be able to just copy the old installation. Look out for:

1. Distance from buildings. It's not just a simple distance from a
building but involves understanding of the construction of the
building wall - how high, how flammable, any openings?

2. Bund requirements. The need for a bund depends on how any spill
will run. Essentially if it would run into a protected watercourse
you're going to need a bund which can be a bunded tank (expensive but
simple to fit) or a bund wall (cheaper if you're DIY but more complex
and time-consuming to make which is why the trade prefer bunded tanks,
oh and they make more profit on them).

3. Tank support. You don't say if you're looking at a metal or a
plastic tank. Metal usually sit on treated wood above pillars as it
evens out the point loading. Plastic *must* be fully supported across
its whole surface so you need to construct a base on the pillars.
Ignore that and as the tank ages and the plastic gets slightly brittle
it will crack. Of course it will do this under maximum load which
will be when you've just emptied your wallet into it.

4. Buried pipe requirements. The pipe need to be surprisingly deep
and from memory you need to have marker tape a certain distance above
it.

Even if you're going to get a firm in to do the work read the regs and
understand them. In fact *especially* if you're getting a firm in as
I found a lot that clearly hadn't read the rules themselves but
trotted out the recieved wisdom and would have made the job much more
expensive than it needed to be.

I'm a keen DIYer and would happilly have done my own tank change but
then I considered:
The weight of the metal tank.
The storage of the oil during the change.
The disposal of the old tank
In the end it made more sense ot get someone in to do it for me and I
feel I struck lucky with the company as they were very professional
and only a bit expensive. See my posts from about a year ago if
you're interested.

Thanks for this, i'll take a look.

I was considering a plastic tank, how much (ball-park) did the work
cost you if you don't mind me asking .. Also who do you call, the oil
supplier, a plumber, or a heating engineer ?

Thanks,

Paul.

It cost us about £800 plus VAT.
For that we got:
a replacement metal tank
the old tank taken away
oil stored and transfered
the piers rebuilt a bit as they had decayed in the past
new treated wood supports
I could have bought the tank alone for about £400 plus VAT so I guess
I paid about £400 for the service.

We asked around and were recommended a company by a boiler service
man. It turns out though that in our area (Cambridge) there are
surprisingly real few choices. The oil suppliers mostly sub the work
out to exactly the same firm we used. That can lead to a an
interesting time when getting quotes as everyone insists on visiting
the site before quoting!

On Thu, 4 Sep 2008 07:15:16 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

Ah, I hadn't considered a failure mode. It's only a bit of plastic
pipe. I suppose the tap should be left off then unless you're
inspecting the level then.

Modern sight tubes have a "press to read" button and are normally off.
Rather than a tap that could be left on.

I was more concerned about fuel contamination, as the top of the pipe
is open to the elements !

Ours has a soft plastic cover that extends about 1 1/2" down the outside
of the ali support and sight tube. I don't think much muck or water will
get in. Probably get more muck from the delivery hose nozzle and it's
holster that is open road dirt on the tanker...

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sep 4, 4:15 pm, Calvin wrote:
wrote:
On Sep 3, 9:45 pm, Calvin wrote:
Dieseldes wrote:
wrote in message
...
Ok, so the boiler's working. One of the problems is the lack of drop
to the boiler when the tank's near empty.

Looks like the oil was sucked to the level of the outlet, but there
wasn't enough head to displace the air when a couple of emergency
drums were thrown in, necessitating waiting for a partial fill & bleed
process.

So I want to move to a slimline tank, placed slightly higher up on
either a brick base, or some sort of blocks, probably on a concrete
over hardcore raft.

Is this DIY-able ? I'm happy with the concept of mixing and pouring
concrete, and building something that will hold a tank up, but.

1) What's the required thickness of raft to support a 60Kg tank plus
1000 litres of contents ?
2) what supporting should be put under the tank if any, I.e how many
legs and or cross supporting does it need ?
3) Any special considerations planning permission
4) Any statutory requirements siting or commissioning ?
5) I'm told a "recognised risk assessment undertaken by a competent
person" is required, Is it still required as the new tank will be
adjacent to the old one i'm decommissioning. So siting shouldn't be an
issue in the current location.
6) Pipework needs to be buried. Ok, with what protection and any
special considerations ? I'll probably connect the new tank pipework
to the old, existing pipework.
7) Any recommnedations as regards new filters/gate valves etc. Clearly
won't be reusing the existing items.

The tank i'm looking at is 160Cm long by 70 wide by 140 high.

Thanks,

Paul.

I am assuming a 1200 litre Titon plastic tank and a mortgage to fill it,
last week ours took 1300l at 53p a litre!! we had run out :~(

1000L is a ton in weight, mine is on concrete slabs so building it up on a
small brick plinth would be work OK
I have mine on 3x2 slabs on sand.

When we bought our tank it came complete with a tankmaster valve, filter
and sight tube

I used 10ml plastic coated copper pipe to travel the 60 feet to the Stanley,
I buried mine about a foot down but put it through plastic water pipe for
extra protection and to make it easier to replace.

I also used a Tiger loop which makes it a lot easier to bleed and saves
running a return to the tank and will work where the tank is lower than the
appliance, Oh and a firevalve

I don't believe any of the tank installations around this area comply to any
planning or building regs!
I read the regs and it had to be placed a certain distance from the house
and boundry/ walls etc, certainly most of the ones I see in this area are
right up against walls, houses farms etc and no one seems to bother.