Is Old Heating Oil Useable? What do we do with old, unused home heating oil?

Is Old Heating Oil Useable? What do we do with old, unused home heating oil?
- How old heating oil is removed from abandoned oil tanks
- How to use up the heating oil in an oil tank before abandoning or removing it.
Questions & answers about using old or stored home heating oil
References

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This article discusses what to do with old home heating oil, and addresses the usability of old heating oil. Readers should see HEATING OIL SHELF LIFE where we describe how long heating oil can be stored and then used with acceptable results. Also, if you are removing heating oil in preparation to abandon an oil storage tank, see The Oil Storage Tank Website. Uses for and handling of used lubricating oils (not heating oil) is discussed in US EPA publication Managing Used Oil.

Old Home Heating Oil: What to Do With It?

If your property has a quantity of unused heating oil and you do not plan to make use of it, the oil should be removed from the storage tank and the tank should be properly abandoned. There may be a charge to disposed of the heating oil. See OIL TANK ABANDONING PROCEDURE.
Your heating oil company can pump heating oil out of an oil tank that is to be removed or abandoned. See REMOVING OLD FUEL FROM OIL TANKS.
If the heating oil stored in the tank that is to be emptied or abandoned is not old, and if you are installing a new oil storage tank, ask your heating oil company about pumping the oil out of the old tank and into the new oil tank for you.

In this case you can minimize the pumping trouble and cost by using up as much of the heating oil in the old tank as you can before changing to the new oil storage tank. See OIL TANK ABANDONING PROCEDURE.
If you want to make use of old heating oil from an old oil storage tank, depending on its age and storage conditions that may be acceptable, but you may need to remove water or other contaminants that may be present. See HEATING OIL SHELF LIFE and see OIL TANK WATER CONTAMINATION.

Removing old fuel from underground oil tanks

The UFPBC also requires that underground petroleum tanks to be closed in-place shall be made safe by removing flammable or combustible liquids from the tank and connecting lines; disconnecting the suction inlet, gauge and vent lines; and capping the remaining piping.

All storage tanks removed from their location must also have flammable or combustible liquids removed, have the same lines disconnected; have sections of connecting lines not to be used further removed, and have inlets, outlets, and any leaks capped or plugged. The basic procedures for meeting these requirements are defined in the State and federal regulatory programs.

In addition to requiring the same basic procedures as the State regulations, the federal UST regulations require that a site assessment be performed by the owner/operator when a tank is closed. (Heating oil tanks, and farm and residential tanks storing less than 1,100 gallons of motor fuel are exempt from these regulations.)

See INDOOR OIL TANK ABANDONMENT for some suggestions for using up heating oil or removing it from an oil tank to be abandoned.

For a detailed description of the steps required for proper tank abandonment or for more information on site assessments and permanent tank closure, contact your state department of environmental conservation. In New York inspectors can contact the author or the Bulk-Storage help-line 800-242-3451.

How to Use Up Heating Oil Before Removing or Replacing an Oil Tank

Oil to Gas Heat Conversion Advice - using up heating oil fuel

If you are going to convert to gas or another heating source but you first want to use up the heating oil in your oil storage tank, and provided that your oil fired heating equipment (oil fired boiler, furnace, or water heater) is good operating condition, you can choose to simply let the old, to-be-abandoned oil fired equipment keep running until you run out of oil ... almost. There are a few problems to watch out for:

If your oil tank piping lines come off of the top of the oil tank and are properly installed the lines won't pick up the sludge, water, and last few inches of oil in the tank, so you'll probably be fine just running your oil fired equipment until you run out of oil.

If your oil tank piping lines come off of the bottom of the oil tank and you run it out there is the risk of pulling sludge and crud into the oil filter, oil burner, and losing heat if those components clog. If the oil burner shuts off in that manner, it'll indeed be shut off firmly until it's repaired, so don't try this if you're still depending on the oil heat to keep working (say to avoid freezing).

Your gas heat or other new source of heating should be hooked up and ready to run. Thus you can run the oil heat until it runs out or fails on clogging without risking leaving the building with no heat source - risking frozen pipes, water damage, mold contamination, etc.

The heating service technicians will not want to remove old oil-fired heating equipment until it is completely cold. That's because they don't want to deal with hot water, burns, etc.

The old oil tank may still need to be pumped out if there's oil remaining in it - lest you get a messy leak and spill later.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about using old home heating oil or fuel oil

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Technical Reviewers & References

Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.

OIL TANK INDOOR INSPECTION - "Visual Inspection of Above Ground Residential Heating Oil Storage Tanks - ASTs" provides photos of common and easily seen tank leaks and defects, and a description of some easy visual checks of the condition of a visible oil tank, things that you can do yourself
OIL TANK TESTING Oil Tank Testing Methods & Choices
BURIED OIL TANKS, FINDING How to Find Buried Oil Tank
OIL TANK FAILURE CAUSES Oil Tank Leaks or Oil Tank Failure Causes - oil tank leaks are caused by corrosion, damage, soil conditions, other factors
TANK FAILURE RATES Oil Tank Failure Rates - Oil Tank Leak Probability as a Function of Tank Age, Location, Condition, Soil Conditions and Other Factors
OIL TANK WATER CONTAMINATION - how to find out if there is problematic water in an oil tank and how to get water out of an oil tank are explained

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

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The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

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Building inspection education & report writing systems from Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd

Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, have provided us with (and we recommend) Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates' Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment
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More Reading and advice about oil storage tank leak testing
- OIL TANK INDOOR INSPECTION - "Visual Inspection of Above Ground Residential Heating Oil Storage Tanks - ASTs" provides photos of common and easily seen tank leaks and defects, and a description of some easy visual checks of the condition of a visible oil tank, things that you can do yourself
- OIL TANK TESTING Oil Tank Testing Methods & Choices
- BURIED OIL TANKS, FINDING How to Find Buried Oil Tank
- OIL TANK FAILURE CAUSES Oil Tank Leaks or Oil Tank Failure Causes - oil tank leaks are caused by corrosion, damage, soil conditions, other factors
- TANK FAILURE RATES Oil Tank Failure Rates - Oil Tank Leak Probability as a Function of Tank Age, Location, Condition, Soil Conditions and Other Factors
- OIL TANK WATER CONTAMINATION - how to find out if there is problematic water in an oil tank and how to get water out of an oil tank are explained
Oil Tanks - The Oil Storage Tank Information Website: Buried or Above Ground Oil Tank Inspection, Testing, Cleanup, Abandonment of Oil Tanks
Abandon a Buried Oil Tank, How To - Abandoning Commercial Underground Tanks, Russ Brauksieck, ASHI Tech. Journal, Vol.3 No.1 Spring 1993, P. 40-41 [Reprint]
Above Ground Oil Tanks: Visual Inspection of Oil Storage Tanks for evidence of leaks, damage, improper piping - photos and text
Above Ground Oil Tanks Checklist, an Oil Company's advice
Above Ground Tanks UL Standards, UL Tank Listing Standards, guidance for home owners, buyers, and inspectors
Buried Oil Tanks - Finding How to Find Buried Oil Tanks and "Nearly Hidden" and Leaky Oil Tanks - photos and text.
Buried Fuel tank - Advice - Buried FUEL Tank - GAS or OIL advice for home buyers, home owners, inspection report language for homes where a buried oil tank is or was installed
Environmental Issues & Regulations for Oil Tanks, Registration, Abandonment, Leak Reporting
Home Inspection Report Language Library: Buried Oil Tanks, Buried or aboveground oil tank advice for home buyers and home owners, where a buried oil tank is or was installed, also home inspection report language for oil tanks
Home Inspection Report Language Library: Visible Defects in Oil Tank Installations, Tanks, and Heating Oil Piping
Home Inspection Report Language Library: Gas Fuel Piping or Tank Faults Basic advice - home inspection report language suggestions
Home Inspection Report Language Library: Oil Tanks text file list © Oil and Other Storage Tank Leaks, Testing, Abandonment, Inspection - UST home inspection report language files - Reference List
Indoor Environment Website Indoor Building Environmental Hazard Detection, Testing, Repair, & Prevention - Main Web Page
Leaky Heating Oil Tanks - Advice for Home Owners or Buyers: caused of leaks in oil tanks, oil tank testing alternatives, what to do about leaky tanks: D. J. Friedman, ASHI Tech. Journal, Vol.2 No.1, Winter, 1992 p. 42-43 Illus
Leak or Failure Rates for Home Heating Oil Tanks
Legal Issues Regarding Buried Oil Storage Tanks K. S. Rea, Attorney, summary from ASHI Chapter Seminar.
Primer on Petroleum Bulk Storage Tanks & Petroleum Contamination of Property Paul H. Ciminello, ASHI Tech. Journal, Vol.3 No.1 Spring 1993, p 35-39
Petroleum Bulk Storage J. Sibblies, NY State DEC, Advice to Home Owners and Home Inspectors about Oil Storage Tanks - summary from ASHI Chapter Seminar.
Septic Tank inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair
OIL TANK FAILURE CAUSES - Oil Tank Failure Causes - oil tank leaks are caused by corrosion, damage, soil conditions, other factors
Tank Failure Rates - Oil Tank Failure Rates - Oil Tank Leak Probability as a Function of Tank Age, Location, Condition, Soil Conditions and Other Factors
OIL TANK TESTING - - How Oil Tanks are Tested for Evidence Leaks, of Current or Previous Oil Spills
"How do you choose the right tank testing method?", Cynthia Johnson, Fuel Oil & Oil Heat Magazine, November 1995
National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, PO Box 380, Elmwood Park, NJ 07407
"Homeowners Guide to Fuel Storage," Agway Energy Products, Verbank, NY, November 1990
Web Link Exchange: Contact Us to list your website or contact information for oil tank testing, tank corrosion research, oil industry experts
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