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Heating Oil Underground & Above ground Oil Storage Tank Home Buyer's / Home Owner's Guide - Causes of Oil Storage Tank Leaks InspectAPedia®  -   Causes of leaks in oil storage tanks tanks What causes a leak in an underground oil storage tank? What causes leaks in above ground heating oil tanks?

This article discusses the causes of leaks in buried oil tanks and above ground oil storage tanks. Water may leak into oil storage tanks, or may enter tanks by other means; oil such as heating oil or fuel oil may leak out of oil storage tanks, risking a costly environmental problem.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links at left show where you are in our document & website.

LEAK CAUSES - Oil Tank Leak Failure Causes

At least some of these causes of oil leaks or spills can be avoided by simple inspection and maintenance. The modest oil spill shown in this photo could have been avoided by properly sealing the brass oil line fittings at the bottom of the oil storage tank.

On an outdoor or buried oil tank a leak like this could go un-detected for many years and could form a more serious oil spill. This is a chapter of our "Heating Oil Underground & Above ground Oil Storage Tank Leaks, Testing, Problems & Solutions, Home Buyer's / Home Owner's Guide" which offers extensive free un-biased oil storage tank inspection and testing advice for property buyers and owners.

In-Tank orrosion: Underground fuel or heating oil storage tanks usually fail from rust perforation due to several effects of water inside the tank including, in the case of heating oil, combination of water with sulphur in the fuel, bacterial action, and other factors. External rust, unless very heavy, isn't highly correlated with internal rust. Leaks can occur due to tank damage or at piping connections.

Oil Tanks in Corrosive Soils: Oil storage tank leaks are more likely if a steel tank has been buried in corrosive soil or if the tank was damaged during installation, such as gouging it or bouncing it off of a rock as it was placed into a hole for burying.

Oil Tank Piping Leaks: Oil tank leaks may occur at buried piping connections as well.

Delivery Oil Spills: occur around the tank fill pipe and range from trivial to more extensive requiring soil removal and cleaning. These leaks are usually obvious at the ground surface around the oil tank or tank filler.

Inadequate fill or vent pipe diameter is blamed by some for leaks at buried or above ground oil tanks, asserting that because oil tanks are filled under pressure from the oil delivery pumper-truck, a corroded, damaged, or poorly-plumbed oil storage tank, or one with a too-small vent opening, may not withstand the pressure of the filling process.

Indoor oil spills during tank fill or later from a leaky oil tank range from trivial local cleanup and deodorizing efforts to very serious contamination problems if an oil tank bursts during oil delivery (which I suspect is rare) and on occasions when an indoor oil tank has been removed but someone (some fool) has left the oil filler pipe installed on the building, and when subsequently an oil delivery is mistakenly made through the filler pipe onto the empty basement or crawl space floor. This may sound crazy but it actually happens.

Home buyers should be sure to review OIL TANK TESTING - Leaky Heating Oil Tanks - How Oil Tanks are Tested for Evidence Leaks, of Current or Previous Oil Spills andOIL TANK LEGAL ISSUES - Home Buyers and Home Owners Guide to Leaky Heating Oil Tanks - What to Do About & When to Report Oil Tank Leaks. Leaky Heating Oil Tanks.

Home owners who have old oil tanks above ground or any age oil tank below ground should also be sure to review OIL TANK ABANDONING PROCEDURE - Abandoning Commercial vs. Residential Underground Oil Storage Tanks (UST) - Procedures & Regulations A separate website addresses Septic Tanks. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. New York State License # 16000005303 (inception to 2008) Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Resources.

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OIL TANK LEAK ADVICE
  OIL TANK LEAK ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
  FREQUENCY of OIL TANK LEAKS
  HOME INSPECTOR OIL TANK REPORT
  OIL TANK LEAK IMPACTS
  OIL TANK LEAK CAUSES
  OIL TANK LEAK CLEANUP GUIDE
  OIL TANK LEAK REPORTING REGULATIONS - ALL
  OIL TANK LEAK TESTING
  LEAKY OIL TANK FILL PIPES
  OIL TANK LEAK REPORTING BASICS
  WHAT IF AN OIL TANK IS LEAKING?

• TANK FAILURE CAUSES discusses the causes of oil storage tank leaks in more detail.
• The rate or frequency of oil tank leaks or oil storage tank failures, focused on underground storage tanks or USTs, is discussed in detail at TANK FAILURE RATES provides Oil Tank Failure Data - Oil Tank Failure Rates - Oil Tank Leak Probability as a Function of Tank Age, Location, Condition, Soil Conditions and Other Factors

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• 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
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• 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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