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Heating Oil Underground & Above ground Oil Storage Tank Home Buyer's / Home Owner's Guide - Oil Storage Tank Leak Testing Options and Test Companies InspectAPedia®  -

Types of oil tank leak tests available: this article discusses the types of oil storage tank tests that may be performed on buried oil tanks and above ground oil storage tanks to check for leaks or imminent leaks. Not all storage tank tests are equal in accuracy nor cost, and some are more appropriate than others, depending on other factors.

We include a listing of oil and fuel storage tank testing companies and services, and invite (no-fee) listings from other companies providing that service. Many storage tank testing companies also offer storage tank removal and site cleanup services as well. 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. Qualified service providers may be listed at this website at no fee.

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.

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TANK TESTING - Oil Tank Inspection and Oil Leak Testing Choices

Look for yourself: Before deciding to hire a tank testing company for professional inspection and testing, some basic information such as the age (property and tank), tank location, and type of oil tank, and for above-ground tanks, a simple visual inspection of the tank and its piping, can give you and idea of the risks involved. Look for obvious leaks such as oil stains on the ground or floor under or around the tank and around the oil fired equipment. Remember to look under the oil tank at its bottom, as most leaks occur in the lower portion of the tank.

Hire an expert: Specialty companies and some oil companies have equipment to test buried tanks for leaks. Soil testing, simple low-psi pressure-testing and sophisticated electronic testing are commonly used. I advise home buyers to have a soil test performed rather than a pressure test of an existing oil tank, since even if the tank is not currently leaking we would prefer an assurance that it didn't leak before, say from a plumbing connection that was repaired.

In addition to oil tank inspection, oil piping inspection, and oil tank testing to "pass" or "fail" an oil storage tank, more sophisticated tests are available to assess the chances that an existing heating oil storage tank has leaked or is likely to have a serious leak soon. These include a oil tank corrosion analysis which adds to the basic tank inspection and tests an assessment of the level of corrosion of the tank walls and thus the chances of its leaking or failure, and soil corrosion or soil corrosivity evaluation which includes an evaluation of soil samples collected from around the tank in order to assess the degree to which the soil in which the oil tank has been buried will contribute to the process of corrosion of the (presumably steel) buried oil tank.

Testing for water in an oil tank (above ground or buried) is simple and can be done by any service person. Tank testing methods vary in risk to the tank, cost, invasiveness, length of time to complete, and more.

From a previous use, a buried oil tank may be present or may have been present at a property now served by an indoor, above ground oil tank or even by LP or natural gas. So don't assume that because you don't see a tank that none was ever used or present at a property.

OIL TANK LEAK TESTING COs / OIL TANK REMOVAL COs - Oil Tank Testing, Removal, Consulting Environmental Service Companies

• CT: Enviro Tech of Fairfield County oil tank testing and locating services, Connecticut
• CO: Tank Specialists, Far West Assoc, Colorado, Wyoming, S. Nevada, S., Baja CA
• NY: Dorson Environmental Management, Inc., 45 Knollwood Rd., 3rd Fl., Elmsford NY 10523: 914-592-3117
• OH: CTL Engineering, Inc., Columbus OH (HQ) - UST Management, Testing, Inspection, Analysis: 614-276-8123 614-276-6377 FAX.
  ctl@ctleng.com Offices in NC, OH, WV, VA [Thanks for website support]
• NY-Nationwide Hodgens Engineering Service, 800-463-4367 Jay Hodgens, james@hodgens.net EPA Compliance and SPCC Planning Specialist www.hodgens.net/hes/spcc.php (Also offers radon testing using a continuous working level monitor)
• VA: Virginia Geotechnical Services, P.C. Email: W. Jerrold Samford, P.G.
• Mediation, Environmental Dispute - KMG
• Disposal, Hazardous Waste, SET Home Pg
• Sound Pictures of Stored Waste
• Tank / other Env Services Braun-Intertec (C)trap
• Tank / other Env Services ENSCI Southeast US (C)trap
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• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia^® Website
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• 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.

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?

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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
.
• 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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