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Photograph of an outdoor heating oil tank Heating Oil Tank & Piping Sludge
Part 6: when to replace a sludge or water-contaminated oil storage tank

Sludge & crud or contaminants in heating oil storage tanks:

We continue with oil tank & oil piping replacement options when sludge, rust, crud or water in the oil storage and delivery system are causing trouble.

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Should You Replace the Oil Tank Because it Contains Sludge?

Replacing a sludged heating oil tank is a last resort: even though your oil company will take the safe route and recommend this much more costly solution, you may not need to replace your sludge-contaminated heating oil tank UNLESS the heating oil tank is itself one that should be replaced for other reasons anyway, such as:

What the Oil Company Recommends for Sludgy Old Oil Tanks

The oil company will advise you to replace the tank - that's the safest advice for them to give, doesn't cost them a dime, and is most profitable too. The concern faced by the oil company is whether or not the sludgy tank will

The oil company is concerned that these problems are most likely to occur when an oil tank is being stressed by the increase in pressure that occurs in the tank during fill-up. That pressure increase risk is still greater if the tank is not properly vented or if the tank vent is clogged.

Possible Alternatives to Replacing a Sludged Oil Tank

A possible alternative to simply replacing an old oil storage is to have the tank steel thickness measured - if the tank is not corroded and thus not at unusual risk of failure, it makes sense to try to clean out the sludge - a service some oil companies can provide.

If your oil company provides a tank cleaning service we recommend that step. The sludge, debris, and water in the tank are removed by a vacuuming procedure. Because these contaminants are normally sitting on the bottom of the oil tank, this procedure can be used even when the tank is full of heating oil.

You can add an oil tank additive like 4-in-one hot that also breaks up sludge, but if there is a lot of it in the tank it could take a very long time to pass the suspended sludge out and risks clogging the oil filters (and loss of heat) to boot.

When adding an oil tank pour point depressant that also is intended to remove water and also to break up sludge in the oil tank, the risk is that the additional suspended sludge caused by the additive, especially right after filling a low-nearly-empty oil tank will clog the oil filters.

See A Guide to No. 2 Heating Oil Waxing, Gelling, or Clouding - for a discussion of additives.

What we recommend if you are unable to find a local company who can remove the oil tank sludge:

New oil piping of larger diameter helps protect against sludge & ice clogging (C) Daniel Friedman


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OIL TANK REPLACE due to SLUDGE? at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to HEATING OIL, OIL BURNERS, OIL FIRED HEATERS, OIL TANKS

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