Heating Oil Storage Tank Leaks - Causes, Detection, Cleanup, Repair Guide
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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?
Questions & answers about the cause, detection, and repair of leaky oil storage tanks at residential & light commercial properties

Causes of oil storage tank leaks: this article describes 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.

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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 corrosion: 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 and OIL 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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OIL TANK LEAKS & SMELLS
  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 REGULATIONS - CANADA
  OIL TANK LEAK REPORTING in NEW JERSEY
  OIL TANK LEAK & SIZE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
  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

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LEAK CAUSES - Oil Tank Leak Failure Causes

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