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Leaky Oil Tank Gauge Repair Procedures
How to Fix a leaky oil storage tank indicator gauge in 7 easy steps
- POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about how to diagnose & repair leaks at the oil tank gauge.
Oil tank leaks at the tank gauge:
This article discusses the causes of leaks at oil tank level indicating gauge.
While a broken or missing oil tank gauge cover can cause leaks, a more common and easily diagnosed and repaired leak point is at the little gasket that seals the oil tank gauge sight glass or plastic cover in its mounting base.
Watch out: There should be NO oil tank gauge leaks provided the oil tank is not being over-filled.
This article describes how to diagnose and fix a leak at the oil tank gauge by making or buying a new gauge cover gasket.
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Diagnose & repair leaks at the oil storage tank gauge
[Click to enlarge any image]
Leaks around the oil tank gauge or at the gage cover, properly called the oil tank gauge vial, can stink up the building, cause a costly oil tank leak and cleanup bill, and can be mistaken for oil tank piping leaks. Here we explain a common cause and cure for leaks around the oil tank gauge or gauge vial.
Separately at OIL FILL / VENT PIPE SMALL LEAK REPAIR we cited a leak around at the oil tank vent pipe (above left) that actually was ultimately traced to a leak at the oil tank level gauge. A temporary repair of this small leak was to control the oil seepage with a rag so that it wouldn't wet the whole side of the oil tank (above right).
Without the rag oil seeping out during an oil tank fill-up wet both sides of the oil tank and stank up the garage where the oil tank was located.
By cleaning the area around the piping, tank top and gauge very thoroughly and then inspecting the oil tank during and after an oil delivery it was apparent that the leak was not at the threads mounting the gauge and vent pipe assembly but rather the leak was coming out of the oil tank gauge assembly. Here are the steps in diagnosing and repairing a leaky oil tank level gauge.
Step 1: clean all heating oil off of the oil storage tank around the apparent leak source. I used a common household cleaner spray and pape towels.
Alcohol can also help clean surfaces more thoroughly but it wasn't necessary here. Lacquer thinner or acetone will also remove traces of oil but these solvents will also remove paint from the oil tank and they're more dangerous to work-with.
Step 2: remove the oil tank filler gauge plastic cover and clean and inspect those parts. Then put the gauge cover back in place.
Clean around the oil tank gauge cover thoroughly - if necessary you can remove the gauge cover to wipe the surface around the gauge cover mount, then replace the gauge cover and go to step 3. Or if you see a problem with the gauge gasket during this Step 2, jump to Step 4 below.
Sometimes simply hand-tightening the oil tank gauge cover will be enough to stop a leak there - or maybe not as you'll read below.
Step 3: check for seepage at the next oil tank fill-up. If I didn't see trouble in and around the gauge I'd reassemble everything and watch what happens during the next oil fill.
At the next oil fill I asked the driver to be particularly careful not to over-fill the tank (the tank alarm doesn't work on this oil tank so the driver has to listen at the tank vent).
Below you can see a wet area around the oil tank gauge that tells me where the heating oil was about to leak from the tank at the fill-up. At below left you can see the oil delivery driver (Bottini Oil, Poughkeepsie, New York) listening carefully to detect just when the indoor oil tank has filled.
Below you can see a little heating oil seepage around the oil tank gauge vial mount that we discuss next. Had the Bottini oil company driver not stopped filling the tank when he did there would have been a bigger leak.
Below: a different Bottini oil company delivery driver demostrates how he listens at the oil tank vent to be sure he can hear when the non-alarmed oil tank is full.
Step 4. Spot the point of origin of the oil tank piping leak: in this case it was at the oil tank filler gauge. Check for a damaged or missing oil tank gauge gasket. Looking with care at the rubber gasket in the oil tank gauge mounting opening it was obvious that this was the trouble: the gasket was worn and incomplete.
Watch out: leaks will also occur around an oil tank gauge if the plastic gauge cover is missing entirely or if the gauge cover base is cracked or uneven such that it can't depess and seal the gauge gasket inside the mounting opening. In that case you'll need to replace the gauge cover assembly entirely.
Step 5: Obtain or make a replacement for the leaky oil tank gauge gasket. This little gasket (see below) was more than 40 years old and had done yoeman work for decades.
A small pair of needle-nose pliers helped remove the old gasket for inspection. It was time for a new oil tank gauge gasket.
A stop at your oil heat parts company to ask for the gaseket might be successful, but as I had some rubber roofing material on-hand it was trivial to cut out a new, more substantial gasket. We'll see how well rubber roofing stands up to home heating oil.
... 
Youy can see the new home-made oil tank gauge gasket at above right. Since the center of the gasket has only to clear the small wire rod of the oil tank level gauge and big enough to slip over the gauge indicator disc, I decided to make this gasket wider and more substantial than the original gasket.
The outer perimeter of the gasket must be well rounded to fit neatly and without leaking into the oil tank gauge sight glass cover base but the inner perimeter can be a bit more crude. [Click to enlarge any image]
Step 6: Install the new oil tank gauge cover gasket to stop leaks at the oil tank gauge
... 
You can see the do-it-yourself oil tank gauge cover gasket slipping over the oil tank gauge (above-left, take care not to bend the gauge rod) and then placed into the mounting well of the oil tank gauge cover (above right).
I made the gasket just slightly oversized - about 1-2 mm - figuring that it would compress into place when I screwed in the gauge cover and I'd be more sure it'd seal well.
Step 7: Replace the Oil Tank Gauge Sight "Glass" - actually it's plastic - by screwing it snugly in place. Don't over-tighten or you may break the cover. Hand-tight is enough. No pipe wrenches please.
Step 8: Monitor your oil tank gauge leak repair: be sure that the gauge is not leaking by checking it again at the next oil tank fill-up.
Above is the repaired oil tank gauge in place a year after the gasket repair that we described. So far, after several oil tank re-fills, there is no seepage around the gauge.
If thees oil tank fill and vent pipes have not already caused a costly oil spill outside the building it's due to luck and the fact that oil tank filling does not expose the tank to extreme pressures. Also
see OIL TANK PRESSURE.
A better design would have either provided for drainage of the well through which these oil tank pipes pass or it would have sealed them entirely to protect the piping from standing water - or worse, standing salty water.
Oil Tank Gauge Installation or Replacement
Our article on how to install an oil tank gauge and tank alarm has moved to
OIL TANK GAUGE & VENT ALARM INSTALL / REPLACE
...
Continue reading at OIL TANK FILL / VENT PIPE LEAK REPAIRS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
Or see these
Recommended Articles
- OIL TANK LEAKS & SMELLS - home
- OIL TANK FILL & VENT PIPING INSPECTION CHECKLIST
- OIL TANK GAUGES - home
Suggested citation for this web page
OIL TANK GAUGE LEAK REPAIR at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
Or see this
INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to HEATING OIL, OIL BURNERS, OIL FIRED HEATERS, OIL TANKS
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Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
- [1] Fuel Storage] Tank Corrosion Study, U.S. EPA report on gasoline and oil tank corrosion, James H. Pim, P.E., John M. Searing, Suffolk County DOHS, 15 Horseblock Place, Farmingville Long Island, NY 11728, November 1988, for the Office of Underground Storage Tanks, U.S. EPA. ATTN: David O'Brien. The report presents a study of 500 underground storage tanks spanning 24 February 1987 and September 1 1988 and summarizes earlier reports on this same study. Tank sizes ranged from 175 gallons to 50,000 gallons, and oil tank ages ranged from two years to 70 years old. All 500 oil storage tanks were constructed of welded steel, and 12 other tanks that were other than plain steel were also examined. Summary [with minor edits for clarity by DJF]
Five hundred plain steel [underground fuel storage] tanks plus twelve corrosion protected [under ground oil] storage tanks were removed from the ground over an eighteen month period in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. The oil tanks were examined carefully before disposal to gather statistics on the nature and extent of steel oil storage tank corrosion that had attacked them. Information was gathered on the number, type, location, and size of oil storage tank perforations [oil storage tank leak points] the general interior and exterior corrosion condition of the oil storage tank, soil, backfill, and groundwater conditions; the presence of leaked product [heating oil], and oil storage tank statistics such as tank volume, steel plate thickness, location, product [type of heating oil stored], tank age, etc. The statistics were compiled and compared, observations made, and conclusions developed. The major conclusions [were] summarized as follows:- Size is more important than age in predicting oil storage tank failures
- In general, small tanks are much more likely to perforate than large tanks due to thinner walls found in smaller oil storage tanks
- Compared to external corrosion, internal corrosion is insignificant [in the underground oil storage tanks examined - warning from DF: the opposite is probably the case regarding above ground storage tanks].
- Fuel oil tanks are just as susceptible to leak perforation as gasoline tanks of the same size
- Existing fuel storage tanks are in worse shape than is demonstrated by storage tank testing
- Storage tanks to not always leak immediately on perforation
- [3] "A Case Study of a Large Scale Precision [oil or fuel] Tank Testing Program", Diane H. Heck, Tetra Tech Richardson, Newark, Delaware, web search 4/27/12, original source: info.ngwa.org/GWOL/pdf/870143411.PDF, copy on file as /heating/OIl Tanks UST/Tank_Test_Heck_870143411.pdf
- [4] Fuel Oil and Oil Heat Magazine, August 1985 p.18. Fuel Oil & Oil Heating Magazine, 3621 Hill Rd., Parsippany, NJ 07054, 973-331-9545
- [5] Standards of the National Board of Fire Underwriters, as referenced by "Domestic and Commercial Oil Burners,", Charles H. Burkhardt, 1961, 3rd Ed., McGraw Hill Book Company, p. 172
- [6] NFPA - the National Fire Protection Association can be found online at www.nfpa.org
- [7] "The Interim Prohibition Guidance for Design and Installation of Underground Oil Storage Tanks", U.S. EPA, EPA/530-SW-85203, Office of Underground Storage Tanks, Washington D.C.
- [10] "How do you choose the right tank testing method?", Cynthia Johnson, Fuel Oil & Oil Heat Magazine, November 1995
- [11] National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, PO Box 380, Elmwood Park, NJ 07407
- [12] "Homeowners Guide to Fuel Storage," Agway Energy Products, Verbank, NY, November 1990
- [13] "Causes of Underground Corrosion", Harco Corporation, Paper HC-36, Median OH
- [14] "Toxicological profile for fuel oils", U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Atlanta, GA 1995. - http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp75.html
- [19] "Home Heating Oil Spills, Fact Sheet", Connecticut Department of Public Health
- [20] "Home Heating Oil Spills", Wisconsin Department of Health, at http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/Air/fs/Oilspill.htm
- Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
- In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
CONTINUE READING or RECOMMENDED ARTICLES.
- Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. Tel: (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 Email: info@carsondunlop.com. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The HOME REFERENCE BOOK - the Encyclopedia of Homes and to use illustrations from The ILLUSTRATED HOME .
Carson Dunlop Associates provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material. In gratitude we provide links to tsome Carson Dunlop Associates products and services.
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