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Photograph of an outdoor heating oil tank Oil Tank & Piping Sludge Problems

Part 2: Emergency steps to deal with oil tank or piping sludge

Sludge & crud or contaminants in heating oil storage tanks:

Here we give first aid advice for what to do if you ran out of heating oil and want to avoid stirring up sludge when oil is delivered.

We continue in this article series by describing all of the methods used to avoid sludge problems in heating oil storage tanks: blowing out a clogged oil line, using additives to break up oil tank sludge, installing a Scully Snorkel® to avoid picking up oil tank sludge & water, improvements in oil line filter capacity, steam cleaning oil tanks & lines, & oil tank replacement options.

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What to Do About Sludge in an Oil Tank - the Solutions to Oil Tank Sludge

In addressing heating oil waxing and oil line clogging in cold weather, we discussed use of oil tank additives to reduce the temperature at which this problem occurs. That article is

at HEATING OIL CLOUD WAX GEL POINT.

But taking our own advice taught a new lesson in oil tank sludge problems.

Sludge causes rapid oil filter clogging: We have seen problems with rapid clogging of heating oil filters and thus loss of heat from sludge that was brought out of an old oil tank and into the filter.

Emergency Measures: what to do if you run have run out of oil and had sludge in your oil tank?

Emergency Procedures to Deal with Oil Tank Sludge & Loss of Heat

Oil companies may recommend that if you have to fill an old maybe sludgy oil tank that was nearly empty, turn off the boiler or furnace for a few hours to let the sludge return to the bottom of the tank (and be sure your heating equipment is fed fuel from the tank top tappings not from the tank bottom tapping.

We are not sure how much trouble someone wants to go through in dealing with oil tank sludge, but because tank replacement is so costly I would take several steps to try to work out the sludge problem without replacing an old sludgy but otherwise good-condition oil tank.

Step 1: Emergency Oil Tank Sludge Measure - Turn off The Heat:

If you know that the oil tank has a sludge problem, if you can't do anything else, at least try turning off the heat for a time during and after the oil delivery. (Don't let the building get so cold that pipes freeze or other damage occurs.)

We MIGHT have avoided our oil filter sludge-clog problem discussed above if we'd been able to keep the heat OFF for 3 to 6 hours from the time of the delivery. The idea is to let the worst of the sludge stirred by the delivery settle out to the tank bottom.

Step 2: Emergency Oil Tank Sludge Has Clogged Oil Lines - Line Blowout:

If the oil line(s) from tank to burner become badly clogged with oil tank sludge, you need help from a heating oil service technician. Sludge often clogs heating oil lines, especially if the oil lines leave the bottom of the oil tank en route to the burner.

A service tech finding a clogged oil line (diagnosed by opening the oil line at the burner or by measuring the line vacuum when the burner fuel unit is running) can temporarily "blow out" sludge in the line using a CO2 cartridge and special fittings.

This is a short term fix that may keep things going until the sludge has been removed. It usually works but not always.

If the CO2 blowout fails you need to replace oil lines between tank and burner as well as deal with the sludge.

Oil lines that come off of the top of the tank, since they don't pick up oil (and sludge) from the very bottom of the tank, will be less prone to clog by sludge in the oil tank, so this is another approach to consider if sludge-clogged oil lines between oil tank and burner are a problem.


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Continue reading at SLUDGE TREATMENTS for OIL STORAGE TANKS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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EMERGENCY MEASURES for OIL TANK 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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