Sludge & crud or contaminants in heating oil storage tanks:

Steam cleaning oil tans & oil piping can clear out settled oil tank sludge and debris that are blocking heating oil delivery to an oil burner.

This article series explains the causes and cures for heating system problems due to sludge in home heating oil tanks, including problems of clogged oil piping, clogged oil filters, oil burner malfunctions, and loss of heat due to sludge in the oil tank. We explain why sludge is a problem in home heating oil & why it leads to loss of heat.

Steam-Cleaning Fuel Oil Tanks & Tank Piping to Get Rid of Sludge

Heating oil tank repair, cleaning, & lining companies offer heating or fuel oil storage tank cleaning services that can include pumping out the oil tank, squeegee-cleaning of debris from tank interior, steam cleaning the oil storage tank, and steam cleaning the oil piping lines.

More often this service is performed on large commercial-sized (thousands of gallons) oil storage tanks, not on residential tanks.

The service will typically guarantee the removal of sludge from the oil storage tank and from plugged sections of heating oil return lines.

Watch out: oil tank steam cleaning experts who provide this service may offer these warnings about steam-cleaning of heating oil piping lines:

• Oil piping system leaks 
  
  may appear after steam cleaning because the cleaning process removes sludge that may have actually been sealing marginal oil piping sections or connections.
  
  The heating contractor or service company should be sure to perform a vacuum test on the oil piping system after this or any other oil storage & piping system cleaning procedure.
• Heavier Fuel Oil Heating & Pre-Heating Systems:
  
  Steam cleaning of oil piping systems does not include the cleaning of any fuel oil heating equipment (such as a below-line side-arm heater) that is used with heaver heating oils such as No. 6 heating fuel oil.
  
  The cleaning of heating equipment for fuel oil heaters used on heavier-oil systems should be discussed and if needed, added to the cleaning contract.
• Document problems found:
  
  the oil tank or oil piping cleaning contractor should leave a service ticket or similar document with the customer indicating the conditions found, such as evidence of oil piping leaks or oil tank damage.
• Re-Prime the oil piping, pump & burner system:
  
  Air or steam condensate left in the oil piping system (lines, pumps, tank) will usually require additional service steps including having to re-prime the oil burner fuel unit.

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Continue reading at OIL TANK REPLACE due to SLUDGE? or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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  • OIL TANK SLOPE to AVOID SLUDGE PROBLEMS
  • OIL TANK SLUDGE EMERGENCY MEASURES
  • OIL TANK SLUDGE TREATMENTS
  • OIL TANK SLUDGE TREATMENTS INCREASE OIL FILTER CAPACITY
• OIL TANK REPLACE due to SLUDGE?
• OIL TANK TREATMENTS, ADDITIVES
• OIL TANK WATER REMOVAL
• SCULLY SNORKEL® or OIL PIPING CHANGES to AVOID SLUDGE
• STEAM CLEANING OIL TANKS & OIL PIPING

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

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