Oil tank additives, chemicals or treatments as water or sludge problem solvers or to retard oil tank corrosion:

this article describes the use of chemicals, additives or treatments for heating oil storage tanks to address problems with oil tank contamination by water or sludge, icing, waxing, heat loss, heating equipment damage, and to address oil tank leaks caused by internal oil tank corrosion caused by water & bacteria in the oil tank.

Water or Sludge Removal & Anti-Waxing Additives for Indoor or Outdoor Oil Storage Tanks

Water problems in oil tanks

Why might we use Heating or Fuel Oil Additives for Water, Sludge, & Waxing or Gelling Problems at Outdoor Oil Tanks?

As we discuss at ABOVE GROUND OUTDOOR OIL TANKS, water can get into oil storage tanks from a variety of pathways, leading to heating equipment damage & loss of heat.

[Click to enlarge any image]

In addition to causing short term heating equipment damage and loss of heat (with the building damage risks associated with heat loss) water in oil tanks or piping can freeze leading to a direct loss of oil supply to the heating equipment.

Our photo (left) shows a below-grade-level filler pipe opening for a buried oil storage tank - a design that invites water leakage into the tank through the filler cap.

You may also suspect from the color of liquid in this oil filler pipe cover that there has been oil spillage right at the filler itself.

Waxing Gelling problems in oil storage tanks

at HEAT TAPES on OIL TANK PIPING we comment that when finding heat tapes on oil tank piping such as at this Hyde Park New York installation of an outdoor above ground tank we guess that the owners have had a problem with either water freezing in the oil lines or waxing and gelling in the oil piping system, either of which lead to loss of heat.

Waxing or gelling of heating oil in outdoor oil tanks is an additional problem in cold climates, heating or fuel oil additives for above-ground outdoor oil tanks can help prevent loss of heat by adding a pour point depressant which lowers the temperature at which the heating oil will form waxes or jell, and by adding a chemical, typically an alcohol, to remove [small amounts] of water from the oil.

I've used a product called 4-in-One Hot™ which contains both a sludge break-up chemical and alcohol to help remove water from the heating oil. Such additives may indeed help break up sludge which tends to clog old heating oil lines. But I'd cite two warnings about using heating oil additives and chemicals for outdoor oil tanks:

1. No oil additive is going to remove a large quantity of water from an oil tank.
   
   Measure the amount of water present. If it's inches, your oil company can pump the water out (leaving the heating oil intact).


2. Oil additives that break up sludge might in some circumstances precipitate frequent clogging of the oil filter installed at your heating boiler or furnace since an increased amount of debris is being freed and sent along the oil lines.
   
   If you find that your boiler stops working shortly after receiving an oil delivery, check to see if the problem was a clogged oil filter.
   
   That would suggest that your tank has a lot of debris and that the debris or sludge were being stirred up whenever oil was delivered. Discuss this concern with your heating service contractor.

Pour point depressants for heating oil tanks are about the same as similar products used by owners of diesel fuel powered automobiles and trucks in cold climates, but except in dire emergency I would not recommend substituting one for the other as there are some differences in these fuels and chemicals.

Note: these tips are not a complete oil tank installation guide. Proper installation must be done by trained service technicians and must comply with local building codes.

See HEATING OIL CLOUD WAX GEL POINT for details about heating oil waxing or jelling.

How to use an Additive to the Heating Oil Tank to Gradually Break Up Sludge or Remove Water

At HEATING OIL SLUDGE where we describe a variety of methods for dealing with sludge, crud, or water contamination in heating oil storage tanks, we introduced the use of additives intended to help remove water and sludge from the oil tank. Here we explain that approach in detail, including warnings about trouble that may arise.

How to Gradually Remove Oil Tank Sludge Without System Clogging

An example of a heating oil additive used by some oil companies to both prevent sludge build-up in modern heating oil tanks and also to (over time) remove sludge in an existing older heating oil tank is "Ultra Guard" a product from Beckett Additives. http://www.beckettadditives.com/

One of our local heating oil delivery companies (Nash Oil, Dutchess County NY) informs us that they are the only local heating oil delivery company who uses this additive in their heating oil. The oil tank delivery truck drivers base their opinion on what they see.

We're told that the interior of the Nash Heating Oil Truck Tanks is visibly clean as a result of using heating oil with a "maintenance dose" of Ultra Guard™.

Some heating oil technicians may recommend that a "treatment dose" of this additive be tried in an older oil tank which has been suffering from a sludge problem in the tank or oil lines.

If this product works as claimed (there is evidence for it) you may be able to avoid an expensive oil tank replacement for an older oil tank which is sludge-contaminated but not leaking. Ask your heating oil company about this or similar products.

Note that this product is not a pour point depressant to avoid waxing or gelling, but sludge, too, can lead to a loss of heat which may be exacerbated in cold weather.

More frequent deliveries, running the oil tank too low on oil, stirring up sludge during oil delivery, clogging the oil burner filter or nozzle as sludge passes through the system all can lead to loss of heat in a building.

Shown at left" 4-in-1 Hot home heating oil storage tank treatment. The manufacturer has since updated the product label and appearance.

• Ultra-Guard™
  
   heating oil additive won't un-clog a blocked heating oil line but heating oil additives can be used to break up sludge rapidly (watch out!) or gradually by using the additive in a "treatment dose".
  
  Treatment doses of sludge breakup chemicals can be added by an oil company who has that product - not all companies carry it since it adds cost to their heating oil deliveries.
  
  I don't think you can buy it yourself in a consumer-sized quantity. The "maintenance dose" of Ultra guard � included by a heating oil company in an oil delivery will probably be insufficient, at least in just one or two oil deliveries, as a "cure" for a serious sludge problem if yo are already seeing sludge clogging.


• 4 in 1 Hot™ & Other sludge break-up products
  
  which can be added to an oil tank (4-In-One Hot™ was an example I tried) might also work to remove sludge (as well as water and also to avoid waxing or cold weather jelling or waxing of heating oil in the case of some products) and are commonly available from many oil companies.
  
  One 16oz container of this oil tank treatment treats 275 gallons of home heating oil.
  
  These heating oil additive products are always added manually to an oil tank whereas a "maintenance dose" of UltraGuard™ (and there may be other products like it) is included in heating oil deliveries by some oil companies (not all of them).


• Sludge treatments can also lead to an immediate problem
  
  even though they're "fixing" the sludge: As I discussed above, it was using one of these other sludge-break-up products in an oil tank that taught me that the de-sludger can also contribute to a no-heat call IF its use is combined with an oil fill-up of a sludgy-oil tank which was run nearly out of or fully out of oil - the delivery stirred up the sludge, probably more so because of my additive, and the stirred goop immediately clogged the oil filters at my oil burner leading to loss of heat.

What Happens when we use an oil tank additive to break up sludge?

When we added a pour point depressant to our heating oil we hoped it would also break up the sludge - after all, the product also claimed to break up sludge - which sounds good if the oil lines are old and perhaps partly blocked with sludge.

But in this case the combination of use of a heating oil additive with a "de-sludger" combined with the sludge agitation up from the bottom of the oil tank during filling of a nearly empty oil tank led to loss of heat from filter clogging.

Problems With Heating System Reliability When Heating Oil Additives are Used or Low-Level Oil Tanks are Filled

Watch out: anything that significantly disturbs accumulated sludge in a heating oil storage tank risks sending that sludge-crud through the oil piping to the oil filter and oil burner assembly where clogging can lead to loss of heat and even recurrent loss of heat difficulties.

One way that oil tank sludge gets disturbed is when an "empty" or nearly-empty oil storage tank receives an oil delivery. The pouring of heating oil against the oil tank bottom disturbs accumulated sludge there.

When we serviced and installed heating equipment we often recommended use of heating oil additives to remove small amounts of water or sludge in oil storage tanks, or to act as a pour point depressant for outdoor aboveground oil storage tanks

. But while these are good products, things didn't always go well.

If additives to a heating oil storage tank send increased levels of broken-up sludge through the oil piping too rapidly the risk is that we are sending that crud right into the oil piping, valves, filter, screen, fuel unit and oil burner nozzle: asking for clogs at any point along the way.

Watch out: also it's worth noting that while water entry prevention or removal is probably the most important step in preventing oil storage tank corrosion, Bento et als (1991) pointed out that oil tank additives themselves may play a role in biodeterioration agent formation in oil tanks "

... sub-effective doses may lead to increased microbial growth" and Hendey et als (1964) note that steel is not the only storage tank metal of concern, finding that aluminum storage tanks could be attacked by fungi.

Also see OIL TANK LEAK or FAILURE MECHANISMS.

Oil Storage Tank Corrosion Inhibition: reducing the rust & corrosion risk on & in oil tanks

Reader comment: Benefits of using Tank-Guard® corrosion inhibitor in oil storage tanks

Robert Messia rmessia@lincolnlaboratory.com Apr 29 2014

I work for Lincoln laboratory in Leicester MA. We manufacture a corrosion inhibitor called tank guard. When this additive is poured into an oil tank it goes to the bottom to stop the ongoing rust and pitting of the oil tank. This will help prolong the life of the tank. We sell the tank guard program to the oil dealers so they can offer it to their customers. Depends on the companies location we can offer a free oil tank or a $ 1000 reimbursement.

I recently read your article on the ultra-sonic tester.

See details at OIL TANK LEAK TEST METHODS.

There is a company out of New Hampshire who sells that testing program to the dealers. We have had some oil dealers switch to our program because they did not believe that you could properly test a tank. We have performed testing at our office and found out that the tester could not even find a pin hole that was on a leaking tank.

Our warranty program is the best in the industry as we are treating the customers tanks as a proactive measure. If you have any questions about our program feel free to contact me. You can also check us out on our website.

Regards, Bob Messia

Reply:

I much appreciate your very interesting note. ... Without slipping over into promoting individual products or services (to preserve reader credibility) I'm still happy to cite & refer to appropriate products, test approaches, &c. I'll paste in some details below.

The tank testing I observed was combined with a visual inspection, without which it would be absurd as I agree that spot testing over 9 or even 12 points to measure metal thickness does not promise to find every possible leak point. That program also includes a tank warranty.

More detail about the chances that an oil tank is leaking or about to leak is

at TANK FAILURE RATES.

I suppose if the method were very badly flawed the vendor of the tank insurance (via the oil company) would take a terrible beating and would quit the program. In the insurance industry it's called adverse selection - only the people who are likely to have a claim sign up for the program.

Adverse selection killed the used-home warranty program offered by some companies as a real estate marketing tool a while back. - Daniel Friedman

Oil Tank Treatments & Additives

InspectAPedia is an independent publisher of building, environmental, and forensic inspection, diagnosis, and repair information provided free to the public - we have no business nor financial connection with any manufacturer or service provider discussed at our website.

• 4-in-1-Hot, aka "Hot 4-in-1", FPPF Chemical Company, 117 W. Tupper St., Buffalo, NY 14201, Tel: 1-800-735-3773, Email: sales@fppf.com, Website: http://www.fppf.com/, Part No. 231251 contains petroleum distillates and glycol ether and should be used only in a well ventilated space.
  
  The product is described as intended to disperse water, get rid of sludge, prevent waxing and gelling of heating oil; The company also produces diesel fuel additives and other treatment chemicals.
  
  4 IN 1 HOT SPECIFICATIONS [PDF] retrieved 2019/02/07 original source: https://www.fasfuels.com/products/4-in-1-hot
• AFS SVP Advanced Fuel Solutions SVP Oil Tank Additive - Tel: 978-258-8360 Email: info@afs.com Website: https://yourfuelsolution.com/products/ [2019/02/07 no details on product specifications]
  
  The company produces Heatdoc™ Heating Oil Conditioner, also LP1000™ pour point depressant and de-icer, and SZP™ Multi-Function-Pour-Point-Depressant
  
• Hercules Chemical, POWER FLOW HEATING OIL ENERGIZER SPECIFICATIONS [PDF] Hercules Chemical Company, Inc. 111 South Street, Passaic, NJ 07055-9100 Phone: 800-221-9330 • Fax: 800-333-3456 e-mail: info@herchem.com http://www.herchem.com retrieved 2019/02/07 original source: https://api.ferguson.com/dar-step-service/Query?USE_TYPE=SPECIFICATION&PRODUCT_ID=391472
  
  Hercules is an Oatey brand so you may also see Oatey on some of these products.
  
  Oatey also offers this
  
  BOILER MAINTENANCE TIPS from OATEY [PDF] retrieved 2019/02/07 original source: https://www.oatey.com/ASSETS/DOCUMENTS/ITEMS/EN/Oatey_BoilerMaintenance20170912_R1.pdf
• Intertek, Tel: 1-888-400-0084, Email: web.cm@intertek.com, produces biocides intended to control microbial growth in petroleum storage tanks. Sales worldwide.
• Lincoln Laboratory, P.O. Box 381, Leicester, MA 01524-0381, Tel: 508-892-4717, Website: lincolnlaboratory.com
  
  Note: in addition to a Tank-Guard® corrosion inhibitor, the company produces the following oil tank treatment chemicals
  • Distillate 38™, a heating oil treatment functioning as a sludge dispersant and "frozen line preventer"
  • XTA 2000™ a sludge dispersant, metal deactivator, fuel stabilizer intended to prevent sediment formation
  • XtaCFI ™a cold flow improver also intended to preent waxing, reduces the pour point by 25°F
  • Frost-Free™, a fuel oil tank and oil piping de-icer or pour point depressant to prevent waxing
  
  
• Ultra-Guard™ heating oil additive, Fuel Management Services, 13 Main Bayway, Toms River, NJ 08753 • 202 Harbour Bay Drive, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949 USA, Website: wwwfuelmanagementservices.com Tel: 732-929-1964
  
  Ultra-Guard™ SELL SHEET DATA [PDF] retrieved 2019/02/07 original source: https://www.fuelmanagementservices.com/pdfs/UltraGuardSellSheet.pdf
  Excerpt:
  
  UltraGuard™ Heating Oil Treatment Reduces fuel related service calls and increases customer satisfaction with oil heat.
  
  It contains stabilizers, organic dispersants, a corrosion inhibitor, detergents and is designed to reduce fuel related service calls caused by filter, strainer, and nozzle blockage.
  
  It disperses macroscopic sludge and retards further repolymerization.
• Weatherford Oil Demulsification & Wastewater Treatment Chemicals, Website: http://www.weatherford.com

Oil Tank Corrosion Protection References

• Chang, James I., and Cheng-Chung Lin. "A study of storage tank accidents." Journal of loss prevention in the process industries 19, no. 1 (2006): 51-59.
• Edyvean, Robert GJ, and Hector A. Videla. "Biological corrosion." Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 16, no. 3 (1991): 267-282.
• Iverson, Warren P. "Microbial corrosion of metals." Adv. Appl. Microbiol. 32 (1987): 1-35.
• Khalifa, M. A., M. El‐Batouti, F. Mahgoub, and A. Bakr Aknish. "Corrosion inhibition of steel in crude oil storage tanks." Materials and Corrosion 54, no. 4 (2003): 251-258.
• Rober, G. A. H. "Microbiological corrosion of tanks in long-term storage of gas oil." British Corrosion Journal 4, no. 6 (1969): 318-321.
• M Bento, Fátima, and Christine C Gaylarde. "Biodeterioration of stored diesel oil: studies in Brazil." International biodeterioration & biodegradation 47, no. 2 (2001): 107-112.
  Abstract:
  
  The problems of hydrocarbon fuel storage in Brazil are particularly acute for diesel fuel. Visits to bus depots showed that many foremen did not understand the importance of draining water bottoms regularly and most systems were microbially contaminated.
  
  Common fungal isolates from refineries and distribution systems, Hormoconis resinae, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Paecilomyces variotii, and Candida silvicola, grew equally well in laboratory diesel/water systems with or without a chemical additive mixture, showing that this package of compounds neither promoted nor retarded fungal growth. Non-sterilised diesel was stored for 450 days over a water bottom, with or without an isothiazolone biocide, in the laboratory.
  
  The fungi most frequently detected in the non-biocide treated systems were H. resinae, A fumigatus, P. variotii, a Penicillium sp., and the yeasts, Rhodotorula glutinis and Candida silvicola.
  
  Bacterial isolates included oxidative Gram negative rods, sulphate-reducing bacteria and a Micrococcus sp. Biocide at 0.1 ppm maintained the systems clean for up to 30 days, and at 1 or 10 ppm for 400 days. After 400 days, the biomass (dry weight) from non-additive-containing diesel in control, 1 and 10 ppm biocide-containing systems was 24.6, 4.6 and 3.3 mg, respectively.
  
  The system treated with 0.1 ppm biocide yielded 38.2 mg biomass, indicating that sub-effective doses may lead to increased microbial growth. Within 24 h of addition of 10 ppm biocide to a highly contaminated control flask (145 days storage) there was a 2-log reduction in total aerobic bacterial and yeast population and the filamentous fungal count was View the MathML source.
• Hendey, N. Ingram. "Some observations on< i> Cladosporium resinae</i> as a fuel contaminant and its possible role in the corrosion of aluminium alloy fuel tanks." Transactions of the British Mycological Society 47, no. 4 (1964): 467-IN1.
• Little, B., P. Wagner, and F. Mansfeld. "Microbiologically influenced corrosion of metals and alloys." International Materials Reviews 36, no. 1 (1991): 253-272.
• Mabee, W. C., and T. H. Wiggin. "Steel Tank Corrosion Prevention [with Discussion]." Journal (American Water Works Association) (1940): 1075-1080.
• von Baeckmann, Walter, Wilhelm Schwenk, and Werner Prinz. Handbook of Cathodic corrosion protection. Gulf Professional Publishing, 1997.
• Yichuan, Li Yunde Li Chun Yu. "Countermeasure and Cause Analysis to Anticorrosive Failure of Electrostatic Conductive Coating for Internal Wall of Storage Oil Tank [J]." Total Corrosion 3 (2004): 011.
• Zhang, Jiquan, and Zhenyu Wang. "Case analysis and solution to the bottom plate corrosion of vertical oil tank." Oil & Gas Storage and Transportation 11 (2006): 013.
• ZHAO, Shan-lin, Xin WAN, Ping LI, Zhen-hua ZHANG, and Chan WANG. "Sulfurization and Oxidation for Rust on Inner-Face of Oil Tank [J]." Journal of Combustion Science and Technology 3 (2006): 004.

Question: technician said better to do add oil tank treatment when tank is empty of oil

(July 29, 2014) Linda said:

Our 275 gal no. 2 oil tank is orig. built w/hs, 3 fam nyc. We don't have a separate hot water system.

We purchased a quart of Hercules Fuel Oil sludge treat to try to clean out sludge believe since we owned bldg, it was may be done once(?) in 40 yrs!(?) but, now that oil level is @ 1/4 full

(I called Ody co. who took over Hercules & technician said better to do it if tank empty of oil).

It's summer now & before I order a new delivery I wanted to use this treatment; was wondering does the emulsifying make for a better combustion once the new oil is delivered or shd I wait (although it doesn't say to wait on container before reordering oil?)

I gather from reading your info site the treatment just gets combined with the oil & this combination just gets fed into the pipe line as a better mix that gets combusted.

So, in order to keep hvg some hot water I shd use the treatment now @ 1/4 full and reorder a delivery. Am I correct? Thank you.

Forgot to mention house built in 1938/40.

Reply: really?

Linda,

Watch out: trying to run your oil fired heating equipment until the oil tank is empty just to add an oil treatment to an "empty tank" is a very bad idea. It means that you're likely to face an extra service call to get your oil fired heating equipment running again, as the tech will have to bleed air from the system and possibly perform other steps too.

It is, however a good idea to add the oil tank treatment product just before an oil delivery. That will assure that the oil treatment chemical is well-mixed with the heating oil and contaminants like water and sludge that are in the tank.

Take a look through the articles on oil tank contaminants, water, and sludge

beginning at OIL TANK SLUDGE.

The oil treatments I've used are intended to be added to an oil storage tank with a specific volume of oil present - such as one container of treatment per 250 gallons of No. 2 home heating oil. I'm unclear on the claim that you ought to use up oil first.

Watch out: delivery stirs up water and sludge in oil; using a sludge treatment, while it's an effective thing to do and while it can help with a tendency to sludge-clog oil lines themselves, also causes more sludge - somewhat broken up - to move through the system and thus you may have to change out the oil filter at the oil burner more frequently until the tank is considered cleaned. If not the risk is loss of heat.

The second feature of many treatments is the removal of small amounts of water in the oil tank - typically using an alcohol to move that water through the combustion process without freezing up or causing malfunction at the oil burner.

Bottom line: in my OPINION - the process will also work better if the treatment is added immediately before the oil tank is re-filled.

In that process it doesn't matter if there was already 1/8, 1/4 or more of a tank of oil to which the delivered oil is added.

Question: is it OK to add Hercules Power Flow oil tank treatment to a partly-empty oil tank?

2019/02/07 Kathy said:

Can I add power flow oil energizer even if the tank is half full?

Reply: not the most-effective use of oil tank additive

Kathy

A 16oz bottle of Hercules Power-Flow heating oil tank additive is intended to treat 275 gallons of NO. 2 home heating oil. It's a water dispersal and cleaning agent that can help prevent icing in an outdoor tank, and it may also help break up sludge in the system.

Its main ingredient is naptha-solvent or mineral spirits. There is nothing on the bottle label (that I could see) that comments on using the product in a smaller amount of home heating oil except this phrase from the products's submittal sheet literature:

"Each 16-ounce container treats up to 275-gallons of fuel oil."

That phrase "up to" sets an upper but not a lower limit.

The product is BEST employed by adding it to the tank right BEFORE an oil delivery. That assures that the agent is well-mixed with fuel and possible oil tank contaminants like water and sludge.

And here are Hercules/Oatey's actual product instructions:

Pour 16-oz. container of Power Flow into oil tank before each oil delivery. For tanks larger than 275 gallons use proportionally more Power Flow. - POWER FLOW HEATING OIL ENERGIZER SPECIFICATIONS [PDF] cited in detail above.

Adding Power-Flow to a half-tank of oil means it may not mix well with the heating oil. It probably won't cause any harm but it will probably less effective than if used as directed.

To contact Oatey directly to ask their advice:

• HCC Holdings, Inc. 4700 West 160th Phone: 800-321-9532 Cleveland, Ohio 44135 Website: www.Oatey.com
  
  For special applications which may not be covered on this or other Oatey literature, please contact Oatey Technical Services Department by phone 1-800-321-9532, or fax 1-800-321-9535, or visit our technical database web-site at www.Oatey.com.

...

Continue reading at OIL TANK WATER REMOVAL or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• HEATING OIL CLOUD WAX GEL POINT
• OIL TANK SLUDGE
  • HEATING OIL SLUDGE PROBLEMS
  • HEATING OIL TANK SLUDGE CAUSES
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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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OIL TANK TREATMENTS, ADDITIVES at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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