Pitch on oil fill pipe

steve_29

You'll need to pitch the tank 1" per 5'.

A standard tank would have a 1" pitch toward the bottom supply.

The vent should be minimum of equal to or larger than the fill. With a minimum diameter of 1 1/4".

If you are connecting the 2 tanks together and using 1 fill, the crossover needs to be 2".

I'm assuming your piping this 2nd tank independent of the 1st.

Each municipality can make code more stringent but not less that NFPA standards.

I don't believe NFPA has any set requirement for pitch on the fill or vent except that it needs to pitch towards the tank. Again your municipality may require a required pitch per foot.

If you have any doubts call your local building inspector.

greg a

Pitch on oil fill pipe

Hello to all:I'm installing a second oil tank(275 gal.) in my basement.The way the 2" piping will be run to the tank is that it has to go into an alcove/in an (L) type configuration.My question is:What pitch should the fill pipe be?Is there such a thing as to much pitch for an oil pipe?or the more pitch the better.The total run is about 20'Also should the vent line be pitched at all?

Thank You in advance
Greg

Paul Fredricks_9

According to NORA, it's 2" of rise for every 5' of horizontal run. I've seen less and it does work, but more chance of leaks at fittings. You can't have too much pitch, with under ground tanks the fill pipe goes straight down.

chapchap70_2

Pipe Pitch

Obviously, the 2" pipe ought to be pitched toward the tank. If the pipe is pitched the wrong way, oil stays in the pipe. Whenever I see stains around the fill pipe, the wrong way pitch is noticeable.

I would like to see pipe coming straight out of tanks with a 45 elbow and another piece of pipe through the house but I don't know how hard it would be to drill a 45 degree hole through a wall.

It is important to pitch vents toward the tank otherwise if a tank is overfilled, the oil stays. At the next delivery, air forces the leftover oil out and it dribbles on the siding unless the driver pumps slowly.

billtwocase

oil tank install

i don't know what state you are in Greg, but regardless I would have a professional install and pull all necessary permits. Your insurance company would prefer that i'm sure, if there are any mishaps. Here in Mass you can have up to 660 gallons, your state may not be the same? Also bypass between the tanks, you can use a common vent, seperate fill is always better than spill over type fill, and vent to be equal to or larger size in diameter, also tanks at the same height. peace

greg a

I figured the more pitch the better but I wanted to be sure.I was a little concerned of maybe to much pitch.I know the oil trucks can pump out about 70-80 gpm and I thought that with to sharp a pitch that it could possible blow the tank.

Thank You
Greg

greg a

Pitch on oil fill pipe

I did pitch the tank 1"Funny thing though,on the first tank I installed when I told the inspector that I pitched it he asked me why?I told him I got my info from the Granby Tank website.He gave me the deer in the headlite look.
I'm using 2" for the fill and 2" for the vent.

Thank You
Greg

greg a

Pitch on oil fill pipe

That makes sense about pitching the vent.I wasn't sure.I know plumbing vents always get pitched so that any water will flow towards the drain.

Thank You
Greg

greg a

Pitch on oil fill pipe

I'm in CT I installed the first tank 330 gals(inspected) no problem.I also built my own house plumbing,electrical etc.CT max is 660 gals.A lot of the guys I work with drive oil P/T and told me that when they have tank troubles it tends to always be with a manifold set up.


Thank You
Greg

billtwocase

manifold

What manifold are you refering to Greg? No doubt you can install a tank, maybe even better than sone licensed guys, but the liability will also fall on you if something fails. Conn must be very lax on things like this. Not a good thing. best of luck. peace

greg a

Pitch on oil fill pipe

I'm talking about when two tanks share one fill pipe and one vent with a 2"pipe connecting the two.Some guys call them cross over,for some reason they call them manifold around here.Each tank will have it's own 2" fill and vent and will be pressure tested.No Haz-Mat situation here.

Thank You for your reply

Greg

Hank_5

I used to deliver oil way back when. I never had a problem with tanks having the 2" crossover. I did see a lot of tanks with common fill and vent that teed to each tank. What a pain. One tank always filled before the other. If you weren't familiar with that fill the second tank would be about 75 gallons short

greg a

Pitch on oil fill pipe

I like things simple,The separate fill and vent is not that much harder to install.Two extra lengths of pipe,nipples, elbows,unions,caps,Scully vent alarm with gauge,adapters,pipe dope,etc.I like doing things right the first time.It may cost a few bucks now but if oil spikes again it will pay for itself.

Thank You for the reply

Greg

Bob Bona_4

I have had

no problems with crossover piping in the 20 years of doing this stuff.

I like to give the vent a slight pitch to daylight just in case of an over fill, and of course, the fill as much pitch as possible so oil doesn't hang out in the joints.

greg a

Pitch on oil fill pipe

I'm not exactly sure what problems the guys at work (Firefighters)had with the cross over set ups they were telling me about,but they all said put in separate fill and vent.Maybe they took an oil bath (lol) I dont know.I can get good pitch on both the fill and vent.In my mind I was thinking the more pitch the better but being there was 20' of run I wanted to be sure.Threading 2" pipe with a Ridgid 12 R gives the arms a work out!

Thanks Guys!!!!!
Greg

billtwocase

crossover fills

Glad to hear that you are using seperate fills, vent is your choice. I personally never installed a tank crossover fill, and never will. It is code acceptable, but i can't see putting that kind of pressure on tank #1 just to fill #2. A new tank will take that for a while, but an old tank? I cringe just thinking of what could be. Blown tanks make a mess, and bad publicity. peace

chapchap70_2

Two Fills One Vent through foundation

I don't see why 4 pipes need to go through a wall when 3 will do the same. If each tank has a separate vent alarm, the vents can be tied together with a tee so only one vent pipe sticks through the wall.

I recommend spending a few extra bucks for Scully vent alarms because I find that King/OEM don't work well especially on Roth tanks. The King/OEM seems to restrict air flow too much which causes burping (oil backing out of fill pipe) when the oil truck nozzle is disconnected from the fill pipe. The steel tanks don't seem to burp but there is still slightly more pressure caused by the newer OEM/King vent alarms.

greg a

Pitch on oil fill pipe

Thanks Bill

Greg