In Limbo between OIl/Gas Boiler, Cu tubing Question.

ritelec

Hi all.

Thank you again for all the previous suggestions about my oil burner issue.



Currently, I'm at a point between oil to gas conversion.



I removed and brought the oil boiler to the scrap yard yesterday (RIP).

The new gas boiler is sitting in the basement ready to be placed.



My question:

The copper tubing for the oil feed and return for the X oil boiler is coming through the floor where I need to place the pad for the new gas boiler.

I leveled the concrete floor in the basement and poured around the oil boiler leaving the oil boiler on there original concrete blocks a few yrs back.

So now I'm going to fill the hole (where the blocks where) in the floor and create the pad for the new boiler.



The Cu tubing is coming through the floor where I need to place the pad.



I shut the valve to the oil feed Cu which was right before the filter and pump and the feed and return are are in the way of the new pad .



I'm in the process of getting someone to remove the existing oil from the tank, but until the oil is removed, would I be able to cut and crimp the oil feed (line side of oil shut off) and return cu low enough to work on the pad and place the new boiler without filling my basement with oil? Or, would I / should I, have to wait until the tank is drained?



thank you.



-rich

Jean-David Beyer

I suggest you wait.

"Or, would I / should I, have to wait until the tank is drained?"



I am not a professional, but I suggest you wait. Murphy's law always applies. The first of Murphy's laws goes If anything can possibly go wrong, it will. So if you crimp or something, it will fail and the tank will drain all over your floor. An empty tank will not do that.

ritelec

Ha Ha Ha.....What a bust!

Thanks JDB, you're absolutely right.



I did however start chipping around the copper tubing to expose them enough to bend them out of my way.

An hour and a half later, one of the contractors I had called looking for a quote to drain,clean, and backfill the tank came by to check out the job. So he came in alittle lower, I'll be digging to get to the top of the tank (2' down, not too bad). But the kicker is he took the oil I had in it and will either sell it or more than likely, I think he said he was going to stick it in his tank for his house................geeze.........some racket.

Jean-David Beyer

ill either sell it or more than likely, I think he said he was going to stick it in his tank for his house

My contractor, when I had my in-ground tank removed, said he was not allowed to resell the oil. He could burn it himself in their workshop, or pay to have it disposed in a toxic waste site. I asked about giving most of it to a friend of mine. He said he could not do it, but maybe I could find a private individual to do it. It felt to me as though his firm had a lawyer.



When I had my tank removed, I had to get a permit from the town. And they had to send an inspector to look at the tank, and examine the soil samples to see if there might be leakage. Unfortunately, there was some leakage. Then a year or so for my two insurance companies to decide which would pay. One would pay nothing, and the other about 5 to 10% of the cost of remediation. THen three more sets of soil samples. Then file for a remediation grant from the state. State is 3 years behind in processing grant applications due to lack of money to make awards.. But after about two years, I got permission from the insurance companies and the DEP to have the tank removed from my front yard, to the great relief of the neighbors.