mass. oil lines

Paul_69

should you work on a oil burner in mass. with a oil line not up to new code? is this liability for a company or contractor or only for homeowner?and is overheads lines exempt from this law without plastic sleeve or a osv... thx

billtwocase

Paul

The next visit should be to the upgrade. That was a piss poor law with no teeth. It was put forth as "homeowner upgrade", so to me it says the homeowner is responsible to get it done. No one seems to know , and all the permits and Certificate of Compliances in regards to this, are still sitting at the fire departments across the state awaiting the DEP to pick them up. The supposed deadline was Sept 2011.  Is your overhead line out of the top of the tank and below the burner? Is it in contact with cement or earth? If it is out of the bottom, pull a permit, and throw an OSV at it

icesailor

MA Oil Lines:

Compliance does seem to be spotty, but I thought that part of the regulation was that oil companies are not supposed to deliver to a tank that doesn't have a copy of either form that says that it either was in compliance, no permit needed or it wasn't and now was, and it was permitted for the repair/upgrade.

An oil company I help out told me that their insurance company told them to not deliver oil to any account that wasn't in compliance. I see very few places without covered lines. I got a notice from the company I get oil from asking if they could come and inspect my lines for compliance or they wouldn't deliver. I sent them my signed copy with my license # stating it was in compliance. That was that. I guess that compliance is still spotty.

CapeCodOilGuy

Mass. oil lines

Here on the outer Cape, I do occasionally run into old installations with the original lines. In a couple of cases, I have run into compression fittings. I advise the owners of unjacketed or otherwise noncompliant lines that they need to schedule replacement. I use this as an opportunity to advise them to replace their old tanks as well. So far, very few have wanted to spend the money, even when I tell them that a leak will have them spending a lot more money...

icesailor

Old Mass Oil Lines:

If you carry liability insurance, you might want to check with your insurance carrier. If they tell you that you have no liability in a case like you describe, ask them to give it to you IN WRITING on the liability's carrier letter head. That way, if there is a misunderstanding between you and the carrier, you are protected. Because if, after you leave, there is a problem, YOU may own it.

One can **** about the State all you want. It's the insurance carriers that call the shots.

A few oil companies are requiring a combustion test after every adjustment just so they can get a print-out showing that at the moment the technician left, it was running like that. If you don't, and the thing screws up, you have no way to prove in court that what you did, didn't cause the problem.

If you think you don't need a digital combustion analyzer, or that you can do it just as well or better "by eye" because you have so much experience doing it, you are just plain wrong. You may think that you are right, and you may be right. But if there is a problem, you will need to convince a group of people, assembled to determine guilt, and they want to blame SOMEONE. Don't let that SOMEONE be you.

Maybe the State doesn't specifically state that you must bring things up to compliance, but I promise you that your insurance company will supercede in every case.

Trust me.

Paul_69

cya

thx for all replys, i think its best to say once you tell the customer they need  line upgrade to meet the new mass. law that you shouldnt put your hands on it until its in compliance. its to risky because the customers insurance will go after yours if there is a release and the insurance company will say this wasnt a accident but neglegence.