Vent whistle installed incorrectly?

Huh

Got an oil delivery yesterday from a new company and they way overfilled the tank (262 gallon fill on a 275). They initially were helpful, sent someone back to finish cleaning up the spill (fire department started the cleanup) and offered me a credit of 25 gallons towards our next fill. After they left I noticed the truck left a bunch of oil in the street in front of our house and even after the clean up there is a big stain on our basement floor. We are planning to sell our house in the next few months so I contacted the company and asked instead to have the credit applied to the current bill and sent them pictures of the street and the "finished" cleanup. Now they are trying to say it is our fault and that the vent whistle is installed incorrectly/illegally? We have lived here for 2 years with no problems on prior fills with other companies but I have no idea what it is supposed to really look like. Can anyone help? Thanks.

Aaron_in_Maine

That whistle is not installed correctly the red cast piece in the second picture is supposed to be installed directly in the tank. When it is installed where it is you are very likely to be over filled. Oil companies up here have started inspecting new customers before filling their tanks and yours would not pass.

Steamhead

They should have checked the tank before filling it for the first time, and advised you if there was an issue. Not sure what model of whistle that is, if you can tell us we should be able to find the installation instructions. And if we can do it, they should be able to as well.

But if it was installed wrong, again, they should have checked it when they got the account.

Huh

Thanks guys. So I guess it is partially our fault although we had no idea that it was not correct and this is the first time in 2 years we have had this issue. Do we need to completely disassemble it to fix it? Is it something we can do ourselves? My husband just replaced the gauge last week.
I will try to see if there is anything on it that indicates the model to look up the installation instructions.

Aaron_in_Maine

Have you been getting it filled before this or just getting 100 gallons at a time? If your not filling it completely you would not notice the whistle is installed wrong.

Paul48

Have it fixed, and while they're at it, make the fill and vent pipes the same size. With a smaller vent pipe, it is possible for the tank to burst if fast-filled.

STEVEusaPA

Your vent whistle is installed incorrectly, but a couple of thoughts. You said you replaced the gauge. It looks like the overfill came out of the gauge. I would make sure that it is installed correctly too.
Our insurance company requires us to inspect a tank before first fill and fill out a form.
The whistle could've been working (long stem), and the driver just didn't stop flow.
I wouldn't try to fix it yourself. I'm more surprised the oil company wants to give you 25 gallons (meaning they are going to take another crack at filling your tank) but didn't mention fixing the vent/whistle to a proper installation.

burnerman_2

Mix a container of Talcum powder with a 5 # bag of clay kitty litter will clean up oil spill ( let lay for a few days) and White vinegar applied to area afterwards will remove smell....

billtwocase

Whoever installed that tank is 1/2 at fault, and the person who filled it should assume the other 1/2. We never fill a tank that we know nothing about. That whistle should be mounted directly on the tank. Shame on them. Gives oil a bad name

billtwocase

I will also add that the oil line could use an upgrade to a sleeved one

Huh

We bought the house as a foreclosure 2 years ago and were never told that anything was wrong with the tank. At least twice over the last 2 years we have had complete fills with no problems.
We are in the process of getting our house ready to sell so I am not planning to fix/upgrade anything since we will hopefully be out of here before we need another fill but I have learned my lesson. I will definitely have it checked out at our next house and insist the company check it out before filling it.
The company did some cleanup on Thursday and was supposed to come back Friday or Saturday to clean the street in front of the house and was supposed to issue me a credit for $35 but they are not doing either anymore since they are saying it is our fault.

Fred

Bear in mind, as the seller of a property, you must disclose any known defects. Fixing that whistle is such a low cost correction, I can't imagine that you wouldn't want to repair it for the benefit of any new homeowner so they don't experience what you have, or worse. Foreclosures are sold as is (buyer beware) and typically priced accordingly.

Huh

Fred, I will definitely disclose it (if we dont fix it), I was more replying to the previous poster who was suggesting other recommended updates

Fred

Huh said:

Fred, I will definitely disclose it (if we dont fix it), I was more replying to the previous poster who was suggesting other recommended updates

Got it

billtwocase

I don't see how that oil could have ended up in the street. They should clean that up, as it is a bit away from the source . Are they the same company that filled it twice before? As incorrectly as that whistle is installed, there is still time, be it not much, to stop filling before this can happen. Most are over pumping these tanks, and not paying attention. Bad combo. We average 60-65 gallons per minute pumping. That is enough

ChrisJ

billtwocase said:

I don't see how that oil could have ended up in the street. They should clean that up, as it is a bit away from the source . Are they the same company that filled it twice before? As incorrectly as that whistle is installed, there is still time, be it not much, to stop filling before this can happen. Most are over pumping these tanks, and not paying attention. Bad combo. We average 60-65 gallons per minute pumping. That is enough

This is exactly the kind of stuff that makes oil look bad.
Oil guys themselves are their biggest enemies. They will probably all realize it when it's already too late.

DickC

Well, every time you think you may have seen it all, something like this lets you know you have not. Two wrongs end up with this result. First of all, you went out and purchased the wrong size ventalarm. The tank was piped with 1-1/4" pipe it appears and the ventalarm you purchased looks like one of the new 2" ventalarms. As already mentioned, you moved the whistle up into the fittings you installed to accommodate the larger tapping size and placed the alarm almost out of the tank. A properly installed alarm allows for a clear space at the top of the tank when the whistle stops. This space is often filled with foam formed when filling and allows for expansion depending on the temperature of the oil when delivered.

Any oil company delivering today without first inspecting what they are delivering to is opening themselves to tremendous liability. They should have had the driver check the tank and its connections and hopefully, hopefully he would have been trained to see the vent was improperly installed and this mess avoided.

Brewbeer

OP is fortunate the tank didn't burst. OP sould repipe the fill with 2 inch. If not, hope the next owner has the same good luck as the OP.