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Help with replacing underground oil supply line

ajs317
ajs317 Member Posts: 8
in Oil Heating
I have an oil supply line (single line) buried in concrete somewhere underneath my basement foundation floor that runs to an outside tank. I'm in the process of finishing the basement, which will involve screwing wall plates and a plywood subfloor into the concrete floor with tapcons, so I'm nervous about hitting the buried line. I also understand that it's a good idea to replace buried lines anyway--it's uncoated as far as I can tell. I'd like to get all of the oil out of the buried line, abandon it in place and run a new line at floor level along the perimeter of the basement.

Could anyone advise how difficult a job it is to make the connections to the tank and the filter/burner? I've worked a lot with copper, PVC and PEX on water supply and DWV systems, but I'm worried I'm missing something tricky and there's not a lot of information online about this type of job.

Also, how would I remove the oil in the length of the buried line? I assume there is some way to blow it back into the tank or to siphon it into a receptacle.

Comments

  • Alan Welch
    Alan Welch Member Posts: 270
    have you called your oil service company? They probably do this all the time,should be familiar with local codes, and you wont be liable if something leaks.
    ajs317STEVEusaPA
  • ajs317
    ajs317 Member Posts: 8
    No, I haven't, but the more I read about this, the more I think I may do that. I enjoy learning new things and the process doesn't seem that difficult, but it would involve some tools that I don't have (flaring tools, push/pull pump) and probably a lot of time compared to have the pros do it.
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,505
    edited August 2019
    Don’t do it yourself. It’s a bad idea. And you assume all the liability, which wouldn’t be covered by your homeowners insurance, and in the worse case, could bankrupt you.
    Murphy's law will work against you and you’ll hit that line more than once
    Is it worth it? The new thing you learn might be an expensive lesson.
    Take in account all the money you’re saving by doing all the other work yourself, and spend a few hundy in letting a competent pro handle it. You can watch if you’re curious to learn.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

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