Overfilled tank now showing signs of weeping oil

khb3610

Our oil provider overfilled our oil tank. The smell was terrible and over time oil kept leaking out of the overflow and fill gauge joints on to our basement floor. The company sent out an emergency tech to pump out five gallons of excess oil and offered to clean up the soil in the front yard where oil was also spilled. After inspecting the tank a few days later, they spotted a section that is weeping oil and now tell me I’m on the hook to replace the tank. Is there any chance the pressure from the overfill could have created a weak section that is now leaking? The tank is at least 50 years old. 

pecmsg

khb3610 said:

Our oil provider overfilled our oil tank. The smell was terrible and over time oil kept leaking out of the overflow and fill gauge joints on to our basement floor. The company sent out an emergency tech to pump out five gallons of excess oil and offered to clean up the soil in the front yard where oil was also spilled. After inspecting the tank a few days later, they spotted a section that is weeping oil and now tell me I’m on the hook to replace the tank. Is there any chance the pressure from the overfill could have created a weak section that is now leaking? The tank is at least 50 years old. 

50 year old tank and you want them to replace it?

WMno57

khb3610 said:

Is there any chance the pressure from the overfill could have created a weak section that is now leaking? The tank is at least 50 years old. 

Maybe, maybe not. Two ways to know. Get all the oil out, get it out of the basement, fill it with water, and cut it open. Or, get all the oil out, get an inspection camera inside, and take some pictures. I'll bet the entire inside is littered with rust and pinholes. You are welcome to post pictures here if you like. You can take pictures of the exterior now, and post them.
Tell us about your house. Boiler or furnace? How old? Is gas available in your neighborhood? Do you currently have air conditioning?

khb3610

The house was built in 1939, boiler replaced from the original to a more energy efficient model 2 years ago (and we intentionally got one that could be converted to natural gas just to have that option down the road). Radiant heat, and we have a separate electric system for A/C. Gas is available in the street, but we have not yet run a line to our house. Attaching photos of the boiler and tank for reference. 

Long Beach Ed

It would be dependent on your state. In New York, you would have an action against the oil supplier best handled in the Small Claims section of your District Court. If the conditions were as you describe, regardless of the tank's condition, you would receive a favorable decision that would pay or help pay for the tank's replacement.

If I were you, I would check the condition as mentioned above and be guided by my personal ethics. If the tank was in a pathetic condition, I'd foot the bill myself, even if the supplier's actions contributed to its immediate failure. At fifty years, the average indoor tank has earned its retirement.

Waher

A 50 year old steel tank is well past its estimated service life and there's no way you could prove the overfilling of the tank is what led to the failure versus a coincidence. If you stick with oil look at a Roth tank or equivalent. You buy once cry once with their product.

WMno57

Call the gas utility, tell them you have a looming urgent no-heat problem, and request their help to get gas ASAP.
Call several boiler gas burner techs and ask them how soon they can get a gas burner for your Burnham RSA.
Then you can decide whether gas or oil makes more sense for you.
We have a find a contractor tool here at HeatingHelp
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/

STEVEusaPA

WMno57 said:

Call the gas utility, tell them you have a looming urgent no-heat problem, and request their help to get gas ASAP.
Call several boiler gas burner techs and ask them how soon they can get a gas burner for your Burnham RSA.
Then you can decide whether gas or oil makes more sense for you.
We have a find a contractor tool here at HeatingHelp
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/

Why the insistence on switching to gas?

WMno57

STEVEusaPA said:

Why the insistence on switching to gas?

Great question Steve. My advice to the OP was to immediately find out if gas is even an option for them. The utility may say moratorium on new hookups. The tech may say burner is 9 months out due to supply chain. They need to know ASAP if they even have a choice.
If they have a choice, then they compare the cost of the burner vs the cost of a tank.
Gas opens up the world of gas appliances. Stoves, Water Heaters, Clothes Dryers, BBQ grills, Generators, Yard Lights, Gas Adsorption Central AC (ok, I've only seen one of those, the house had 60 amp service)
In the rural Midwest we have a choice of propane or oil. All the cities have gas, and have had it for 60 years. Almost no one has oil heat, rural or urban. Maybe 1 in 1000. In Park Ridge, IL I helped a friend pull an abandoned oil tank out of his basement. We were all dumbfounded that he had an oil tank. Probably last used in the 1950s.
I have rural friends who have oil tanks on their property for farm equipment. They all heat with propane. My property was once part of a much larger farm that granted access to a 12 inch pipeline on the condition that nearby neighbors got free initial hookup. Several people on my road have oil tanks for equipment. They heat with gas.
Big part of why I bought this place was the rare combination of Gas and Rural. Around here gas is cheaper than propane or oil. I buy clear Diesel for my truck and tractor for $4.53. That includes road taxes.
I guess Gas eliminated oil here years ago because it was cheaper and cleaner at the time. Gas came here shortly before Central AC. Maybe gas forced air furnaces have some advantages over oil forced air furnaces? Cheaper?
So the OP will have to first, find if gas is currently an option, and then make a decision.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Fifty-year-old tank IS past it's lifetime.

But the tank didn't leak until they overfilled and pressurized it.

You the homeowner have a case. But the question is do you wan't it?

There is no question that you can get something out of the oil company.

It's your choice:

pay for a new tank and the install

or play a little hardball and negotiate with them.

Just keep telling them "the tank did not leak until you over filled it" repeat, repeat, repeat and say nothing else.


You have an undersized vent pipe (by todays standards) that was legal when the tank was installed. You also have a vent whistle.

So you have a legal tank that now leaks

Jersey2

I think you should get the oil out of your tank right away, if the tank lets go you may have a bill 10X higher than replacing the tank. If you plan to switch to gas, which is not a quick project, maybe the people who remove your tank can set you up with a temporary tank. Not sure.

Jersey2

This is an interesting video about oil tanks that let go https://youtube.com/watch?v=1DrWb4Tce1M

BDR529

Whoever you get for the tank make sure it is not the same guy that installed the boiler.

WMno57

BDR529 said:

Whoever you get for the tank make sure it is not the same guy that installed the boiler.

Please educate us. What would you do different on the boiler install? Thanks.

BDR529

Improperly installed circ, PVC for relief drip tube, unsealed flue to chimney, oil filter hanging out in the breeze..

Steamhead

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Fifty-year-old tank IS past it's lifetime.

But the tank didn't leak until they overfilled and pressurized it.

You the homeowner have a case. But the question is do you wan't it?

There is no question that you can get something out of the oil company.

It's your choice:

pay for a new tank and the install

or play a little hardball and negotiate with them.

Just keep telling them "the tank did not leak until you over filled it" repeat, repeat, repeat and say nothing else.


You have an undersized vent pipe (by todays standards) that was legal when the tank was installed. You also have a vent whistle.

So you have a legal tank that now leaks

This. The oil company IS responsible. They need to get off their tuchas and replace that tank, on their dime.

Call a lawyer if you have to.

STEVEusaPA

A little disappointed a few contractors' first inclination was to sue/get a lawyer.
The oil company and specifically their insurance, will pay to clean up any spill. There's no proof the the over filling caused the leak, nor is there any proof the tank wasn't already leaking except the H/O's word.
My first question is 'why' was it over-filled? Does the vent alarm not work? If that's the case, then maybe even the Oil company's insurance won't cover it if they have a policy of 'no whistle, no fill'.
I think the oil company or their insurance has to do the clean up. I don't think you're getting a new tank out of them.

Only in America can you have a 50 year old oil tank. Canada and almost all of Europe have mandatory replacement schedules or the H/O' insurance won't cover it.

EdTheHeaterMan

I remember an insurance company wanted a customer of mine to replace a perfectly good oil tank. I had installed that tank only 8 years earlier. The insurance company pushed and I pushed back. I guess they wanted my insurance company to be on the hook for some of the tank failure liability. I was not going to allow that to happen, that might raise my rates.

I was finally able to get the insurance company to back off once I sent them the 10 year warranty certificate from Granby Tank and a date of installation. I asked the underwriter how they can cause someone to replace a tank that is still under warranty? Never needed to give them my insurance certificate after that statement. Homeowner received coverage with no premium increase. That was over 20 years ago. Never heard from Ins. Co. after that. Kept that customer for at least 10 years after that.

50 year old tank, I would get the oil out of there ASAP. 55 gallon drums come to mind. Battle the cost and who is responsible after that.

That's New Jersey, the litigation state.

ww

I've seen where what I thought a tank leaking more when oil company pumped the oil in at maximum speed when opening hose handle all the way to fill the tank moving around sludge on bottom causing more leaks.
In this case how come the tank was overfilled..did the driver pay attention to the vent whistle
which would have stopped? Oil companies have called customers to tell them the vent whistle was not working and to have it fixed before delivery. The vent line didn't seem to be blocked since oil came out of
vent.
I've been involved in replacing tanks and more. After taking photos and contacting people who can document this then proceed...and just keep saying like Ed said about that the tank didn't leak until you over filled it.. I agree with Jersey 2. Pump all the oil out into drums. Disconnect the tank and move it aside or outside.
I would get a temporary drum such as 15 gallons or whatever you can get and connect the pump line to nearly the bottom of that by extending it..prime and you have heat temporarily. This will give you time to decide on what you want to do. The weight of the tank and all that oil weighs well over 2800 pounds!

Yes..I'd hold the oil company responsible..but who knows what percentage of liability will be awarded such
as auto accidents adjusters dole out liabilty. Keep repeating i have zero liability..I guess some oil companies will blame you..like the one who shorted me for over 50 gallons of oil on a delivery...but you didn't think they would get away with that...did you?

EBEBRATT-Ed

The ops first post said contaminated soil outside. To me that means the driver overfilled and thus pressurized the tank. Maybe the vent whistle didn't whistle. If so the driver should have stopped filling.


Like I said in my first post the oil co is libel for something. To me the best way is for the homeowner to call the service manager or company owner and negotiate a settlement. The oil company is at least partially libel. If there decent about it settle with them for "something" Like maybe the HO pays for the tank and material and the company eats the labor.

If they choose to be not so decent then they get both barrels between the eyes

Had a situation once where a tech went on a no heat call at night and the gauge said 1/2 a tank but no oil at burner. He took out a 2" plug and stuck the tank with a ruler and it was MT. He told the HO who decided to wait till the next morning for oil.

But the tech forgot to put the plug back in. The driver thought the vent "sounded funny" but kept pumping. When he got to 230 gallons, he knew it should be full and stopped pumping.

Luckily only 5-10 gallons were spilled, and this was long before today's regulations, so we just cleaned it up and that was that. I am just glad it wasn't me who left the plug out

realliveplumber

There are always 2 sides to every story. To offer advice to one party without the other half of the story is reprehensible and simply not fair.

People jumping to conclusions and placing blame without the full story is not right.

pecmsg

ron said:

I agree with your two sides to every story however the past few years have proven otherwise regarding People jumping to conclusions and placing blame without the full story is not right

The oil company and insurance should just mandate "khb3610" needs to replace his tank, and with "EdTheHeaterMan" how dare you question the insurance company what gives you the right to question their authority you should've followed orders and replaced that tank.

Because you have the right to question them. Insurance companies are the biggest thieves there are!

EdTheHeaterMan

ron said:

...and with "EdTheHeaterMan" how dare you question the insurance company what gives you the right to question their authority you should've followed orders and replaced that tank.

In hindsight, I agree with you Ron. What was I thinking, I could have replaced that customer's tank and made a nice profit. Might have even been able to over charge them in their anxious state to retail their precious homeowners insurance. Too late now.

That must be how I got the Perry Como Mr Nice Guy Award three years in a row.