Oil supply line under concrete slab

Beefboi99

New to oil heat here. House was built in 1962 and the Copper Oil Supply Line was buried under the slab. Looks like it’s just bare copper. I plan on switching to propane in the next 5 years.

Should I replace the line before then?

Should I run the line on the ground if I do? (The tank is across the basement I could hug the outside walls and would be a pain.)

Is it a bad idea to run overhead even with a tiger loop?

Mad Dog_2

Definitely run a new coated Invirotube oil line. Tuck it tight to the crotch where the wall meets the slab.  You can protect it by banking some sakrete on a 45 degree angle.  I had a customer 5 yrs ago the had your exact situation.  It leaked in to the soil below the slab...several hundred gallons.  80K chop up and excavation of the contaminated soil.  Insurance almost didn't cover it either.  Bring it above the slab.  Mad Dog 🐕 

Beefboi99

Mad Dog_2 said:

Definitely run a new coated Invirotube oil line. Tuck it tight to the crotch where the wall meets the slab.  You can protect it by banking some sakrete on a 45 degree angle.  I had a customer 5 yrs ago the had your exact situation.  It leaked in to the soil below the slab...several hundred gallons.  80K chop up and excavation of the contaminated soil.  Insurance almost didn't cover it either.  Bring it above the slab.  Mad Dog 🐕 

Should I change anything else when I run the line? (OSV, ball valves, etc..)

Currently it comes out the tank to that goofy globe valve, under slab, comes out near the boiler to a ball valve, Than the oil filter, to the burner. 

Is coated orange coated copper 1/2” refrigeration line ok? 

EBEBRATT-Ed

Looks like your ready for a new tank now. The oil line should be in a sleeve or a protected oil line or protected by an OSV valve.

People run overhead oil line but personally i do not like them and would avoid them at all costs. If i went overhead it would be 2 pipe

Beefboi99

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Looks like you’re ready for a new tank now. The oil line should be in a sleeve or a protected oil line or protected by an OSV valve. People run overhead oil line but personally i do not like them and would avoid them at all costs. If i went overhead it would be 2 pipe

Could I get away with just using an OSV right by the tank? 

pecmsg

Why LP?

STEVEusaPA

You should always have an OSV on a gravity job.
But you have a 60+ year old tank, a 60+ year old line in concrete, and compression fittings. Your luck is about to run out.
Put a new tank in before you have to in an emergency. A nice double wall Roth tank, new oil line, etc.
Why would you switch to propane?

Beefboi99

STEVEusaPA said:

You should always have an OSV on a gravity job. But you have a 60+ year old tank, a 60+ year old line in concrete, and compression fittings. Your luck is about to run out. Put a new tank in before you have to in an emergency. A nice double wall Roth tank, new oil line, etc. Why would you switch to propane?

I already have propane on the property for a fireplace. I plan to install a pad mounted whole house generator with the propane. The boiler is old also so I wanted to update everything to propane. 

EdTheHeaterMan

Beefboi99 said:

I already have propane on the property for a fireplace. I plan to install a pad mounted whole house generator with the propane. The boiler is old also so I wanted to update everything to propane. 

Then just wait until you can afford a new heater, unless the tank or fuel line nas already failed and you don't know about it. Then you can pay all that savings for the new heater to the Environmental clean up company.

My grandmother's maiden name was Murphy. So that Law those Murphy's have kind'a runs in the family. Good luck with your decision.

I guess I'm saying forget the new tank and new oil line. Use that money as a down payment on the new heater and abandon that oil stuff.

Unless of course you find that a High efficiency Oil heater is more economical. Look at the savings a new oil heater can offer. Then you can get a new tank and fuel line as a package deal.

Or maybe you should look at a heat pump. Now that's the ticket. No more Fossil fuel. You will be So politically correct with that decision. But we should not talk politics on this forum.

Jamie Hall

On the switch to LP. Do your sums VERY carefully. In some parts of the country, such as much of the midwest, LP is common enough to be competitive in price with oil. However, in much of the country it is considerably more expensive -- and your boiler will use a good deal more of it than your other LP appliances.

My take on both overhead and buried oil lines is simply just don't do it, unless you have no other options.

And the guys above are right -- that oil tank is a problem waiting to happen.

bignozzle

I'm just going to comment on overhead oil lines. I've run a couple of them for over 10 years. Zero problems. Ran out of oil more times than I can remember(rental), and they will prime before the burner goes into lockout.

steveray

absolutely replace line. We always disconnected them and blew them out. We would then get a bushing and take it off the top of the tank and run it over head. We then used OSV and Tigerloop at burner side. We'd plug that bottom tank valve. But the other posts are right, careful messing with that tank, I have had guys just run their hand across the bottom and it starts leaking.

Bruce MacNeil

Remove the line. Replace the combustion with a heat pump.

CTETeach

Replace the oil line like yesterday, while you are at it get rid of the compression fitting at the tank. As someone posted earlier do you math before you switch to L.P., you may not save as much as you think.
Your oil tank is on borrowed time. If you are planning your conversion 5 years out, change the tank and wait 6 years before you convert.

OuterCapeOilguy

#1-Replace the oil line without delay. You can run it from the tank along the floor where it meets the wall if you wish. However, there is nothing wrong at all with running it overhead; there is no need to run a two line system if you use a deaerator (Tiger Loop, etc.-personally, I prefer the Sid Harvey Smart-Flo). You can use the model which incorporates a spin-on oil filter at the burner, I personally prefer to install a spin-on filter at the tank and use the the aerator that does not incorporate a built-in filter, provided there is good access for servicing the filter at the tank location. Do not wait, your existing line could be seeping oil as we speak. As an added measure, if I were doing the job I would be using my hand pump to remove all remaining oil from the underground line.

2-replace your oil tank with a double wall safety tank. install a Fire-O-Matic valve at the tank, and ball valves on either side of the filter if you install a filter at the tank (I like to install them on the wall next to the tank; easy to service, and having a ball valve on either side of the filter eliminates loss of oil from the lines while changing the filter, and providing that you fill up the filter before installing, eliminates the need for the burner’s pump to prime the filter). In my opinion, an 0SV is unnecessary if the tank is located at the level of the burner. I only install them if the tank is located above the heating equipment.

If you install a deaerator with built-in oil filter, the Tiger Loop brand comes with a Fire-O-Matic valve for use on the inlet; I would add a ball valve after the fire O-Matic, to avoid using the fire O-Matic as a service valve when changing the filter. The Sid Harvey Smart-Flo version comes with a fire O-Matic and a built-in service shut off valve. DO NOT install a fire O-Matic at the burner when using a deaerator.

several times in my career I have encountered these situations involving varied unprotected oil lines. In the one situation where the owner did not wish to have me change the oil line/tank (the burner was malfunctioning due to the fact that the oil line was compromised), I gathered up my tools and left without making any repairs. I made it clear that I did not want my name associated with his installation. Although I did not charge him for the service call, I did write up an invoice and I requested that he sign the notation on my invoice that he had declined to have the fuel supply installation upgraded. The possible costs and legal issues associated with environmental cleanup following a fuel oil spill is not something to be taken lightly.

Sootmaster

Vacuum test the line and put an OSV on there until you can put your dream boiler in (propane? really? - don't you know that electric heat pumps and cars are going to save us all from Armageddon) 

You don't want your property to get the EPA scarlet letter 

HotanCool

I thought all oil tanks required a firomatic valve? I hate OSVs, but are required around here by insurance, for inground lines. Keep in mind a Roth Tank is taller and may require a new outlet for the fill, If you have the height available. And the others are correct, that tank is done. Home inspection should of wrote it up.