Sludge in tank.

joe143

Filter clogs when dow to 1/4 tank.Any suggestion on a additive to break it up

ethicalpaul

Maybe there's just not enough pressure (from the weight of the oil) at 1/4 tank

pecmsg

get the sludge pumped out.

JDHW

Are there companies that will "polish" the fuel? I used to be responsible for backup power generators that stored lots of fuel but used very little unless there was a power problem. After a few years the generators would not run for very long when required because to fuel filters blocked with bad fuel - bacterial growth. The solution was to get the maintence company to "polish" the fuel every year. Basically pump fuel from one end of the tank, through a filter and then back to the tank. A few hours of this each year solved the problem.

Getting your current fuel "polished" could get you out of the hole. Anit-bacterial additives could be a long term solution if your fuel tank size and consumption is in reasonably balance. In the example quited above mine was not.

HVACNUT

Where is the tank? How old is the tank? Where does the oil line exit the tank? 1 pipe or 2 pipe? I don't believe sludge cares one bit what level the gauge says, unless it's soon after a delivery.

Intplm.

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1841033#Comment_1841033

You can also try this.

But what @pecmsg says here ^^^^^^^^ is your best option. Your oil company should have a truck that can pump you out.