For safety reasons, we do not repair oil tanks. Here’s an example. After many years in service, legs on some oil tanks may begin to bend with the weight of oil in the tank. While some homeowners would like us to straighten or replace the leg, we consider this to be unwise and not in the homeowners best interest – it’s also against the law! It’s much safer to replace the tank, legs and fittings with new equipment.
Oil tanks do, however, have three components which our service technicians repair or replace upon request or to bring the equipment up to code (NFPA 31 for most oil tanks): These are:
- Fill pipes: The NFPA 31 code requirement is 1 ½” black iron. We do not deliver to oil tanks with fill pipes that do not meet this standard.
- Vent pipes and vent alarms. Code requires 1 ½” black iron. Vent pipes and vent alarms are an important safety feature since they alert our drivers when oil tanks are full.
- Tank gauges: Old gauges are often inaccurate since they work off a float that absorbs oil over the years and slowly sinks below the oil surface. When this happens, the gauge shows oil levels lower than the amount that is actually in the tank.
Effective August 15, 2017, the new state of Vermont Above Ground Oil Tank Regulations took effect. The Energy Co-op of Vermont inspects oil tanks during tune-ups, service calls and before making deliveries to new accounts. For more information about oil tank repairs, call us at 802-860-4090 or submit a service request.
