What are these pipes?

Tyler Golberg
by Tyler Golberg
I was told these are pipes to an underground fuel oil tank by an inspector. However, everyone else is saying they never buried fuel oil tanks. The house was built in 1983 and currently uses natural gas and has sewar.

Could this have been from a previous homestead? Or something other than a fuel oil tank?
  13 answers
  • William William on Mar 05, 2017

    Yes it is an underground fuel tank. The stamped cap pipe is the fill pipe and the other one is a vent. Very costly to remove as there are EPA regulations for removal. I would just leave it alone.

    • See 1 previous
    • Linda Linda on Mar 06, 2017

      My father in law converted to gas from oil heat and was concerned about the empty in ground tank. He hired the church youth group kids to come and fill it with sand!

  • William William on Mar 05, 2017

    If there is any fuel in it and it is not being used have it emptied and leave it alone. Once you tamper with it your dealing with environmental issues and it would need to be removed. That can become a costly issue. The soil within the area and beyond the area would need to be tested for any leakage and contamination. It would need to be removed and checked for its condition. The major cost would be if the soil is contaminated as all the contaminated soil found would need to be removed and remediated.

  • Sas21011922 Sas21011922 on Mar 06, 2017

    Yes, it is a in ground fuel tank. We had 2 very large tanks in the ground on South shore of Long island, Nassau county. Just leave them or get kids to fill up with sand.

  • Scott Scott on Mar 08, 2017

    Yes it is a fuel oil storage tank. The flip lid is for fill and the other is a vent stack. Drop a 2x2 or other stick about 4 feet long into it to see if there is fuel still in it. If so you would have to have a professional remove the tank and possibly dirt to be sure the soil is not contaminated. Just fill it with dirt or sand if it is empty. You can also use a sump pump to remove any water and fuel oil to be disposed of before filling. After filling dig down about1 foot and cut the pipes off fill and plug with a pvc pipe fitting and recover.

  • Sharon Burd Sharon Burd on Mar 08, 2017

    Here are some resources for you in MN:

    https://www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/storage-tanks


  • Chrystine Dimitry Chrystine Dimitry on Mar 08, 2017

    We currently have underground tanks for heating oil. I would NOT fill it with dirt or sand; a future owner may want it.

  • Janice Peterson Janice Peterson on Mar 08, 2017

    my concern would be as the tank deteriorates it could create a large hole that eventually opens

  • Ebie Ebie on Mar 09, 2017

    You may want to check with the EPA. We purchased a home the had an underground oil tank and we could not get a loan on the home until we had it taken out. The ground has to be tested first, in case it leaked and the soil was contaminated (which would have cost us alot more money) then had to have a company that dealt with underground oil tanks take it out. They frown now on those tanks underground.... I cost us a few thousand dollars to get it all taken care of. The internet has several websites that list what has to be done in each state. They no longer allow anyone to install those tanks in the ground.

  • Lucy Marie Bernier Lucy Marie Bernier on Mar 09, 2017

    It's a cap. When closed you put a lock or tag showing it was check. Does the tank look like it has been breached. Cracked, damaged, rusted through .

  • Shaza Lee Shaza Lee on Mar 09, 2017

    of course they buried fuel oil tanks.

  • Aprile Aprile on Mar 10, 2017

    Oh yes, oil tanks were installed in ground. When we moved into our home, we asked our oil company to check the furnace before filling the 1000 gallon oil tank but instead they came early in the morning, filled the tank then at noon informed us that our furnace was cracked! We converted to gas, legally forced the oil company to remove the oil then stood by and prayed that the tank had not leaked into the soil. Thankfully, it had not leaked and was filled with sand. What a nightmare.

  • Gainorhillegass Gainorhillegass on Mar 11, 2017

    Yes, it's an in-ground oil tank. We had one in PA. It held 1,000 gallons. The house was built in 1976. We sold it in 1990 and it was not a problem. The current owner now uses propane. My sons have in-ground propane tanks on adjacent properties.

  • Lucy Marie Bernier Lucy Marie Bernier on Mar 12, 2017

    What kind of liquid is in the tank ?