How long to trust an oil tank in basement?
by
Rose Tovey
+2
This is not so much a DIY question, but I can's seem to find the answer elsewhere. The manufacturer did not reply to my email.
We live in a mountain area of western Virginia, west of Roanoke.
This brick house was built in 1990, on a poured concrete dry basement.
There is a 275 (?) gallon oil tank in the corner of the basement. It seems to still be sturdy. It is on 5" tall legs. (I have lined the floor under the tank with old square restaurant pans, in case of any slow leak.) I think the imprint on the top of the tank says "GENERAL INC ND NO 89, GOLDSE RO N O 3 ". We have a heat pump, which doesn't do the job, and have just installed a propane fireplace in the living room. Our only other option would be to convert to a propane furnace. We are almost out of oil, and need to refill it. Thanks for any advice you can give us.
....Rose
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It should be removed asap. Fumes build up and affects air quality that is not healthy.
Do you know which oil company the previous owner used? If not, call around locally and find their supplier.
They would come out and make sure All is safe. Or find one for yourself - a well-established company.
Our tank is over 50 years old and just fine, and in constant use
A little more....the tank looks fine, maybe a scrape or two that someone has coated with something that looks like tar, but is very dry and hard.
The tank is red, there is no visible rust, the seams look tight, no evidence of spills below the tank. ....Rose
We have never replaced the oil tank in our basement and have lived here since 1971. I think our oil tank is probably thicker steel than those made now. We have our oil furnace serviced yearly.
I would call a local oil company and ask them about an inspection, just to be safe. We had oil tanks in several houses and the tanks were all very old - probably close to 50 years old!