You’ve just filled up your home heating oil tank as you get ready for winter, and your wallet is talking to you.
How would you like to have to fill your oil tank the very next day as well?
This happens a few times every winter in Maine, and the oil isn’t being used to heat anything. A homeowner finds that the tank’s low so they have it filled up, and the very next day the tank is just as empty as it was the day before.
What happens next can be a messy and expensive clean-up to protect our groundwater, and is supervised by a spill responder from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Often, the problem is that there is a leak in the oil supply line from the tank to the furnace. This leak can go undetected because “out of sight is out of mind.” If an unprotected supply line is buried under your lawn, your basement floor or two feet of snow, it may be hard to tell if there’s a leak.
The Maine Oil and Solid Fuel Board rules require all oil lines to be protected and all outside tanks, regardless of age or date of installation, also must be protected against tipping and damage from things falling from overhead. So call your local oil burner technician and ask for a visit to see if your tank and your oil line meet the codes.
Outside tanks require a firm foundation and a concrete pad, or solid concrete blocks for flat tanks, to keep the tanks from falling over. When it comes to overhead damage, think of falling ice and snow and then take a look at installing a filter protector if you have an outside tank. This little gem sits over your fuel filter like those mini A-frames some folks put over their favorite ornamental lawn plants in the winter.
For a short spill prevention checklist of your tank system, call the Maine DEP at 800-452-1942 and ask for the pamphlet “Is Your Tank in Shape?”