Living in Wales and the Shropshire region means that you’re not a stranger to rainfall throughout the year. Those who live in these areas and use heating oil to heat their homes, and therefore have a fuel tank outside need to be especially aware of the weather. Water getting into your fuel tank can cause a number of issues.
Water within your fuel tank can reduce the quality of your fuel, which then goes on to affect the efficiency of the fuel itself. The principal sources of water in oil storage tanks are either rainwater or condensation.
- Rainwater can enter a fuel tank if openings in the tank are left open, seals are fault or damaged or the integrity of the tank has been compromised by rusting or by perforations, splits or cracks in the body of the tank.
- Condensation will often occur naturally as a result of temperature difference between the tank/fuel and the surroundings.
It is part of a fuel delivery driver’s training to ensure that all of the openings used when filling a tank and gauging its contents are closely secured after the filling operation has been completed.
If water is present within your fuel tank, it can be pumped out using a small hand pump. The water will be contaminated and as such, should be disposed of via the local authority refuse centre in a waste oil collection tank.
Once the water has been safely removed, it would be an advisable step to flush your boiler feed pipe and change the oil filter to ensure that all traces of water have been removed from the system. Depending on your skills, this might be better carried out by an experienced service engineer.
If the cause of water is a failure of the fuel tank or an associated component, then this will need to be repaired or replaced before any further deliveries of home heating oil are made, avoiding a recurrence of the problem.
Here at QUAD Fuels we can supply fuel tanks if you require any quotes, replacement tanks or even a tank removal service. Give us a call today to discuss your fuel tank needs; for our Colwyn Bay depot – 01492 353103, for our Wrexham depot – 01978 423150.