Heating Oil storage tank - Steel or Plastic ?
Discussion
Note 1: over 200 litres it has to be bunded. the bund can be part of the tank or underneath it to catch 110% of the contents, and now would need to be covered to prevent rain water entering the bund.
Note 2: I don't think a shed would fall under building regs.
Note 3: Plastic ones can crack with age. while steel one normally rust from the inside out, especially with the new biofuel added.
Note 2: I don't think a shed would fall under building regs.
Note 3: Plastic ones can crack with age. while steel one normally rust from the inside out, especially with the new biofuel added.
Just my 2p worth on this,
From a security view, there's really nothing in it plastic vs. steel, in these days of battery drills and grinders locks are really a trivial deterrent. It's usually fairly easy to find the fuel line where it leaves the tank, or enters the house. I would actually go as far as suggesting that you don't lock the tank - it's easier to refuel and curse, than it is to refuel, replace the tank, and pay to have all the spilled kerosene removed from the ground around the tank. Then curse.
I would far rather they siphon from the tank, than cut the lines or drill the tank.
A big tank is a very good thing to have, though the maximum you can buy in one go and still qualify for domestic VAT is (iirc) 2300 litres. Our tank is 2500 litres and is refilled once per year, usually late spring. If you have a 900-1000 litre tank, there's a fair chance you'll wind up buying during the winter, when prices are highest and delivery waits are longest.
It's worth checking for and draining water from the tank anually. This gets in via the air in the tank expanding and contracting, and drawing in moisture which condenses. You can buy water-finding paste (Kolor Kut or Petro Gage are brands I know of), you paint some on a stick, dip the tank, and see how much water is at the base of the tank. A quick bit of maths lets you work out roughly how much is in there, drain\siphon this out.
From a security view, there's really nothing in it plastic vs. steel, in these days of battery drills and grinders locks are really a trivial deterrent. It's usually fairly easy to find the fuel line where it leaves the tank, or enters the house. I would actually go as far as suggesting that you don't lock the tank - it's easier to refuel and curse, than it is to refuel, replace the tank, and pay to have all the spilled kerosene removed from the ground around the tank. Then curse.
I would far rather they siphon from the tank, than cut the lines or drill the tank.
A big tank is a very good thing to have, though the maximum you can buy in one go and still qualify for domestic VAT is (iirc) 2300 litres. Our tank is 2500 litres and is refilled once per year, usually late spring. If you have a 900-1000 litre tank, there's a fair chance you'll wind up buying during the winter, when prices are highest and delivery waits are longest.
It's worth checking for and draining water from the tank anually. This gets in via the air in the tank expanding and contracting, and drawing in moisture which condenses. You can buy water-finding paste (Kolor Kut or Petro Gage are brands I know of), you paint some on a stick, dip the tank, and see how much water is at the base of the tank. A quick bit of maths lets you work out roughly how much is in there, drain\siphon this out.
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