Oil tank position

Simon20203

Neighbour has told me that oil tank needs to be 76cm away from his fence. Its only about 15cm away currently. 

He  was under the impression I had moved it closer to his fence but I was able to show him photos showing that it had always been there. 

My house was built in 1998 by a large local building firm. They built about 100 houses in this area.

It is located on top of a retaining wall about 6ft high and is on a concrete platform and is built into a hillside. It has a rigid pipe coming out of it that goes down the wall and into tarmac..... To move it would be serious work.

Surely because it has been there for 22yrs and built with architects and passed by building control etc I shouldn't have to move it??

Anyone know when these Oftec regulations came into place and if buildings built before this have to comply. 

Many thanks 

Jeepers_Creepers

Is it a bunded tank? (Ie - with an outer shell that can catch any leaks).

Simon20203

I don't think so. Think it's just called single skinned. It's the original tank that was installed at the time the house was built. 

Just had a nosey on Google earth and it appears everyone's tank in the area seems to be sitting next to a fence barr my neighbours as they are an end house and purchased additional land on the far side, so now their tank is kinda in the middle of their garden. 

strawb_shortcake

Not sure when the regulations came in, but I don't think one of my neighbours has a tank that meets the regulations and neither do we. Our tank was replaced earlier this year and it's inspected yearly, only occasionally does it get mentioned but no one really cares. 
Some of our neighbours are still HA tenants and they happily have their contractors fit them next to fences.

greatcrested

If you fit a new tank, it will have to be further away to comply with current regs.

The existing tank can remain - it does not have to be moved provided it complied with the regs at the time it was installed.

Tank location - OFTEC guidelines

Oil tanks are required to comply with fire separation distances in order to adequately protect the stored fuel from a fire or heat source, that may originate nearby. Tanks should be sited: 

• 1.8m away from non-fire rated eaves of a building
• 1.8m away from a non-fire rated building or structure (e.g. garden sheds)
• 1.8m away from openings (such as doors or windows) in a fire rated building or structure (e.g. brick built house/garage)
• 1.8m away from oil fired appliance flue terminals
• 760mm away from a non-fire rated boundary such as a wooden boundary fence
• 600mm away from screening (e.g. trellis and foliage) that does not form part of the boundary

If it is impossible to comply with these requirements, then a fire protection barrier with at least 30 minutes fire rating should be installed, please call us for more details. A minimum separation distance of 100mm is required between the tank and fire-rated barrier.

View our fire-protected Domestic Oil Tanks

Tank base and support - OFTEC guidelines

The need to provide a suitable base and support for your oil tank is of paramount importance for reasons of both safety and environmental protection. The base should be:

• Adequate for the weight of the tank
• Non-combustible, imperforate and level
• Constructed of concrete, paving stones or stonework
• Large enough to extend 300mm beyond all sides of the tank

If an oil storage tank is not adequately supported, the tank itself can be weakened leading to the eventual failure and escape of the stored fuel. During the life of an installation, an oil storage tank base will need to provide continual structural support, even though ground conditions may alter from season to season and year to year.

To comply with British Standards, the base material should be one of the following laid on a hardcore base to give an imperforate base:
 

• Concrete at least 100mm thick
• Paving stones at least 50mm thick
• Stonework at least 50mm thick

The overall size of the base should be larger than the oil storage tank and any integral oil storage tank bund, so that when the oil storage tank is installed, the base has a clear projection of a minimum of 300mm around all sides of the oil storage tank.

Jeepers_Creepers

greatcrested said:

If you fit a new tank, it will have to be further away to comply with current regs.

The existing tank can remain - it does not have to be moved provided it complied with the regs at the time it was installed.

Which it most likely did.

Simon, you have shown evidence to your neighb that the tank has always been there, so hopefully he doesn't still harbour suspicions that you moved it... (Is he generally a bit cynical/unreasonable?)

Personally, I would now reiterate that it hasn't been moved since installation back in 1998, and that you understand it complied with the regs at the time. If he doesn't agree, then it's for him to prove to you that's not the case. 

(At 20 years old, tho', it is probably coming towards the end of its natural life, so the replacement will be fitted to current regs - best start thinking of where it can go :-) ) 

Simon20203

Yes, I'm not sure what prompted him to become suspicious but we are trying to establish a fence boundary atm and I think whoever he was talking to put it into his head without the understanding that the tank had been situated there for a very long time. He produced the estate agent brochure which shows a picture in that general area and the tank is hidden by his own fence panel. When I pointed out to him the angle and also popped on Google earth to show an image of the properties from space which were taken before we both moved in he seemed happy enough. I told him I have many personal pics from within our yard showing that the tank has never moved and he seemed to accept this put just perplexed why he thought this point was worth bringing up. To give him more say on the boundary issue possible put we are discussing a mere couple of inches and not 30! 


Tank is very sound and I reackon should be grand for at least another 5-10yrs, in which case I will probably of moved on by then but it cld be replaced by a taller rectangle shape and that wld give the appropriate distance required but just definitely not a cost I had forecast for my immediate future especially as it seems I'm not doing anything different to my surrounding neighbours..... In fact the neighbour behind him also has his oil tank up close to his rear fence which I pointed out to him as well.

Don't like to feel I wld be doing any wrong it's hard to find a difinitive answer regarding old tanks online so Thanks all for your input! 

Davesnave

Jeepers_Creepers said:

greatcrested said:

If you fit a new tank, it will have to be further away to comply with current regs.

The existing tank can remain - it does not have to be moved provided it complied with the regs at the time it was installed.

(At 20 years old, tho', it is probably coming towards the end of its natural life, so the replacement will be fitted to current regs - best start thinking of where it can go :-) ) 

 This is the most important comment. You are straying into Russian roulette territory with a single skin tank 20 years old. It could last another 10 or it could split next week, and plastic gives much less warning then steel when things start to go wrong. The consequences in a location like that don't bear thinking about.

As you have had problems with this neighbour before, you will need to think carefully how to reply, if you reply at all. Personally, with a combative neighbour I'd normally ignore, but in this instance I might say the tank is due for renewal and the next one will be installed to OFTEC regs . Then at least the neighbour won't think he has pushed you into doing something, though he probably has!

Apodemus

At that age is it likely to be single-skinned though?  My tank is a similar age and I'm not sure that non-bunded tanks were even an option when i bought mine, although that may simply be a local building regs thing.

Davesnave

I wouldn't swear to it in a court of law, but I'm pretty sure non-bunded tanks were still being sold when I replaced mine in 2015. Mine was around 12 years old and some twit paid me £80 for it on eBay.

greatcrested

https://homefuelsdirect.co.uk/heating-oil-tanks/single-skinned-oil-tanks