central heating oil tank maintenance

mand69

Can anyone help? My mum is newly widowed and has oil tank central heating. She has 2 tanks in the garage but doesn't know how/when to connect the 2nd tank when the first is running low. I cant visit and help as I am ill! She has dipped the tank and it still has about 1/5 left. Does the boiler need to be running when she switches them over? Thanks

J_B

Maybe check with a qualified heating engineer but I'd say no!

Can you explain the set up in more detail?

Mistral001

I have oil central heating as do most of my neighbours and I have never heard of this dual tank arrangement.  The reserve tank could be a DIY job by a previous home owner.  These boilers usually need servicing every year, so perhaps an early service would provide the answer.  The heating service technician should be able to change the supply over  when he comes to do his service.

PS.  The boiler probably needs to be turned off for the change over to the reserve tank.  as there is likely to be a short interruption to the fuel supply. 

Ebe_Scrooge

I think Mistral001 has given very sensible advice.  I also use oil for heating, as do most folk in my village.  I've never seen a twin-tank system installed, though I can understand the logic (allows you to fill up when it's cheapest, and hopefully have enough to last all year).

A service by an OFTEC registered engineer is a sensible move anyway, and I'm sure they would be able to offer more expert advice.  But to my mind, I'd concur with the previous poster - logically it would be safer to switch over when the boiler is off.  The risk of causing any damage if you switch over when it's on is probably miniscule, but for the sake of a moment or 2's effort, I'd do it when the boiler is off.

Bendy_House

Hi Mand, can your mum take and send you a pic of the tank fronts where the pipes come out?

Assuming this was installed properly, I'd have thought the setup would enable a quick and easy switch-over - ie one stopcock shut off and the other opened.

But, boiler 'off' makes sense.

(I wonder if they have non-return valves? Ie, if you open up both, will the two tanks slowly level out!)

Section62

Mistral001 said:

I have oil central heating as do most of my neighbours and I have never heard of this dual tank arrangement.  The reserve tank could be a DIY job by a previous home owner.  These boilers usually need servicing every year, so perhaps an early service would provide the answer.  The heating service technician should be able to change the supply over  when he comes to do his service.

Possibly... but needs carefully thinking about if the boiler hasn't been serviced by a qualified technician since this dual tank arrangement has been installed.

Obviously the priority should always be safety... but a few days before the start of the Xmas/New Year holidays wouldn't be the most opportune time for a brand-new heating engineer to come out and decide the dual tank arrangement is unsafe and condemn it, especially with the OP not being in a position to help their mum currently.

If 1/5th of a tank is enough to get past Xmas/New Year, and there is nothing obviously unsafe with the system, it is a judgement call whether getting someone out before the New Year is necessary and/or likely to cause a much bigger problem for the mum.

I know people who have got two tanks, and they are permanently connected and transfer between them is by gravity and automatic.  But I don't know anyone with a tank inside a garage... and that makes me a bit concerned about what a professional might say if they are asked to investigate the situation.

Apodemus

I'm pretty sure that oil tanks "in the garage" wouldn't meet current UK building standards and probably not even any recent standard.  I wonder if perhaps the OP is not in UK?

molerat

Back "in the old days" a metal tank in the garage was quite common.

strawb_shortcake

The OFTEC engineers we've had round have all been a bit lax in the rules and regulations so I'd be surprised if they made a fuss unless they are desperate for the work.

A friend that also has oil central heating (and a heating engineer) was talking about getting two tanks to take advantage of when prices are low, but he mentioned about pumping from one tank to another rather than both tanks being connected 

J_B

molerat said:

Back "in the old days" a metal tank in the garage was quite common.

Father in Law has such a set up which has been there 'for ever' AFAIK

I'm sure he doesn't switch off anything when he switches from one tank to the other but if OP is worried, just turn off for a short while.

canaldumidi

1/5th of a tank tells us very little.How big is the tank!?  A 500ltr tank means you're down to 100 ltrs which won't last through till New year.

Like others I've not heard of twin tanks but I agree an oil boiler should be serviced by an OFTEC engineer every year, and that should include checking the tank(s), changing the tank filter if required, and explaining how the set-up works.

If there's paperwork showing who has previously serviced the boiler- call them.

If not, search here:

https://www.oftec.org/consumers/find-an-oftec-registered-technician