Which Heating Oil Tank?
 At the heart of any oil heating installation is an oil storage tank. When correctly installed and maintained, today’s oil tanks can provide many years of safe, secure and environmentally responsible fuel storage.
To bund or not to bund?
At above-ground, domestic oil storage installations, it is important to determine whether or not you require either a single skin or a bunded oil tank. A bunded oil tank consists of a tank within a tank. The oil is stored in the inner tank, whilst the outer tank is designed to act as a containment area in the event of a spillage originating from the inner tank e.g. as the result of an overfill.
Bunded oil tanks are now a requirement at all new agricultural, commercial, industrial, institutional and most domestic installations too, including all domestic installations with an installed capacity of 2,500 litres or greater. To determine whether or not a bunded oil tank is required, an Environmental Risk Assessment should be undertaken at the proposed installation site by a competent person:
Environmental Risk Assessment - Above Ground Oil Tanks
- Will the oil tank be positioned within 10 metres of a watercourse e.g. sea, lake, river, stream, drainage ditch etc?
- Will the oil tank be located in a position whereby a spillage could run into an open drain or reach a loose fitting manhole cover?
- Will the oil tank be situated within 50 metres of a well, borehole or spring?
- Will the oil tank be positioned in such a manner whereby any spillage could pass over hard ground and enter a watercourse?
- Will the oil tank be used for any purpose other than the storage of fuel for heating and / or cooking purposes at a private, domestic dwelling occupied by a single family?
- Will the oil tank be situated in a position where the vent point is not visible from the fill point?
- Will the oil tank have a capacity greater than 2,500 litres?
- Will the oil tank be installed in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man?
- Will the oil tank be installed within an Area of Special Scientific Interest, a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty?
If the answer is 'Yes' to any of the above questions, then a bunded oil tank must be installed. Fitting a single skin oil tank where a bunded oil tank is legally required, is a criminal offence.
Even if a single skin oil tank will currently suffice, it should be noted that single skin oil tanks do not incorporate any form of inbuilt secondary containment. Therefore in the event of a spillage, a pollution incident will result and hence at all installations, serious consideration should be given to the installation of a bunded oil tank.
Noting the high risk of an environmental pollution incident arising at a Single Skin Oil Storage Tank installation and as an environmentally responsible supplier, TankDepot.co.uk discontinued the supply of Single Skin Oil Tanks on 1 January 2010.
Which capacity?
The ideal capacity for any oil tank installation will depend upon three factors:
The table below provides an overview of suggested oil tanks for typical domestic oil installations, based upon the number of bedrooms in the property. Your boiler manufacturer can also provide guidance as to optimum oil tank capacity.
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No of Bedrooms |
Suggested Heating Oil Tank
Click description to view | |
1 Bedroom |
Harlequin 1100BND/ENV
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2 Bedrooms |
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3 Bedrooms |
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4 Bedrooms |
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5 Bedrooms |
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6 Bedrooms |
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7+ Bedrooms |
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Additionally, it is worth giving serious consideration to buying a slightly larger oil tank than may be required. This allows you to stock up with heating oil when prices are lower and extends the period between refills.
Cooking with oil?
 Oil is a popular cooking fuel in non-mains gas areas throughout the United Kingdom. At many installations, an oil fired boiler and cooker will often be fed from the same oil tank – assuming that they consume the same fuel type. Your fuel supplier or cooker manufacturer can advise if required.
However, where a separate oil tank is required to supply fuel to the cooker, or where the primary boiler burns a fuel other than oil, we would recommend consideration is given to the following tanks:
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Oil Fired Cooker
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Suggested Fuel Oil Tank
Click description to view | |
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION Every effort is made to keep this area of the site up to date. However, TankDepot.co.uk cannot be held liable for errors and omissions. TankDepot.co.uk recommends that all oil tanks should be installed only by a competent person, registered with The Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC). Please note that TankDepot.co.uk will not be responsible for any oil tank installation which is non-compliant with prevailing statutory requirements.
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