Heating Oil Tanks

iB Oil Tanks is a division of iB Heating.

We offer professional OFTEC registered installation, servicing and a removal service for domestic and commercial heating oil tanks in Kent and East Sussex.

Your oil tank is a very important part of your heating system that needs annual inspection.

Unfortunately, heating oil tanks are often neglected, and serious problems arise when they start leaking, leading to complex and very expensive clean up operations, this can be easily avoided by having an annual inspection which can be carried out at the same time as your oil boiler service.

Oil tanks come in many shapes and sizes and are available in either plastic or steel.

Most modern oil tanks are bunded to help comply with building regulations and provide a second barrier of defence against oil spills and environmental damage.

iB Oil Tanks offer the following Oil Tank Services

Supply and installation of new plastic and steel single skin and bunded oil tanks.

• New concrete tank bases.
• Fire protection barriers.
• Emergency oil tank pump outs.
• Oil lines and trenches.
• Moling of oil lines beneath finished surfaces and driveways.
• Oil tank removal and correct registered disposal.
• De sludging and removal of water from your oil tank. (oil tank servicing)
• Oil level watchman’s, guages and theft alarms.
• Crane lifting of oil tanks over hedges, walls garages etc.
• Bespoke steel oil tanks manufactured to any size/shape.
• Bespoke Steel tanks in any colour…………they don’t have to be green.

New Oil Tanks Supplied & installed

Can my oil tank be near a building or neighbours fence / boundary?

New Oil tank installations should meet the following minimum distances, This is for tanks of a maximum capacity of 3500 litres.

1.8 Meters from an opening into the building ie window, door, air brick etc.

1.8 meters to any combustible material on the building ie weatherboarding or rafter feet.

1.8 meters from a boiler termination or any lpg bottles.

760mm from a neighbouring boundary.

The Tank should be on a solid base of a non combustible material that extends all around the base of the tank by 300mm on all sides.

We generally use poured concrete bases as apposed to slabs as slabs can shift and move over time.

Crane Lifting Of Oil Tanks

Our small access 3.5 ton Hiab truck has proved very useful, it is capable of accessing tight driveways and lifting of plastic and steel oil tanks over hedges, fences and walls etc.

New Concrete Oil Tank Bases

Oil tank bases can be constructed fom 50mm concrete slabs or they can be made of poured concrete. Poured concrete is by far the best and longest lasting option, slab bases tend to move over time causing the oil tank to warp and ultimately crack.

Does my oil tank need to be raised?

Most old steel tanks are installed on brick or block piers to provide a gravity feed and also to keep them away from the damp ground in an attempt to prevent rusting.

It is always bes to have a natural gravity feed from your tank, ie the tank should be above the height of tgge base of your oil burning appliance, this is especially true if you have an oil Aga.

It is possible to use a device known as a tiger loop to draw the oil up hill from your tank, this is used for pressure jet boilers and not vaporising Aga’s with a wick, If your Aga is above the height of the base of your tank it is possible to use an oil lifter which effectively pumps the oil up into a smaller tank and has a gravity feed down to the Aga from there.

New Oil Lines & Trenches

New oil lines can be installed via digging a trench or pneumatic moling (trenchless technology).

Moling is especially useful for going beneath finished surfaces such as block paving, patios under driveways or manicured lawns.

Removal & disposal of old / redundant oil Tanks

Registered and safe oil tank disposal.

When we come to install your new Oil Tank we also take away the old one. The old tank will then be collected from our premises in bulk and taken to be recycled or disposed of responsibly.

What To Do If Your Oil Tank Is Leaking?

We offer an emergency oil tank pump out service, we will bring a spare tank to pump your oil into for safe storage until a new tank can be installed, it is sometimes possible to rig up a temporary supply for your boiler to minimise heating down time.

What to do if your metal (steel) oil tank is leaking oil,

Steel oil tanks, you will need your oil tank pumped out as soon as possible, In the meantime try to catch the oil in a container, for small spills cat litter can be used to help absorb the oil and prevent ingress into the ground and water course.

What to do if your plastic oil tank is leaking?

If your plastic oil tank has split or cracked, you will also need the tank to be pumped out as soon as possible.

How to stop your plastic oil tank from leaking oil?

If you can see the split or crack a temporary solution is to get a bar of soap and rub it into the crack, this will help stem the flow of oil, try to cover the soap filled crack with duct tape or similar to keep any rain off as water will wash away the soap and cause the tank to start leaking more oil.

Why do plastic oil tanks crack / split?

A close up of the uv sun damage to the titan 2500 single skin oil tank, This usually starts off with tiny white cracks as seen here.

If your plastic oil tank is cracked or split you will need a new oil tank installed.

Do you supply heating oil to fill my oil tank

No, we stick to what we know best, installing new oil tanks.

For heating oil (Kerosene) supply, we recommend Rye Oils Ltd. Please click on the link below to be directed to the relevant section of their site or call 01797 223 374