Fuel Quality & Service Costs
Proper tank installation can increase quality
and lower service costs
and allow water to accumulate.
This brings us to
the first recommendation
of this article - Install
tanks properly! Read and
follow the instructions
and you’ll avoid problems.
Why is keeping the water
out such a big deal?
Water in fuel tanks leads
to fuel degradation and
enables the growth of microbes
(bacteria or fungus) that thrive at the oil/water
interface. Their presence leads to acid formation, corrosion,
fuel degradation and service issues such as filter
plugging, tank failure, etc.
I was recently involved in testing a random sample of
150 above ground residential fuel oil tanks with Mark
Stellmach of Fuel Management Services. We conducted
Liquidcult microbial tests and found that 53% of the
tanks tested positive for contamination, with 16% showing
moderate to heavy bacteria and 37% showing moderate
to heavy fungus. (Figure 3)
It’s important to
understand that fuel
degradation occurs over
time even without microbes.
All fuels oxidize
over time and as they
do acids are formed that
transform into polymeric
gums - “sticky stuff”
that can clog filters, bind
fuel units, etc.
These pictures show
a fuel sample that
contains water on the
bottom and the sample
jar shows the polymeric
Figure 4.
gums sticking to the bottom of the jar when turned over.
(Figure 4)
So back to fuel quality & service costs – yes, they are
most definitely related.
The good news is that it’s not that hard to keep
service costs in line – KEEP WATER OUT OF YOUR
CUSTOMERS TANKS! ICM
Keeping water
OUT!
• Install the proper
size tanks – NORA
recommends 1/3 of
annual consumption.
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions –
pitch above ground tanks a minimum
of ¼” per foot toward the bottom
opening.
• Drain water from new tanks before
installation.
• Check for water on a regular basis,
at least during every tune-up. This is
critical for tanks that do not utilize a
bottom outlet such as those with the
oil lines connected through the top of
the tank and Polyethylene/steel tanks
with no bottom connection.
• If water is found in a tank, find out why
it’s there and eliminate the source (bad
gauge, fill & vent issues, etc.
• Consider an ongoing fuel maintenance
program (additives) to reduce
service costs and improve customer
satisfaction.
Figure 3
8 ICM/September/October2017