Prevention is the best medicine – for people and, as it turns out, and for heating oil tanks.
A heating oil tank is a pretty simple device – essentially, it’s a big steel can with valves (or in the case of a modern, high-tech heating oil tank, a plastic can inside a steel can with valves). But when that box is empty (or nearly empty) of heating oil, an uninvited guest can crash the party inside your tank as weather conditions change: water, in the form of condensation.
Condensation inside your heating oil tank creates humidity, and humidity in a dark, enclosed environment is rarely a good thing for a container made of steel. Water, being heavier than oil, will naturally gravitate to the bottom of the tank, corroding the steel wall and potentially leading to a tank failure. Worst of all, you may not see it coming, since the tank will be rotting from the inside.
But that’s not all the trouble condensation can cause inside your heating oil tank: adding water to the atmospheric mix within the tank also creates ideal conditions for bacteria growth in your fuel, which will eventually turn your heating oil into line-clogging, efficiency-robbing sludge.
The bottom line: Condensation build up in your heating oil tank is DEFINITELY something you want to avoid.
The good news is that there is a simple way to greatly reduce the risks associated with condensation build-up: keep your heating oil tank at least half full year round, especially in the heating offseason.
Even better news is that an offseason heating oil top-off could save you money, too, since pre-season heating oil prices are often lower than in-season prices, when heating oil demand and market prices are highest.
Need a heating oil delivery this heating offseason? We can help. Contact Vaughn Oil today for reliable heating oil deliveries to locations throughout our Rhode Island service area!
