Delivery access to oil tank.

[DevsAd]

Hi everyone.

This is to do with a house not yet bought; the oil access issue may well be a deal-breaker.

The house in question has its oil tank in the back garden. Oil deliveries have historically been made via the integral garage which has a door at the back which leads into an extension room. This extension room then has a door to the back garden which is adjacent to the garage door, so less than 1m distance between them - the hose pipe has only had to negotiate a gentle bend to get through to the garden, covering only a couple of feet of room floor in the process. That, seemingly, has been ok for many years (see diagram attached).

There is a link-detached property to the right, and a property to the left which currently allows the hose to be passed over their land.

The seller has told us that more and more delivery companies now simply refuse to pass the hose through any part of a property, so she's recently relied on a friendly neighbour to allow the hose to be run down their side of the property's boundary until it can pass through to the rear garden and on to the tank. Clearly, tho', that ain't a reliable long-term solution.

I have managed to find one company who will still do the delivery via the garage and back room, but they will charge an extra £100 per load to cover 'insurance' costs - and they could obviously stop doing this at any time.

My Qs, please:

Is the refusal by many companies to go through any part of a house down to a change in regs (as I understand it is when it involves passing a hose over a waterway, for example) - ie is it 'the law', or is it simply companies covering themselves against claims for cosmetic damage, say for a dribble on the carpet - they don't want the hassle and risk?

Does anyone on here have any experience of running a remote filler pipe to such a property? Where could the filling nozzle be located - just inside the front garage door, for example? What are typical costs for this?

What are people's thoughts on 60-minute fireproof tanks installed inside garages? Could one be fitted in the top-left hand corner shown, for example?

Any other thoughts how to get over this supply issue?!

Many thanks.

 

[snowhead]

I can't answer the legalities questions but I would think the fuel company would have to be at the tank whilst filling in case it over filled.

 

[SimonG]

Should be filled via the anti spill connection, but none of the drivers use it.
Not aware of any regulation changes.
Have a steel bunded one built and put in the garage.

 

[DevsAd]

Thanks gents.

That's another issue, snowhead - I've been told that deliveries can only be made if the tank is in line-of-sight. Well, most of the oil tanks I've seen at properties are clearly not visible from the road when the tanker will be.

How do these things work? Surely the hose has a control valve at its end like a normal petrol-station filling station so the operator has full control over it at the domestic tank end?!

Yup, we're thinking a fireproof tank in the garage may be the way to go...

 

[SJB060685]

Tanks can be installed internally but certain criteria MUST be met. The other option is a remote fill line as you said but again must be done properly.
I can pass your details on to a company that make and supply fire rated, triple bunded tanks if you would like?

 

[DevsAd]

That's kind, SJB.

I have been in touch with a local oil supplier who will carry out a survey to see if a remote filling pipe is possible, and have also looked at fire-rated tanks on t'net (Tuffa, I recall). If it looks as tho' we're (well, sister) is going to seriously pursue the place, we'll have it checked out properly by an Oftec cove.

Is Tuffa ok?

Cheers.

 

[SJB060685]

Tuffa are OK tanks yes. The good thing about fire rated tanks is the locations they can be installed and the distances from objects are reduced, meaning they can be placed where non fire rated plastic tanks cant. The only problem with fire rated tanks is they're not recognised by OFTEC and have to be signed off differently.
I only suggested passing your details on because a lot of my fellow engineers use their tanks and the fire rated steel tanks can be made to order, so size and volume can be determined by the home owner.

 

[DevsAd]

Thanks again SJB. That could well be of interest as the main problem with these tanks is their increased size, so making it difficult to position where it ain't a nuisance.

 

[SJB060685]

When things have progressed get back to me. If you're seriously thinking about the fire rated tank route then I can pass your details on. Within the group of engineers I speak regularly with the daughter of the owner of the tank company is as well. She will be more than happy to go through things with you, explaining all the options and suitable remedies, she's very good at her job.
As said above though fire rated tanks have to be signed off differently but this is something you could discuss over the phone.

 

[DevsAd]

Thanks - I really appreciate that

 

[DevsAd]

Had a call back from the tech director at UKIFDA - that's impressive

Seems like the 'not through the house' isn't so much a hard fast regulation, but a strong recommendation; the risk of the severity of the damage that could be caused by a spill - especially if any oil got past the floor and into the foundation void - would be prohibitive. I can understand that.

There's a degree of freedom for oil delivery companies to make judgements based on each case - they might short-cut through a utility room, for example, but I doubt any would go completely through a house...

Very very rare for such spills to occur - burst hose of failed connector, etc - but you only have to think about what would be required to clean it up if it were to happen.

Seems the two main options are a garage-based storage tank, or a remote filling pipe. We've just heard that the seller is having a survey carried out for the latter option, so that would be ideal!

Thanks everyone.

 

[snowhead]

It's almost certain that the oil issue is going to block any potential sale so the seller is going to have to work with any buyer over it.
Is it an issue unique to this property or do others in the same street also have issues.
It looks like the Games room and possibly the Garage are additions which have caused the problem.

One solution may be to create an external lobby where the garage joins the games room so in the event of a spill it goes to the rear yard.

However whatever is done needs to be future proof otherwise the same issue will crop up at any future sale, if not before if delivery companies refuse to deliver through garages.

 

[DevsAd]

Yes, it'll need sorting before any sale proceeds, with us at least.

Fingers crossed that the plumber who's going there this weekend can find a route for the remote delivery pipe. Quite possibly the neighbour on the side that's allowed a hose to be dragged alongside the boundary will accept having a fixed pipe there instead. There's a fair chance that they'll be ok with this since the eaves of the house and rear extension will be overlapping that boundary a few inches anyway, so it should be possible to lay this pipe - secured to the house wall, I guess - within this 'overhang'.

But, it's the seller's problem...

Each house on the street is completely different - on one side is a converted chapel, and on the other side a detached modern house set back from the road on a decent-sized plot. As far as I can see, everyone else has ok access for oil, and the chapel has a shed-load of PV panels on their roof to boot!

Many thanks for your contributions.

 

[freeoil]

Yes, it'll need sorting before any sale proceeds, with us at least.

Fingers crossed that the plumber who's going there this weekend can find a route for the remote delivery pipe. Quite possibly the neighbour on the side that's allowed a hose to be dragged alongside the boundary will accept having a fixed pipe there instead. There's a fair chance that they'll be ok with this since the eaves of the house and rear extension will be overlapping that boundary a few inches anyway, so it should be possible to lay this pipe - secured to the house wall, I guess - within this 'overhang'.

But, it's the seller's problem...

Each house on the street is completely different - on one side is a converted chapel, and on the other side a detached modern house set back from the road on a decent-sized plot. As far as I can see, everyone else has ok access for oil, and the chapel has a shed-load of PV panels on their roof to boot!

Many thanks for your contributions.

Regulations for a fill pipe in a domestic property will probably be very stringent.
Fill point cabinet 3 inch iron and screwed fittings...non return valve etc.I would guess £400+ on materials then labour.Thread machine and pipe vice on site a decent pipe fitter and mate would complete the job in a day if all above ground and straight forward.
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I believe remote oil fill points are very common in North America.Would a buried oil storage tank benefit the issue at all.