How long will #2 heating oil last?

[CrawfordCentury]

I know this is the woodshed and this is somewhat off topic, but it does relate to my secondary heat supply.

We have two 275 tanks, both reading about 3/4ths capacity. Probably not going to too much more. Oil furnace kicks in around 2am in deep winter for a few cycles in the wee hours. Most nights the past week, hasn't kicked in at all given the increasing warmth.

What's in there is mostly from fall 2008 with a little from a delivery around Dec. 1 2009.

Unless we have some brutal nights next winter, it's quite possible some of this oil will be in the tanks in 2012.

Any issues? If so, are there any preventative steps to take to preserve the oil and/or safeguard my furnace?

 

[Ductape]

Only thing you have to worry about is fungus.... due to moisture. You may want to look for an anti-fungal additive and add the appropriate amount for whats in your tank if you aren't going to burn it for an extended period of time. Oil lasts a long time, unlike gasoline. You should have no trouble storing for years..... and I know of times it has lasted just fine for many years. One example was our current house, which had been empty for five years. Both tanks were better than half full and we had no issues burning that oil.

 

[Archer39]

yep what he said^^^. #2 heating oil is the same thing as #2 diesel and we would have it stored in tanks for up to 5 years on the farm i used to live/work on.

 

[Chris S]

I think I posted this before but...
I moved into a house in 2007 that had gas heat. I found the buried oil tank the second month I was there. I knew one existed, just took a while with a chain saw & weedwacked to find it. The heating system was switched from oil to gas in 1979. There was over 300 gallons in the tank. I added some cetane boost, and burned it off in my diesel tractors. FO lasts a looooong time. As mentioned above though be aware that bacteria can live in the oil. This will foul your filters and or burner.

 

[sapratt]

Never heard of fungus growing in heating oil.

 

[ggans]

It's called Fungoil..

 

[Chris S]

Thats it!!
I used to buy that from the Amw*y salesman, put it in my truck, 6000 miles between oil changes.
Thanks for remembering me

 

[gerry100]

Interesting to me as I've got a tank that's been in use for 35 years.

Lately, nozzles have been fouling after a fill. According to one of the techs, this can be caused when the sediment in the bottom of the tank is stirred up by the oil being pumped in too fast.

Is this the fungus someone is referring to?

 

[Chris S]

no, thats sediment, a certain amount of rust will occur evevn in an oil tank, plus some small debris in all of those deliveries. I believe the tech is correct.

 

[hareball]

I learned to shut down the furnace before any delivery and not put it back online for about an hour so that sediment settles. I would do the same thing when I drove and saw a fuel truck delivering at the gas station.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Interesting to me as I've got a tank that's been in use for 35 years.

Lately, nozzles have been fouling after a fill. According to one of the techs, this can be caused when the sediment in the bottom of the tank is stirred up by the oil being pumped in too fast.

Is this the fungus someone is referring to?

I had the same issue with an excavator that sat for over a decade. If you pour it into a glass container, you can see what is in it and match it up to pictures at the diesel maintenance sites. I tried all the treatments and after dumping the fuel twice now with the idea that it could be purged, the tank has been removed to be cleaned.

 

[Shari]

Interesting to me as I've got a tank that's been in use for 35 years.

Lately, nozzles have been fouling after a fill. According to one of the techs, this can be caused when the sediment in the bottom of the tank is stirred up by the oil being pumped in too fast.

Is this the fungus someone is referring to?

I had the same issue with an excavator that sat for over a decade. If you pour it into a glass container, you can see what is in it and match it up to pictures at the diesel maintenance sites. I tried all the treatments and after dumping the fuel twice now with the idea that it could be purged, the tank has been removed to be cleaned.

Oh, man, don't get me going on sediment in an oil tank! Apparently we got a bad load of oil (bottom of the delivery truck) which fouled up our system. After 4 service calls which included replacing the nozzle multiple times, adding a second oil filter right before the furnace, a new copper line from the tank to the furnace, etc., etc., etc., the repairman & I put our heads together and decided to put a short 4" riser up from the drain plug inside the tank. With the 4" riser inside the tank, we don't 'suck' oil from the bottom of the tank. Our tank was full at the time so the repairman hooked up a pump of some sort to create a vacuum(?) of some sort so we lost only about 1 cup of oil during this procedure. Worked like a champ!

Three other repairman we spoke to only suggested replacing the tank and dumping the 250 gallons of fuel oil - I would not accept this method.

Our tank is original to our home which was built in 1958.

Shari

 

[Archer39]

shouldn't an inline filter between the tank and furnace filter out the sediment that might be disrupted during a fill up? We have never had that problem, all of our tanks have filters between them and what ever they are going to.

 

[Shari]

shouldn't an inline filter between the tank and furnace filter out the sediment that might be disrupted during a fill up? We have never had that problem, all of our tanks have filters between them and what ever they are going to.

We have a filter right off the oil tank and then, when we had problems, we added a second filter just before the furnace. Crud still got through and clogged the nozzle.

Shari

 

[billb3]

If you think that oil may sit more than a year you might want to get thee down to a marine supply store and get a stabilizer with biocide.
If your tank is inside you may have fewer problems with humidty and condensation . Outside its possible you could end up with some water on the bottom of the tank.

My indoor tank has a filter at the tank and another at the pump.
No water separators, though. Usually not a home problem.

 

[hareball]

shouldn't an inline filter between the tank and furnace filter out the sediment that might be disrupted during a fill up? We have never had that problem, all of our tanks have filters between them and what ever they are going to.

I'd still shut it down to prevent sediment from prematurely clogging the filter. I was always on auto-delivery and sometimes not home but if home I'd always throw the switch.

 

[muncybob]

How 'bout this stuff?

http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...amilyName=Biobor+JF+-+Diesel+Fuel+Microbicide

 

[CrawfordCentury]

Thanks, folks. Pretty much confirmed my hunch. Seeing that we only burn a few dozen gallons each year, there's a good chance that what we have on hand will last us for a long time.

In the meantime, should I get any fungus. I'll just saunter down cellar should I get a hankerin for some portabellos or some morels.

 

[JustWood]

http://www.powerservice.com/bk/

Don't wait till your system is phaqed up to add biocide. Use it as preventitive maintenance if you know fuel will sit a long time.
If your system pulls off the drain plug outlet on your tank you can add a T with a valve so that you can occaisionaLEE drain off the bottom 5-10 gallons. Then filter the dirty fuel through a pair of old blue jeans and return to tank. Denim filters finer than most fuel filters.

 

[gerry100]

Chris S -

should be a safe,doable but not a pleasant drive due to all of the rain/snow mix.

West of the Hudson will be more snowy, Rensselaer county (where I am)and east more rain in the mix.

Good Luck

 

[Chris S]

Drove to Albany last night, north of Poughkeepsie was all rain. Had a very nice dinner, headed home around 9- approx 100 mile drive. At Pou. the snow started again. The last 30 miles was 20-30 mph, and now I'm stuck in my driveaway in a 3' drift, and the plow is in the garage 1000' away with a whole bunch of 3' frifts in between. I think we got 2' here between 3pm & midnight, plus the 10" I plowed off before that. But.... i had dinner with my daughter for her Birthday!

Now I just have to figure out how to go get my tractor which is about 6 miles away.

 

[billb3]

Thanks, folks. Pretty much confirmed my hunch. Seeing that we only burn a few dozen gallons each year, there's a good chance that what we have on hand will last us for a long time.

In the meantime, should I get any fungus. I'll just saunter down cellar should I get a hankerin for some portabellos or some morels.

You're welcome.



[/sarcasm]