When I got up today, I smelled the sweet smell of #2 heating oil. I went to the basement and checked the oil boiler, no leaks. I went over to the oil tanks , no leaks. I then followed the path of the oil line along the wall where I quickly saw a wet spot. Once I got everything cleared out of the way, it was obvious I found the leak. The copper fuel line had been encased in concrete along the corner of the wall and floor when the house was built in 1987. It did have some plastic tape covering it before it was mortared in but it was obvious that the mortar has eaten the copper. I had about 500 gallons of oil in the tanks so I am glad it was just a wet spot instead of a pool.
Unlike Maine, NH doesnt require replacing copper lines with vinyl coated lines but I would highly recomend it. Unfortunately, I dont have a local supplier for vinyl coated copper so I had to replace a section with bare tubing and compression fittings which I will figure a way to encase or will just buy a vinyl coated line and repeat the process. At least the part of the line that goes under the floor is inside a PVC pipe so I dont have to worry about that section as much. Once I bled the burner, the furnace started right up.
A minor PITA but it could have been a lot worse! If anyoen can recomend an online source for vinyl coated copper fuel line I woudl appreciate it.
Unlike Maine, NH doesnt require replacing copper lines with vinyl coated lines but I would highly recomend it. Unfortunately, I dont have a local supplier for vinyl coated copper so I had to replace a section with bare tubing and compression fittings which I will figure a way to encase or will just buy a vinyl coated line and repeat the process. At least the part of the line that goes under the floor is inside a PVC pipe so I dont have to worry about that section as much. Once I bled the burner, the furnace started right up.
A minor PITA but it could have been a lot worse! If anyoen can recomend an online source for vinyl coated copper fuel line I woudl appreciate it.