If you heat your whole home by wood or pellets and hardly or never use oil...

[GS7]

Does your oil sitting in your oil tank really go bad after a while? How long does it last? Is it really bad for your oil furnace beyond a certain point?

 

[GENECOP]

I would not let it go more than a season...and I always use a Biocide and stabilizer.....there are also benefits to periodically using the oil side of things....you want to know it will be there and working should you need it....

 

[saskwoodburner]

Before getting a wood stove, we ran (still run) a fuel oil furnace for 10 years, an old Intertherm Mac-1265 in a mobile home. Anyways, older lady down the road passed away and her house was vacant for a few years. Friend of the ladies family moved in there, and he had no use for fuel oil, wood burner all the way. I horse traded for probably 100 gallons of the stuff.

We tilted the tank, which was indoors in the basement, and left it a day. A few gallons of rusty ugly stuff came out, the rest was fine. I strained it through cloth while loading my slip tank, and again when it went into my home tank. Worked fine, no different than fresh stuff. Your luck may vary. I wouldn't leave a furnace for a year and turn it on though.

 

[GS7]

I would not let it go more than a season...and I always use a Biocide and stabilizer.....there are also benefits to periodically using the oil side of things....you want to know it will be there and working should you need it....

Can you recommend a particular biocide? and stabilizer? My oil tank is half full maybe it is best to leave it there. I was just about to fill it.

 

[newyorker]

i know a guy.... who had access to free fuel... took 25 gallons a day for many years had a huge barn full of drums and hes been retired for 10 years and he is still useing it

 

[newyorker]

that sounds crazy i know

 

[brant2000]

I believe it newyorker. I have a relative who switched over from oil about 6 years ago. This fall we pumped out about 250 gallons from his tank and into another family member's. No issues so far. Unlike ICE's, boilers/furnaces are relatively forgiving when it comes to fuel quality.

 

[TimfromMA]

I use pellets primarily but oil is required for hot water. A full tank lasts me a year.

 

[heaterman]

My experience has been that if the oil stored is clean and water free it will last almost indefinitely. We have seen people use oil that has been sitting for 10-15 years with no problem.
A contractor I know in Alaska told me they were cleaning up an old military site and found 55 drums of #1 oil from WWII. Like dozens of them all full and unopened. This was probably 10 years ago but I know he said he heated his house and shop with it for a several years until it was gone. The oil had been stored for at least 50-60 years at the time.

 

[JRHAWK9]

This is our first year heating solely with wood. We have an LP water heater and drier (and LP furnace which will only be used when we are out of town and not able to load the wood furnace). I'm also curious as how long LP stays. I'm guessing quite awhile, but that's just a guess. I'm guessing we'll be using ~150-200 gallons of LP a year. We have a 500 gallon tank.

 

[peakbagger]

A fairly standard recommendation is Biobor http://www.biobor.com/fuel-additives/diesel-fuel-additives/ most boating suppliers stock it. The PITA for stored oil is that you are supposed to add it to the tank before filling to mix it in which is no good if you have a tank already full. I have some waiting until I get drill pump to turn over the fuel in my tank. This stuff is strictly a biocide and not a stabilizer. I have a jet heater with 20 year old #1 and still runs fine.

Generally in other than marine environments #2 heating fuel lasts a long time, usually the tank bottom rots out first. In marine environments once the bacteria gets in the tank its a bear to kill and the boat owner just starts treating it from then on.

A big scam is when owners switch to NG and some shyster charges to pump the tank and dispose of the heating oil. I guarantee the disposal method is resell it to a customer. The scum on the bottom does need disposal but its pretty small volume.

 

[heaterman]

This is our first year heating solely with wood. We have an LP water heater and drier (and LP furnace which will only be used when we are out of town and not able to load the wood furnace). I'm also curious as how long LP stays. I'm guessing quite awhile, but that's just a guess. I'm guessing we'll be using ~150-200 gallons of LP a year. We have a 500 gallon tank.

The tank will rust through before the LP goes bad.

 

[BoilerMan]

LP will last indefinatly as its in a closed environment. I have about 125 gal of fuel in my tank from 2010 and it shows no signs of loosing its volatility. I'm thinking of topping it off as its cheaper now than it was then. I used it for heating water in the summer before i got my HPWH. I need to connect it so I actually have backup heat.

TS

 

[Boil&Toil]

If you have half a tank (fuel oil), get some biocide, put it in, and then have the tank filled; (unless the tank is exceeding rusty, in which case get a new tank, pump out the old one, and fill the new one.) Airspace in the tank promotes condensation, and water is the enemy here. You might also double up on filters so any crud is well-trapped before it meets your burner.

LP is as close to invariant as they come - it's sealed under pressure, and even fine for motors (ie, generator sets) over the very long term (it's just a relatively expensive-per-BTU fuel (at least in New England) if you actually need to burn it - storage-wise you couldn't ask for better.)

 

[GS7]

My experience has been that if the oil stored is clean and water free it will last almost indefinitely. We have seen people use oil that has been sitting for 10-15 years with no problem.
A contractor I know in Alaska told me they were cleaning up an old military site and found 55 drums of #1 oil from WWII. Like dozens of them all full and unopened. This was probably 10 years ago but I know he said he heated his house and shop with it for a several years until it was gone. The oil had been stored for at least 50-60 years at the time.

WOW! I guess starting with a full tank would help keep out the condensation.

 

[JP11]

I let my oil boiler come on every 5 or 6 weeks. I had a few issues with the pump sticking otherwise. Never worried about the fuel. My tanks are in the utility room, so no temp swings, no condensation.

JP

 

[mike van]

A few years ago I scraped an old abandoned camper - The frame had rusted so bad the camper had colapsed on itself. The propane tank on the hitch was full, we cooked a lot of hamburgers with that gas. I'm guessing mid 80's?

 

[maple1]

After considering how much I would actually be using backup heat - I yanked out my oil burner & oil tank & use an electric boiler for backup heat & electric hot water heater for summer DHW.

Should have done it years ago.