Oil tanks come in all shapes and sizes and each keeps our precious home heating oil safe and secure. These can range from plastic single skin tanks and hardy steel tanks to the robust bunded tanks. A bunded tank simply means that the tank has an inner and an outer layer. It is a tank within a tank. The double wall will protect your heating oil if the inner oil tank splits or develops a crack. The outer skin can has the capacity to keep all of the inner oil safe in the event of a break in the wall. So, a bunded tank will give you double the protection.
Here at Enviroleak, our expert technical team always recommend installing a bunded plastic tank to homeowners if at all possible. This is the safest way to store heating oil. We base this advice on the fact that a bunded tank offers that extra layer of protection against costly accidental oil spillages, theft and against the likelihood of environmental crisis if a leak should occur. Oftec, the leading ‘not for profit' trade organisation for the heating and cooking fuel industries in the UK and Republic of Ireland also recommend that householders with single-skin oil tanks replace them with bunded tanks if they can. The extra protection of double walled tank means that if oil leaks from the main storage tank, the fuel will still be safely contained within the exterior wall. The protection that this extra layer provides is particularly important for homeowners where the environment would be seriously affected in the event of a spill. Thieves often simply cut into a kerosene tank to access the heating oil and steal it away. A bunded tank makes this particular form of theft more difficult but it is also wise to including a locking fill point and an alert system to let you know if there is a sudden drop in fuel levels, either due to theft or leakage.
In the UK, it is now mandatory to use bunded tanks in new builds and when replacing a tank. In Ireland, the law is not as stringent and single skin tanks can still be installed in most domestic situations. For Irish homeowners, bunded tanks are not generally the norm and as they are not a legal requirement, most contractors or homeowners don’t want to pay the extra cost for this more solid storage tank. However, where there is a significant risk of water pollution, the building regulations sate that a bunded tank must be installed. It may be that a risk assessment of the area is needed. Typically tank installations near a river, a well, or any controlled water system will come under the mandatory installing a bunded tank. The rules for commercial and agricultural storage of oil are not the same as those for domestic oil storage and mainly require steel or bunded tanks to ensure the safety of the environment. If you have any concerns about which tank to instal, simply contact Enviroleak and we will be pleased to assist.
In the unlikely and unfortunate event of a kerosene, heating oil spill, remember that at Enviroleak we offer a 24 hour helpline and act quickly and calmly to deal with the situation.
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