Emptying Kerosene tank of water

Nameloced

So thanks to Ophelia, I lost the shed that protected my oil tank and the lid off the top of the tank. Because of the rain that came down the next few days, its clear that I will have water in the tank. I didnt think I had much left in there so I started to empty it by disconnecting the hose and pouring into a drum.

I know kerosene and water dont mix so should I expect to see a slightly clear lquid come out first? Ideally I would like to save as much kerosene as possible

Luckysasha

Any idea of the volume of water that’s in the tank ? I’m guessing that if your tank was near empty and for talk sake 50 liters of rain entered the tank then if you put 1000 liters of kerosene in on top of it I can’t imagine the rain would dilute the kerosene enough to cause any harm.

Nameloced

not too sure, I tried emptying and so far got to 75 litres and still going!!
All the liquid was kerosene coloured.
I was going to have another 500 litres put in. would it be safe to put that 75 litres back in then?

Nekarsulm

You wouldn't have more than a gallon of water altogether.
Even if you got an inch of rain a day (unlikely) through a 6 inch top opening it's only a few litres.
You have it long gone, and that's if it even made it to the outlet.
Remember oil tanks are installed with a slight slope away from the outlet, for this very reason.

exaisle

Nameloced wrote: »

not too sure, I tried emptying and so far got to 75 litres and still going!!
All the liquid was kerosene coloured.
I was going to have another 500 litres put in. would it be safe to put that 75 litres back in then?

You may be overestimating the amount of water in the tank...you don't actually know when the lid blew off, do you?
I'd be surprised if there was much more than a litre or so. Work out the area of the hole and the amount of rain that fell when there was no lid....

Is there something like this on the system between the tank and the boiler?

http://www.fueldump.co.uk/products/Water-Trap-Filter-for-Heating-Oil.html

If so, I'd just empty it regularly for the time being...

If not, maybe get one!

Cerco

Get some water detection paste. Spread 4 or 5 rings at different levels on the end of a rod and dip it into the tank. Normally green when you apply it, and turns pink when in contact with water..
It will show you the level of water. Check to see if this is well below the outlet pipe. If so you are okay, if not pump some more out and check again.
Waste of time adding more kerosene as the water will remain at the bottom and if it is above outlet it will damage your burner.
When you eventually get kerosene leave it for an hour or so after filling to allow water to settle back below outlet.

Wearb

Whoever services your boiler will have a way of checking for water and an easier way of removing any found there.

Cerco

Luckysasha wrote: »

Any idea of the volume of water that’s in the tank ? I’m guessing that if your tank was near empty and for talk sake 50 liters of rain entered the tank then if you put 1000 liters of kerosene in on top of it I can’t imagine the rain would dilute the kerosene enough to cause any harm.

Water will not dilute kerosene, they do not mix. Water sinks to the bottom.
Op if you want to save kerosene then pump into a transparent 20L drum. Leave to settle and you will see the kerosene on top and the water below.

If you are not comfortable doing this then consider a call out as recommended above.

Tom44

https://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forestry-suppliers.com%2FImages%2FOriginal%2F3379_76561_p1.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forestry-suppliers.com%2Fproduct_pages%2FProducts.asp%3Fmi%3D33791&docid=Zln92Meo1H-JVM&tbnid=Dwl2XQG9s2fKjM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiAk5adnorXAhXBbBoKHcT8DeUQMwg5KAAwAA..i&w=800&h=398&client=tablet-android-om-lge&bih=601&biw=962&q=water%20finding%20paste&ved=0ahUKEwiAk5adnorXAhXBbBoKHcT8DeUQMwg5KAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8

I easily pump out 2 tanks a week (if level is bad) if outlet is 2.5" up and you have 1/4" water, then it's not a problem.
Water sseparates from kerosene in 10 seconds.
As an expert, I (we) know that.
Draining off oil from the outlet or burner is hilariously ridiculous (no offence intended)
But there's no better words, other than get it checked out by a professional.


I wish water finding paste was regularly used , it's not. :mad:

i57dwun4yb1pt8

i just took out 16 litres from my tank, probably never been done in 12 years since new .
id say its all condensation over the years . so maybe 1 to 1 and a half litres a year of water .

the liquid was a dirty light pee colour with bits of crud in it - as we go to the end the crud increased until it went pink as keosene.

i estimate approx 3/4 inch in depth in the tank .

i tired everywhere to find the paste but couldnt get any , so made up a pump with copper pipe and clear hose and a squgeey hand return pump took me over an hour and my hands are knackered- ive ordered a drill powered pump for next time.