Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

[scrobo]

Wow. What a bombshell my oil inspector dropped on me Monday.

I have an oil burning furnace and an oil burning water heater. Both are supplied by an indoor tank in my basement. The burner supply lines and return lines are plasticized metal pipes that are run into a trench that was dug out of the concrete floor in the basement. They were then covered with concrete.

That was fine in August 2008. Apparently not so now. Now the lines must be above ground. So I have 2 options they say.

1. Dig them out.
2. Run new lines.

Anyone in Ontario having the same issue? Or possibly anyone who is TSSA certified who can answer this for me? They say it is not to code anymore and they are stopping delivery of my fuel untill I correct the problem.

What's safer. Running them below concrete or havin them above ground where people can trip over them or things can fall on them? Goddarn government is full of retards. Any information is apreciated. I won't be starting the excavation for at least a month. Maybe the lines will break during the excavation and I can have an environmental emergency.

On a side note: The inspector informed me that it would be ok when I build a sub floor over top of them. That should be next year. So covering them with insulation and wood is fine.

Idiots.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Will they consider the grandfather clause...... which would allow them to remain untouched?

 

[joed]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

This is TSSA. They are a real pain and grandfather is not in their mandate.

 

[NoKlu]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Can you dig them up and just cover the trench with some kind of grate? Seems they are more worried about leaking lines than the safety of the system. They are sure getting some stupid laws out east lately. Good luck

 

[dolluper]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Pretty simple fix...turn off tank valve ,cut lines with an oil catcher under them ,replace lines then bleed system....and by the way get a copy of the code from the inscepter that flagged the system

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

All this and no anti siphon valve. I don't understand that industry at all.
I have all the new fancy lines, but I had a fitting start leaking on my furnace's burner.
Had I not come home, it would've emptied the tank.

 

[scrobo]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

No grandfathering allowed on this one boys. They've got me over the tank with my pants down.

Funny how my insurance company called during the week to inform me that I need to bring the lines up to code or they will cancel my insurance. I am allowed to dig them out. That is going to be my first option. I'm dumping my current oil supplier. I am sure they contacted the insurance company.

If the oil wasn't so cheap to heat with I'd switch to gas over this. I'm so outright mad. I don't know how deep they go but they've been under the concrete for 10 years so I hope they are in good shape under there. They are plasticized lines so I feel ok about that.

Damn regulations. Arghhh.....

 

[jimr]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

screw them. burn the house down and collect the insurance money before they cancel you. and move to the states but bring beer

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Here in NJ you cant sell a house with a under ground oil tank,the seller has to switch it out. your best choice is to run in new lines, and abandon the buried one, there cheap.
I suppose lines as well, its about protecting the ground water. a gallon of fuel oil pollutes 50000 gallons of drinking water, or more. 20 years ago insurance companies stop writing environmental coverage for oil tanks in the ground. I installed propane, not environmental risk.
reason that a wood floor over the fuel line would be OK is that the basement is still a catchment for the spill, you will smell the oil, with out it leaking in to the ground and having to dig up a massive about of dirt from under your house because of a 100 gallons of oil leak. say OK to having oil in the bilge, but not in the lake.

 

[scrobo]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Do yo have toregister your underground tank in NJ? You have to here. I don't have to register an indoor tank yet

My insurance guy just recently wrote a house off that had a leak. The botom of the tank rotted out and around 600litres (Do your own conversions here... ) dumped into the basement. They had to tear down the entire house and dig up every bit of concrete that was contaminated.

Now mind you this is great for the owner. Except for the time they had to move their stuff into storage and live in a hotel for the time. But a nice new house.

I can understand the environmental concern. Oil WILL pollute groundwater. It's not some sort of "guess" like global warming. But it just seems like being encased in concrete you would have minimal chances of leaks. Plus the lines are coated in a thick plastic.

Or maybe I'm just mad tey're telling me what I am allowed to do in my own home

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Oil to me is just bad news, blow backs, maintenance on the burner, and cost, propane is per gallon is adjusted to be competitive to cost per BTU against oil, and their is no burner maintenance
I would go with natural gas if its available, and a natural gas auto to self fuel at home too, see the pickens plan, Honda sells them and the fuel system too, no road fuel tax, and Eco friendly, best maintenance for both the furnace and auto.
geothermal heat pumps would definitely get my interest with radiant floor heat.

i put a outdoor wood burner, haven't bought propane in two years, may have to this year as my supply has run out and lot clearing is down, wood competition is way up and the cost is too high for the work vs propane.

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

In NJ they outlawed farm gasoline and diesel fuel tanks, unless they met the same codes as commercial gas stations. If you have a home tank of Oil I definitely would have a new double walled indicator type tank, or a catchment well around it.

 

[scrobo]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Yah my insurance company recommended a catchment well around the tank room to ensure a leak will not spread throughout the entire basement. I can understand their concern. My last house was gas heat and I spent around $1600-$1800 a year on hot water and furnace. About the same sq footage and newer windows and insulation than the place I have now. The oil appealed to me for the low cost. (Can't verify the costs outside my area but it was less than $1000 last year.) My tank is about 10 years old now and I've been told the insurance company will cover me for 25 years on the tank before I have to change it provided it is inspected anually.

(Hence the discovery that my lines are not to code.)

I am preparing my hammer and chisel. I will attempt to chisel them out. I have high hopes for success.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Is there any reason why you can't just cut the old lines off with a sawzall flush with the floor? Or cut them sort of flush then whack em with a BFH? And then run new lines the way you have to? Heck you can even use a vac pump to suck out whatevers in the old lines.

 

[mars bar]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Hey Scrobo, your neighbor here in St.Catharines. Had the same problem ,maybe the same idiot too! got fed up and went to gas, Tank was supposed to be out dated. Hey caught an 8lb walleye of Point Abino Saturday.

 

[joed]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Need more info on the Walleye.

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

with the gas conversion you can also cook and run your clothes dryer, depending on on your kWh cost it can be a saving. my kw is 11cent so i switch from propane appliances to electric. propane gas has to be less than 241 a gallon to compete. for heat on a thermal storage i can get electric at 6 cents an hour .
and nat gas is a utility, cant be shut off if the bill isnt paid if hard time come up, the oil man isnt so favorable.

 

[Mike Robinson]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Just wondring why your lines need to be run along the floor. Can't you attach new ones to the wall?

 

[mars bar]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

purple worm harness on down rigger at 20 ft. 100ft out.

 

[mars bar]

Re: Home heating Oil in Canada. New Regulations?

Hey Joed, another neighbour. In the Niagara.