Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

Perhaps. But i just moved here and i have to deal with what i have for now. Remember, disability isnt exactly a big money maker. And due to unforeseen family issues -_- ... im now stuck with a mortgage i cant really afford. So im renting out rooms to pay that. I also got some medical issues for my pets i really need to get taken care of. ... So redoing my entire heating system is not in my foreseeable future. (unless youd like to do it for me)

Id love to look in to heating options, replace the windows and other main appliances and everything else. It just aint happening any time soon. But more on point, i dont see how an indoor oil tank in itself is a bad idea.

bobvilla

Tanks have pipes that go through the wall to the outside of the house. A driver doesnt need to go inside to fill up a tank.

Tho i can see replacing them being an issue. But even so, most tanks are made thin enough to fit through door ways. Would be heavy as hell to move, but weight doesnt change from location. My tank is a little less then 28" wide. That can fit even through my narrow doorways.

Leaks suck no matter where they are. But id rather a small leak inside rather then outside. At least inside you have a good chance if seeing it. Where as outside you might not. Plus, if your on well water, id rather not have that stuff leaking into the ground.

A guy on another site mentioned this one. And ill admit... the first real good reason iv heard so far. I cant imagine dealing with that mess....

P&R has become my favorite thread, and that's something I never thought I'd say about this site :O

I read that. Interesting read.
But for this, im not referring to efficiency or what type of heating source is better. Rather the dangers of having an oil tank indoors (in a basement) opposed to out doors.

Out door tanks are subject to ever changing elements. It can cause condensation on the inside of the tank. Aside form the obvious, it can lead to microbial bacteria formation in there. It can also cause the oil to gel/gunk up.

These are note worthy issues to having an out door tank. So far, i have not heard the same examples with in door tanks. Since the oil is refined and processed these days in a way that makes it insanely hard to ignite through normal means. That issue is mostly mute. And as stated in above reply, tanks are now made thin enough to fit through door ways, so replacing them doesnt require knocking down a wall (which would be a major problem ill admit).

FYi; im not arguing in favor of oil or anything. I was genuinely wondering about this topic when someone mentioned it to me. Its not the kind of thing for me to ignore. So im not raising pom poms in favor, im just trying to find some good facts or legitimate arguments.

(and sorry for the triple post. Wasnt intending on that)

edit: to me it caught me off guard. My house as a kid had an oil tank inside. My friends houses had oil tanks inside. As an adult my moms house (different then childhood house) has an oil tank inside. The house i just got has an oil tank inside. Inside oil tanks where all i ever saw in my life. Iv only seen one or two houses that had outside ones and that was only while driving past them. So the idea that indoor is bad caught me off guard.

Having a large quantity of a highly flammable substance in your dwelling is most certainly not moot, no matter how seemingly hard it is to ignite it.

Best option is to not have a tank at all, especially considering how asininely expensive they are to refill.

Oh Hugh!

if you wanna buy me a new system, ill gladly change it'

GBD 14!

I wanna say this was Nothing Happens: The Episode, but there were actually some decent character moments.
New MS look neat.
Also holy ***, did Patrick ditch his old Force and join the 7th Panzer Division?! (y'A')y

and yet here you are talking about it.... >.>

the word is MOOT

the definition is

Definition of moot

1 a : open to question : debatable
b : subjected to discussion : disputed
2 : deprived of practical significance : made abstract or purely academic

Let's assume you mean "deprived of practical significance" and you are still WRONG because it's not, because heating oil is flammable or you couldn't use it to heat your home with.

Number 2 fuel oil has a flash point of 52 °C (126 °F). so NO you can't drop a lit cigarette in the tank. Why? because it would explode before the cigarette hit the oil. Probably while it was still hanging from your lips while you removed the cap to the tank.

Diesel (which is very similar) for equipment must be below 15ppm sulfur, heating oil must be below 500 ppm sulfur. that's why it stinks so bad.

It's a flammable liquid, tanks and pipes are prone to leaking, it's impossible to clean up. It's impossible to get rid of the smell, it's 4X as expensive as natural gas. It's bad and you should feel bad for defending it.

If you have a natural gas leak you "clean" it up by opening a *** window.... I tell you what. Here is a simple test. Go buy a gallon of diesel and spill in your garage or basement floor and then let us know how long it takes you to clean it up. Please smoke while doing it.

We get it. You have warm emotional attachment because your idiot parents used it when you were a kid. That doesn't make everyone's else's clearly spelled out arguments against it as "mute"

With the cost savings of switching to natural gas you could pay off the new furnace in as little as two years. Your point is moot! You want the truth!? you can't handle the truth!!!

Damn Nik.

Oil and LP/Natural Gas Tank & Fuel Explosion Hazards

"Deaths Draw Attention to Dangers of Oil Tanks" reported the New York Times 13 April 2010. The explosions and deaths of (usually) teenagers described in the NY Times article did not involve residential oil storage tanks.

The deaths reported by the Times have been associated with larger outdoor above-ground storage tanks often found in residential areas in the rural southern and western U.S. Accidents, explosions, and sometimes deaths occur when oil (or natural gas) vapors, released through a storage tank roof hatch are ignited by a spark from a cigarette, firework, cigarette lighter, or gun.

"The explosions are so violent that victims' bodies are often thrown up to 200 feet from the tanks." the Times reported. Property owners where these fuel storage tanks are installed are encouraged (sometimes legally required) to post adequate safety warning signs and access control fencing.

COMMENT: Why would a 14-year-old Springtown TX teenaged boy drop burning paper into an active fuel storage tank?
OPINION: Because teens, believing they are invincible, try stupid stunts. Attorneys may argue that unprotected outdoor fuel storage tanks are an attractive nuisance to teens.


Also because idiots on the internet claim cigarettes will be extinguished if you drop them in a tank of fuel and stupid kids test it out.

He'd look even better in an OZ uniform. But honestly, who wouldn't?

I sincerely hope that none of you ever have to visit a pediatric burn ward. They are filled with the children of idiots who thought they could smoke while handling fuel oil and gasoline.

This week they will be particularly crowded from all the firework related burns.

I mean I am the first to flip out on morons and them smoking around tanks of flammable liquids, but still...damn

I believe iv clearly stated time and again that this has nothing to do with a love of oil. Mearly the fact that until a couple days ago when someone mentioned in door dangers, i had never once heard of one. My whole life, from ppl i know, and ppl i dont know, have talked about dangers and risk of out door tanks and under ground tanks, but in 30~ years i never heard anyone mention dangers of in door basement tanks. Which is the reason i asked about it. Seemed rather important to find some good info to see if there was legitimacy to this claim.

This was never a question about efficiency. This was never a question about which is cheaper. It was never a question about what one i should switch to. It was simply a question of legit dangers of in door tanks.

--

But since 'its to expensive you should switch' and me being some lover of oil (never thought id utter that phrase) keeps coming up, ill tell you why that is not an option. And this will likely end up a long rant.

First off, Iv personally never used oil heat for a full winter season. So that alone kinda shatters that idea. But to go further, iv never used most anything for a full winter. The only thing iv used is a space heater in my bed room. So oil lover is hardly fitting.

In my last place it had an electric furnace built into it. If you want to talk about high costs, that certainly qualifies. My first month there i turned it on for about 2 weeks~ ish. But then i turned it off for the rest of the month because i wanted to see what the cost was, since it was first time using an electric furnace. Bill came in at over $400 for that month. Needless to say, i shut it off and never used it again. I put a space heater in my bed room and that was it. (Fortunately my pets are cold lovers and the pipes were mostly underground.)

I mention that to drive home this following fact. Im on permanent disability, for life, due to a massive back injury, amongst other issues. Now im a heat loving guy to begin with. I dont tolerate cold well. Lower then 75f and i feel a chill, yea.. that level. Cold can be painful to me. Now with the injury on top of that, cold can be very painful. So i do not take likely having to spend the last 5~ years in the cold every winter. But i do. For a very simple reason. I cant afford to change that fact! This may be a shocker, but disability is not a get rich quick kinda thing. I make less then minimum wage on it. So paying the outrageous monthly bills was not an option. Nor is converting my system at my new place an option. Cant afford either. Id like to. I have no objections against it. I simply can not afford to at this moment. If you want to pay for it, then you can come over and watch them change the system in person!

(And i know someone will bring it up so ill say it now, public/state assistance isnt much of an option. Already looked in to it then. I would qualify for $100 heating a year and $16 a month in food. Really not going to get far on that. So since i can deal with it atm, i left those untouched. I know someone in more need then me can use it.)

As for right now in the time line, i just had to move again. (a situation where staying was easier but over time it would become impossible to maintain. Or move to where i am now, which is a lot harder now, but in time should become a little easier. So i have to think long term. These injuries wont heal themselves.)

This house came with an oil tank already in side the basement. I didnt put there, i didnt buy it after getting here, it was already in. Of course i dont use that either. Cant afford to fill that any more then i could afford the electric furnace. And still cant afford to convert it. In fact due to family financial emergencies, im renting out my rooms just to pay the mortgage here. (another long story.)

--


A couple days ago i was on a wood working forum (real life, not crafting) seeking some advise on certain subjects; When someone saw the tank on one of my pictures i posted. And he kinda freaked out about the dangers of that. But despite a few back and fourths, never presented a real reason as to why it was a danger. But it naturally seemed like something i should look in to. I didnt find a whole lot on my search. Everything i found was about dangers of outside tanks and underground tanks. And they all said that indoor tanks are the safest way to go. So i figured id ask here and see if anyone had any insights to it.

So again, this question is not about cost between different types of sources. It is not about efficiency. It is not about switching to a new system, i simply cant do it. I simply asked about real dangers that indoor tanks might have.

/end my sounding like a lunitic

oh, and i most definitely apologize for my misuse of the word moot. I humbly ask for your deepest forgiveness of such treachery. And i will try never to repeat such a horrid thing again.

Shipley Energy