How to check and deal with water in your fuel tank

For those living in the UK, primarily in North Wales and Shropshire - you’ll be acutely aware of the sheer volume of rainfall that we are exposed to annually. Living rurally in these areas can mean that you use heating oil to heat your homes, and they’ll be likely to have a fuel tank outside of their property. This means that extra precautions and care need to be taken when it comes to preventing water from getting into the fuel tank, this is something oil distributors Shropshire are familiar with.

Having water in the fuel tank can create a lot of problematic issues; such as reducing the quality of the fuel, which then goes on to affect the efficiency of the fuel in the tank. If the fuel tank has got water inside it, the primary sources are likely to be rainwater or condensation.

Rainwater can make its way into the fuel tank if openings in the tank are left open by mistake, if the seals are faulty or damaged, or if the overall integrity of the tank has been compromised by perforations, rusting, cracks or splits in the body of the tank itself.

Condensation can occur completely naturally, this happens as a result of temperature difference between the fuel tank and the surroundings.

When receiving a delivery of fuel, it is a good idea to check that the fuel tank openings are sealed properly after the delivery has been made. It is good practice on the part of the driver to ensure that this is done - however there is no harm in checking.

If you notice that water is present within your fuel tank, this can be solved and pumped out by using a small hand pump. The water removed from the tank will be contaminated and as such, will need to be disposed of via your local authority refuse centre.

Once the water in the fuel tank has been safely removed, it would be advisable to flush your boiler feed pipe and to change the oil filter - this will ensure that all traces of water in the fuel tank have been removed from the system. Depending on your fuel tank maintenance skills, this job might be better carried out by an experienced service engineer.

If the cause of water is a failure of the fuel tank, or an associated component- this will need to be properly repaired or the part replaced before any further deliveries of home heating oil can be made, which will avoid a recurrence of the problem.

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