>homebuyer advice>home heated with oil>aboveground oil tank

Aboveground Residential Tanks

Step 1. Search the grounds for buried oil tanks.  

Often, an aboveground tank in the basement or outside the home may indicate a past problem with a leaking underground heating oil tank.   Homeowners, suspecting a problem with an underground tank, would install a basement or an aboveground tank and discontinue using the buried tank as their heating source.  Today, many of these properties still have buried tanks and frequently these tanks have leaked heating oil into the ground.  Therefore, it is critical that the homebuyer identify this problem during their inspection period. 

Recommendation:  Thoroughly search the property for abandoned underground tanks. How? ATS offers expert tank location services which will identify buried oil tanks anywhere on the property.  See our Locate Tanks page to learn more about this issue and our tank location services.

Step 2. Visually inspect the aboveground oil tank.

The aboveground tank should be visually inspected for evidence of corrosion (rust), holes, leaking pipes, loose joints and oil staining.  The inspection should also examine the condition of the tank's support legs.  These support legs should be structurally sound to prevent the tank from collapsing onto the floor or outside soil.

Recommendation:  A visual inspection can identify leaks and corrosion before extensive environmental damage occurs.  ATS offers a complete visual inspection service which includes a written report detailing our findings.  For more information or to arrange an appointment call 1-800-440-8265.  

Step 3.  If the aboveground oil  tank is outside, examine the soil underneath the tank for heating oil.

The homebuyer should be concerned that the property may have had a tank that pre-dated the current one.  If this prior tank leaked heating oil, a new tank may have been installed in the same location.  If this is the case, it is likely that the new tank was installed without regard to the soil condition underneath the tank.

Recommendation:  ATS' visual inspection includes an on-site soil test which will identify  the presence of petroleum in the soil underneath the aboveground tank.  If petroleum is detected as part of this process,  we recommend performing a complete laboratory analysis on the soil. See our soil testing page for more information.