So you have an underground oil tank. Maybe you are selling your house or just need to know if your tank is leaking precious fuel oil into the ground. Oil tanks are usually a mystery to most homeowners, you are not alone! We at American Petroleum are here to help you make sense of tank testing and what to look for in a company. First ,make sure your Tank Testing company is certified by the equipment manufacturer. We also recommend finding a company that does everything in house (They are able to handle all phases of operation) Some companies will give you a reduced price upfront for the tank test and then charge more for the install and or removal of an oil tank. Companies will also hire another company for install/removal and pass additional costs to the customer. The most accurate tank test today is the EZY 3 locator plus. It is a non volumetric vacuum test, The EZY 3 Locator Plus consists of a Microphone placed in the ullage of the underground tank. The Microphone is connected to our Acoustic Signal Processor and to a head set enabling the test operator to listen to the acoustic sounds in the tank. Using our Motor/Blower Assembly a slight negative pressure is applied to the tank system, air and/or water will be drawn into the tank if a leak exists. These acoustic signals are recognized by a certified testing operator and characterized as an ullage portion leak/hiss sound or product portion leak/bubble sound. If ground water is above the tank bottom, our Conductive Water Sensor shall be used. Leak rate of 0.1 gallon per hour with Probability of detection = 98.0% and Probability of False Alarm = 1%.
Tank testing time will vary but a good rule of thumb would be a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 full hour. Do not be afraid to ask the technician if you can listen inside your tank, most will be happy to share the information with you and tell you what to listen for.
If you have a high water table in your area (water above the tank top) make sure the tester uses water finding paste and uses some type of water sensor inside the tank. If for any reason your tank fails a tank test ask the tester if it is something simple that can be fixed from the tank top piping ( a fill or vent) or does the tank itself have a problem. Usually a tank test failure will be in the piping which is an easier problem to deal with (instead of a full tank removal) The tester should also be able to give you a verbal result before leaving the site. The tank test report should be a final test result and include a site plot of the area. Hopefully this blog will give you some insight into the testing process. Feel free to call us anytime for all your environmental needs.
Erik
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