[zen]

1. Make sure they don't leak. Look for signs of leakage, before you fill!

2. Change filter every year, (usually when you get furnace serviced)

3. Do not run too low, the sludge at the bottom will cause havoc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by surreal

I hear they get sludge in them.. do you clean that or ignore it??

Ignore it.


SLUDGE--WHAT IS IT?

In your storage tank you have two materials to combat; water and particles of solid chemical compounds, commonly called sludge. Water is due mostly to condensation and leaking manholes, and occasionally from the oil supplier. Regardless, it is always found either on the tank bottom or stratified at different levels throughout the oil. Modern refining cracking processes produce fuel oils that are subject to sludge formation. The sludge particles are formed principally by blending and mixing fuel oils of different types, either at the refinery or in the consumer's tank. They may also be formed from reactions due to moisture, heat and oxidation, but the amounts from these factors are small. When the sludge particles are formed, they are quite small and if they remained so, little trouble would occur. Unfortunately, they increase in size as they adhere to each other, becoming so large as to block lines, strainers, pumps and burner nozzles, if drawn into the system.

WHAT DOES A TREATMENT DO?

Many fuel oil treatments on the market today are strictly solvents, which is not the type you want or need. It is extremely difficult to dissolve fuel oil sludge once it has formed, unless excessive quantities of solvent are used, as several times the quantity of sludge present would be necessary. Therefore, a solvent-type treatment is not practical because: The small amounts of treatment used cannot dissolve all the sludge. Not all solvents have the ability to dissolve sludge. A complete treatment should improve atomization and combustion. This cannot be accomplished with small dosages of a solvent-type treatment. As you cannot readily and economically dissolve fuel oil sludge, a treatment must produce the following reactions : Stabilize the fuel oil to minimize sludge formation. Disperse the sludge already present, or formed, as small minute particles. This will permit passage through your system, and out the burner nozzle for combustion. True sludge is easily combustible if particle size remains small. Emulsify and disperse the water so that it too will pass through the system without spitting and sputtering caused by occluded water.