What size oil tank do I need?

Most three- to four-bedroom homes are well served by a 1,000 to 1,350 litre tank. Larger houses, AGA users and properties with poor insulation often go to 2,500 litres so they can buy oil in bigger, cheaper deliveries. We size the tank against your actual annual usage at survey.

Do you provide a certificate after installation?

Yes. Every installation is notified and certified by our OFTEC registered engineers, and you receive the completion documentation you will need for your insurer and for any future sale of the property.

Can you move my tank to a different position?

Usually, yes, and it is often the right call if the current position no longer meets separation distances or is awkward for deliveries. Moving a tank means a new base and a longer oil line, both of which we quote for up front.

Service

Oil Tank Installation

Installing an oil tank properly is mostly about what sits underneath and around it. We handle the full job: siting, base and groundworks, tank, oil line, fire protection and certification. You end up with an installation that passes inspection, satisfies your insurer, and does not need revisiting in five years.

Book a free site survey 01673 842874

A green bunded oil tank installed on a level paving-slab base against the brick gable of a house, with the oil line run along the wall

Siting and separation distances

OFTEC Technical Book 3 and Building Regulations Part J set out where a tank can go. As a rule of thumb, a domestic tank needs 1.8 metres from non-fire-rated buildings and openings such as doors, windows and eaves, 1.8 metres from boundaries, and 760mm from non-fire-rated boundary fences. Where those distances cannot be met, a 30-minute fire-rated barrier can be used instead.

Getting this wrong is the most common reason an installation fails inspection. We check separation distances, fire ratings, fill-point visibility and environmental sensitivity at survey stage and design the position around them.

1.8m from non-fire-rated eaves, doors, windows and openings
1.8m from liquid fuel appliance flue terminals
760mm from non-fire-rated boundaries such as timber fencing
600mm from screening such as trellis and foliage
A base extending at least 300mm beyond the tank on all sides

Bases and groundworks

The base carries the full weight of a filled tank, and a 2,500 litre tank holds well over two tonnes of oil. It must be level, non-combustible, imperforate and continuous, and extend 300mm past the tank on every side. Slabs bedded on a proper sub-base are fine for most domestic tanks; larger or agricultural tanks usually want a reinforced concrete pad.

We do our own groundworks, so there is no waiting for a separate builder and no argument about whose responsibility a settled base is.

Domestic, agricultural and commercial

We install across all three sectors: domestic heating oil tanks for homes off the gas grid, bulk kerosene, diesel and HVO tanks for farms and estates, and commercial bunded storage with contents gauges, overfill alarms and lockable fill points. Commercial and agricultural tanks above 200 litres are covered by the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) Regulations, which we build to as standard.