so along with replacing my 70 year old heating system is the replacement of the 275 gallon tank above ground in the garage ,I pumped out the remaing 6 inches of fuel oil ...dragged it outside and took a sawzall to it and cut it in half .Scrap guys came and its history [i wonder if i could of left it ..we seem to throw so much out in this country ]Anyway the existing copper tubing goes from garage in concrete floor aprox 15 feet to boiler room .ive been advised to not reuse it.So i have to buy a tank and was told i can run a new copper tube from tank to boiler room but overhead and a two pipe or tube system .Can anyone explain this set up?The old tank had one outlet on it do i need to buy a tank set up for this two pipe deal ?Any other ideas?

The two pipe oil system utilizes a supply and return line from/to the tank. Its advantage is that you rarely 'lose prime' but its BIG disadvantage is that for every gallon of oil that you supply to the burner, nine gallons are being returned to the tank. Result: more turnover = more oxidation = quicker sludge accumulation.

If your oil tank is higher than the burner, I suggest finding a way to make a single pipe system work even if it means relocating the tank.

Interestimg ...yeah i poured a 3inch pad for the new boiler so it still will be lower then the tank .I guess i will be busting up some concrete to run a new one line .Is there a coated copper available for undergroud?

Is it possible to run the line around the perimeter of the garage floor to the burner?

no it would be like a 80 foot run .

... or similar ...



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

you can run the oil line overhead for that short a distance (15 feet) with no problem. just have to make sure there are no leaks. the oil burner pump will pull air into the copper and the flow will stop.
roth tanks are piped like this all the time. in this picture the tubing runs down to within a inch of the bottom. your tank will feed from the bottom, run up to the ceiling and over and down to the burner. use the copper tubing with the orange jacket to conform to code.

packy...Does it have to be a 2 stage pump on the burner? I don't know much about oil burners. I leave them to the pros. I can only parrot what I have read. Aren't some burners problematic when run over head? I have read that the cure for this problem, is something called a tiger loop?

back a few years ago the insurance companies were refusing to insure a home's oit tank etc if the copper was not sheilded. so, all the oil ilnes that were plain old copper buried under cement had to be replaced. lots of work for me and the oil men around here.
some lines could be replaced and encased in liquid-tite others had to be run over head. dozens that i did overhead were fine just as they were.

what was that bern showed ?A threshold to use in front of doorways to hide and protect tubing?....PACKY..are you saying i dont need a two pipe system ?That because its a short distance the oilburner will pull the oil?

Also packy do you have an opinion on reusing the existing tubing that is in the concrete 70 years old ?Just curious how a pro would approach it

One stage pump will do fine on most residential. With one pipe system that is higher (and even on plane) than the pump, if any air at all is introduced, the pump will lose prime. The Tiger Loop is made just for that condition and prevents airlock.

i would not use the tubing under the floor. just use some of the orange jacketed copper tubing and run it overhead.
the new oil tank will have a 1/2 inch tapping on the bottom and none on the lower side. use a special (not expensive) oil tank valve. dope up the threads, screw it into the bottom, screw on a cartridge type oil filter, screw a 3/8 flare x male adapter into the filter then run the tubing to the burner. at the burner you want a 3/8 inch LONG angle firomatic valve.

reuse the 1 1/4 steel fill and vent if you want. nothing goes wrong with it. do get a new combination tank gauge and whistle.
lastly, do not pipe the 1 1/4 fill so when filling the oil dump ontop of the cork float..

Quote

what was that bern showed ?

Floor mounted 'raceway' generally used to protect electric cables, but also available to act as a 'trench'.

The good (expensive) stuff is sectional and interlocks to make 'runs' - the 'tab ends' not needed for interlocking would be cut off for a good finish/look if needed.

If sized well for 3/8 tube it would not present more of a tripping hazard than the tube itself, less in fact.

another example:





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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Packy, You're still using 1-1/4" fill and vent? In MA????

What do you use down there? I see 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 here.

2" fill and vent required for the last twenty years or so to reduce excessive pressures on tank from high flow delivery rates.

As far as I know, the only change here, was to require the same size vent as fill.