Clear and blocked Heating oil vent pipes Explained

[@jameswahl8568]

In reading the comments and replies I have formed an opinion of you as a honest business man and a true gentleman who has empathy and concern and is willing to convey in words a possible reason for their dilemmas. Tip my hat to you good sir. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the video as well.

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

Sorry just saw your reply. Your welcome. Less and less oil companies around these days it seems unfortunately. Still lots of diesel to deliver but even that will go away one day with electric vehicles.

[@BurnoutLS18]

Very thorough and informative video, thanks for the elaboration! I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more views!

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

We are surprised it has almost 10,000 views. It was only done to explain to one of our customers what a blocked vent meant. We figured it would get just their 1 view. We only deliver oil in one county in NJ and have about 2,200 customers. We thought about doing some more informative videos but our company lawyer is leery of liability issues.

[@jjgregory9394]

Great information thank you

[@robbloforese]

Thank you very much for the information. Nice of you to share.

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

We are surprised it has 20,000 views. It was only done to explain to one of our customers what a blocked vent meant. We figured it would get just their 1 view. Glad it has helped so many people out

[@gladysmisener6636]

Thanks for the good info!

[@surimaribo24]

thank you so much for this amazing video

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

You are welcome. We wanted to do a few more informative videos but our company lawyer is leery of anything too detailed or in depth. Where a homeowner might take what we explain and work on their own equipment. We know we had a new customer this year that worked on their own heater instead of having one of our mechanics come out. Caused a fire damaging the house and also themselves caught on fire and had 60% of their body burned and went to the hospital. Oil Heaters are mini flamthrowers (up to 2,000 degree flames), contained in a box in people's basements. While oil itself is pretty safe, the actual heaters can be dangerous if you aren't trained to work on them.

[@airmojo]

Do most oil fills stop at 3/4 full ? My mother-in-law has run out of heating oil several times... her oil tank is in the crawl space of her house, and not easy to get to, but I went down and checked the gauge, and it showed 3/4 full, after a delivery of 140 gallons, and the tank was empty, before the fill... the furnace would not run, and a service guy came and bled the air out of the oil line before it would run. Pretty sure the problem is that her tank is smaller than what the oil company has on record... probably a 175 gallon tank instead of a 275 gallon tank... so the oil company is not delivering the oil soon enough. Called the oil company, and the woman mentioned the oil guy listens for the whistling sound, which I never heard of before. I'm wondering why the tank did not register as full instead of the 3/4 full.

[@forceon959]

Hi, There could be a number of different reasons for this. If the tank is in a crawl space, I assume it could be a horizontal tank. Do A google search and you will see a flat tank, sort of on it's side compared to an upright vertical tank. IF this is the case, you see the whistle and stem in our video. We cut our stems down in half, as it should be. But many people who install them don't. Meaning the whistle/ stem sits very far into the tank. Now on an upright tank its sitting only a little distance into the tank. But if you have a flat tank, then that stem may be sitting 1/4 of the way down easily. A driver will want to stop pumping when the whistle stops. From the outside a driver has no way of knowing if a stem is cut or not. If a stem is cut and a driver keeps pumping at 70-80 gallons a min it's gonna spill all over the place outside. We have some flat tanks that can't be filled up at all. If the customer allows we will cut the pipes and put in a new whistle or cut the old whistle down so we can get the tank filled up further. Another possibility is that whistle stem - see how it will pop up on a new whistle. Sometimes the stems get stuck down and the whistle will stop much further down into the tank. Another possibility is your tank size is smaller than a 275. We have some custom tanks that are 200 gallons in size and one that is a 140 tank and one that is a 180 tank. A mechanic saying there was air in the line means you most likely ran out of oil. Look back on past oil deliveries, have you ever gotten a delivery of more than 140-150 gallons? So what kind of tank is in the crawl space? flat/horizontal?

[@airmojo]

@@forceon959 It is flat/horizontal tank... different than the one that I have in the basement of my house... like it was mounted on it's side rather than "upright" like mine is... I don't have any past bills to reference... only the past few months from this winter, and they were all under 140 gallons... my mother-in-law passed away last November, and we are trying to get the house ready to sell soon. She had the house built about 30 years ago, and I know she had the oil run out several times over the years, which I thought was peculiar, since I never ran out, but I could also easily check the oil float level in mine since it was in my basement, and I would call if it got below 1/4 of a tank... I actually live across the street from her house, and we used the same oil delivery company that calculated the usage depending on the weather, and I assume the tank size... I now have a geothermal system in my home that I have had for about the past 10 years when the price of heating oil got so high (love it!). Thank you for taking the time to help solve this problem... I assume that the tank size was just never recorded properly.

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

@@airmojo Geothermal is one of the best systems out there. Expensive but worth it. Sorry to hear of your loss. It probably isn't a smaller tank. When they installed it a horizontal/flat tank it's really important to cut the stem of the whistle down. Or else a fuel company will never be able to fill the tank up fully without overfilling it. The stem in our video here is half the size of what it comes out of the box. If they were automatically filling the tank, it's very easy to let her keep running out as it messes with the k factor when the tank isn't filled up 100%. One driver puts more in one puts less and then they don't know how much she is really using. Gene is one of our drivers and is correct. You would love the price of heating oil right now. It dropped to $1.79 a gallon. We have been around for 26 years now. We remember 60 cents a gallon and then that dreaded time you talked about when we hit $4.25!

[@airmojo]

@@forcetenheatingfueloil3418 Yeah, the geothermal was expensive, but with the 30% federal tax credit and eliminating the cost of heating oil, it has paid for itself... annual electricity cost has gone down too, plus it pre-heats the water circulating into the hot water tank. Maybe the gauge in the oil tank was sticking ? I unscrewed the cover and bobbed it up and down, and it raised up to the full mark, after the recent fill up after showing 3/4 full. I'm going to try and talk to the guy who has provided service to the furnace over the years, to see what he says, and to validate the size of the tank. Thank you for your condolences... my mother-in-law was almost 90, and had a pretty good life... being right across the street from us in our rural setting, she was a big part of our daily lives, and is greatly missed.

[@artcause7584]

I need help, can you please tell me what size pipe connects to the vent alarm?

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

Hello, that can vary. The rules have changed over the years as well. If you have an old tank we have seen 1 inch pipe on the vent or 1 1/4 inch. For a while it was mandated that you have to have 2" vent pipes but I think that went away as it was harder to hear the whistle. Common these days are 2" and 1 1/2 Are you replacing an existing vent alarm? If you have the pipe there already you can easily measure the existing pipe. If you are putting in a new vent alarm you can match up to whatever one you are using. The two tanks in the vid are 1 1/2 if I remember right.

[@jeffreyjohn2037]

@@forcetenheatingfueloil3418 those are 2" combination vent alarm/gauge. The minimum vent pipe size for those 550 gallon tanks is 1-1/4" Regards, Third Generation Oilman, Heating Contractor.

[@gonecrazynback]

Why is there such limited information on what type to buy. I want to update mine with a combo gauge and alarm, but nobody is clear about what exact specs to get.

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

Most times a professional will work on your heater and your tank. But we do understand people do more and more stuff themselves these days. We don't mind at all as long as they do a proper job. You could always ask your current oil company any questions and they should be able to answer you. We always do for our own customers. Maybe we can help. What type of tank do you have right now? inside the basement 250/275? Outside 250/275? Or something bigger like in this video? Most common tanks are 275 gallon tanks. They would take a standard 44" tank gauge. You can either get a gauge all by itself and have a separate vent pipe/whistle. Or you can get a combo gauge if you only have one spare tapping. Most newer tanks are 2" openings, some older ones might be smaller. Typically the vent pipe off of these combos are 1 1/4" Not saying buy this one - but this is a typical combo for a 2" opening and a 250/275 44" tank www.amazon.com/Rheem-KING-Combination-Alarm-Gauge/dp/B00OGKRV1G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1IY5Z7HITXX2L&keywords=combo+oil+tank+gauge&qid=1639980516&sprefix=combo+oil+tak+guage%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-2 We prefer a stand alone gauge and stand alone vent alarm/whistle. This way if one goes bad you can just replace the one item and not both. What setup do your currently have?

[@gonecrazynback]

@@forcetenheatingfueloil3418 it's a outside 275 gallon, horizontal. I'm told 1 1/4 vent won't meet code for my area. I'll need to swap the fill and the vent because the float would be in line with the fill opening.

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

@@gonecrazynback So horizontal tank - on it's side? Like this one - if it's like this a 44" is not the right gauge size you need a 22" one. www.homedepot.com/p/Horizontal-275-Gal-Black-Oil-Tank-275HOT/300621413 In NJ , our state - new vents have to be 2" but existing can still be 1 1/4". They are all grandfathered in. Only on a new tank install do you have to go with 2". At least in NJ. So is this a brand new tank or existing? If it is existing whats there now? 1 Pipe to fill it. And 3 other openings. One or two might have plugs and then the last is a gauge/vent/whistle combo? Outside tanks are really easy to pipe unlike basement ones. For a horizontal tank we would still pipe it liek this - fill pipe 2" all the way on one side. Then next opening a gauge all by itself. 22" for horizontal tanks. There will be an arrow on it and you have the float point away from the fill pipe opening. This would be for a horizontal 275 - not saying buy this one but just to show you www.amazon.com/Rheem-KING-Oil-Tank-Gauge/dp/B00OGKRD8W/ref=asc_df_B00OGKRD8W/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242024230523&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=650409810412924564&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003970&hvtargid=pla-492803685021&psc=1 Then next opening over we would put a 2" vent alarm/whistle. like this one. again not saying buy this - but this is what you are looking for www.amazon.com/Equipment-4517-KING-Tank-Alarm/dp/B0054F4H28/ref=dp_fod_2?pd_rd_i=B0054F4H28&psc=1 Then a 2" galvanized nipple and then a 2" vent cap. Last opening if there is 4 can be a 2" plug. Again not sure if this is a brand new tank or existing and what you are replacing. For horizontal tanks it is important to cut that whistle stem down - in half. You can see in the picture of the one we linked it has a score mark already on the stem. A tubing cutter will work and you cut it in half at that mark. Or else the oil company will have a hard time filling it to the top.

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

@@gonecrazynback Also if it really is a horizontal tank like we listed in our other response and you just have to have a combo whistle/gauge then this is what you are looking for. Again not saying buy from these people but here is a 2" fill/vent combo for a horizontal 275 www.supplyhouse.com/Beckett-14533-2-x-2-King-Combination-Horizontal-Fill-Alarm-Tank-Gauge-26-Length

[@aarongrabowski7726]

Well my oil guy didnt take the vent off. If he did he might have noticed the bees nest blocking the whistle. So we did not get our oil and i had to bleed the line and fill with diesel.

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

I assume you aren't one of our customers?

[@aarongrabowski7726]

Force Ten Heating Trenton Fuel Oil you assumed very correctly

[@aarongrabowski7726]

Force Ten Heating Trenton Fuel Oil just wish you were. Would have saved me a headache. Thanks for the video. It helped alot

[@forceon959]

@@aarongrabowski7726 No problem. We actually only made this video because one of our customers had a blocked vent. So we thought this would explain it better for them why it needed to be fixed. And it did - and they let us put a new whistle on. Didn't even realize this video had gotten 1,600 views..... So I guess more people out there need help. We thought maybe we should do some more informational videos on oil tanks and heaters to help people out.

[@aarongrabowski7726]

Gene Lauro from what i heard, i dont know for sure, is that they tell u this to try to get a $250 charge for clearing a non existent problem. Kinda like when a mechanic tells your wife she needs new muffler bearings

[@iancrossley6637]

Couldn't make the shut off like a gas station filler?

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

No we wish. That would need vapor recovery. And the gas stations are only pumping like 10-15 gallons a min. We are pumping at 70-80. If the gas stations pumped as fast as we do their auto shutoff wouldn't work either.

[@gixxerboyroyluvdrumswaters9023]

I have a whistle on my tank but the whistle broke off in the oil delivery guys hand, because he didn't hear it, so he yanked on it, i noticed that the whistle pipe and the oil pipe are separate. So how can I replace the whistle, we never fill the tank, 100 gallons and it last for a month sometimes, I go and check the gauge to see if empty is coming around then call and get more, so will the tank expand by the pressure of the oil gun if I don't replace it? Do they still make those kind of whistle or do they have a shorter version which that doesn't extend to the outside? Help please! 😅

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

Hi ya, not sure what you mean by broke off the whistle. Did the driver break off the vent pipe outside? Or do you have an outside tank like i the video? If the vent pipe is free and clear you wont expand or break your tank. But a broken pipe outside should be replaced so no water gets in the tank. You should call your heating mechanic or oil company and they can replace the whistle if its bad. How we do it is the cut off the pipe inside if there isn't a union, unscrew the whistle put a new one on and reconnect the whistle with the outside pipe with new pipe and a union

[@gixxerboyroyluvdrumswaters9023]

Thank you so much.

[@gixxerboyroyluvdrumswaters9023]

Yes to 1st? It's a long medal tube for a whistle going from tank in basement to front when they put oil in it you can hear the whistle, but it broke about 7inches inside the wall, you can actually pull it out, and when you go down the basement to see if the tube / whistle has play from where it is broken.

[@forcetenheatingfueloil3418]

@@gixxerboyroyluvdrumswaters9023 It's important you get that fixed right away. If any oil driver makes a mistake and overfills your tank - the vent pipe is where the excess oil will spill out of. So the driver is hooked up to the fill pipe - if he pumps past the whistle the oil will spill out where the driver is outside of the house. he will see this and hopefully shut off the flow of oil, and clean up the mess. but your broken pipe - if the driver makes a mistake the oil will now spill inside your walls or inside your basement. The driver might not notice and that is how you hear stories of oil companies putting 50 or 100 gallons of oil into somebodies basement.