Charlie Dalton is an OFTEC heating engineer in Hampshire with a strong reputation for quality and service. Despite this hard-earned reputation, Charlie admits that there is one type of job in the heating and plumbing landscape that both he and his colleagues tend to avoid – heating oil tank installations. Too many are laborious, complicated, and time-consuming, meaning engineers go out of their way to avoid them.

Charlie was therefore relieved to learn about Tuffa’s Fire Protected Oil Tank range. He explained: “We’ve always avoided heating oil tank installations in the past because the process of compliance, while not challenging, can be drawn out with adherence to the location of the tank’s proximity to the building possibly being the most significant obstacle requiring unsightly fireboards bolted to any adjacent walls.”

He added: “When we have installed a tank for legacy customers, it has almost always been a two day job, allowing for installation prep, which might include making a frame, installing fire boarding, etc. Fire boards look dreadful, and while the customer understands the need for them, never likes the resulting look.”

One of the main reasons that engineers avoid domestic installations is the strict regulations around fire separation distances of conventional oil tanks. The legislative demands make installing new tanks and replacing old ones complicated when the tank is adjacent to a building, fence, shed, or garage. 

Compliance only allows two options: installing fire boarding around the replacement tank, or constructing a new base and fuel line to site the tank a minimum of 1.8m from the building – typically meaning the tank ends up being located in the middle of the garden.

When Charlie asked Tuffa about the options available for a new installation he’d been commissioned to look at, we reviewed any constraints on location, footprint, and supply access, etc.

Once we explained that Tuffa Fire Pro tanks are fitted with a fire jacket as standard, meaning frames and fire boards aren’t needed, Charlie gladly accepted the job of replacing the old heating oil tank after installing an oil-fired boiler.

Charlie opted for Tuffa’s 1,100l steel-bunded oil tank with a 30 minute fire rating rather than the 60 minute option. Build quality and materials offer a minimum lifespan of thirty years and include a 10 year warranty as standard. 

Charlie concluded: “What makes Tuffa’s Fire Pros unique is the factory-fitted fire jacket which allows compliant and simple installation adjacent to buildings and boundaries. 

“We take great pride in our work where form and function meet aesthetics. The FirePro will enable us to achieve this.”