Prior to the mid 90's local authorities did not require permits or inspections when a residential oil tank was removed or abandoned in place, therefore, most times there is a lack of available documentation at the local town hall or Fire Marshalls office to determine if a property may have had an underground oil tank. Often times, due to many years and many owners, the current owner of the home may not be aware of the existence of an underground tank, especially in older homes which often had oil tanks for heating that were abandoned when converting to natural gas. Oil Tank Locating has become a frequent service due to real estate disclosure rules and the increased knowledge of the environmental impacts, hazards and costs associated with removal of old, or unidentified underground oil tanks and the clean-up of contaminated soil, if found to be leaking. Absolute Tank Testing can perform a tank search/scan to determine the existence of an underground oil tank that may otherwise go undetected.

There are several signs that a property may have an undisclosed/unknown underground oil tank:
  ■ Homes built prior to 1980 and are now heated with natural gas.
  ■ Extra copper lines protruding through a foundation wall from the outside.
  ■ Holes or concrete patching in the foundation wall or floor.
  ■ Pipes visible from the ground, along a driveway or road side.

The technician will look inside the home for clues that may indicate a past or current oil tank...ie. the presence of an oil fired furnace, oil burner shut off switches and/or pipes or copper lines exiting the foundation or floor which may be capped or crimped. Small holes in the foundation wall or floor as well as concrete patching on the walls or floor are also indication of a prior oil tank.

Employing a Fisher, Gemini-3 two-box magnetometer the technician will then scan the grounds searching for any buried metallic objects. The technician scans outward from the building in all directions in a radius of up to 30 feet. The detection equipment utilized is capable of locating a metallic object up to a depth of ten (10) to fifteen (15) feet below grade. The search will reveal the presence of any large metallic object buried underground. This type of testing along with visual inspections inside the home helps to determine the existence of oil or storage tanks that may otherwise go undetected. If a suspicious object is discovered hand boring tools are used to determine approximate, positioning and depth to the top of the suspected object and the location will be marked. A detailed report of findings along with photographs and a site diagram will be provided.