I have steam radiator heating. I had a problem where the oil heated furnace shut down due to a clot of oil that plugged up the oil line at the burner. (excuse my layperson's term). It is a fairly new boiler/furnace system. I now have oil delivered early mornings when the heat is turned down and when the tank is only 1/2 empty. This is to lessen the disturbance of the thickened oil at the bottom and let anything settle down before I get home from work and turn up the heat. My service people say there is nothing I can do to really clean out the oil tank if there is any sludge or thicked whatever. I am afraid if I go on vacation some oil clot will shut down my system again. What can I do to lessen this possibility?

 

Use a standard oil filter at the tank and a 10 micron spin-on filter at the burner. Have your fuel comapny add a biocide to your tank when they fill it. You will eventually clean all the worst stuff out and not have breakdowns. Have the filters changed annually during the tune-up. I've only ever had one or two places where the tank was so bad that filters would not last a year. You need to exterminate the living organisms in the tank or you never accomplish the goal of cleaning up the tank.

Ken