Rusty tank valve/connectors replacement?

Been in property about 10 years and the valve on the (round/bunded) Balmoral tank has always been in pretty rusty state. Tank is 5,000 litres but only got about 300L left at the moment. Please see picture.

Looking for opinions on whether to get valve/filter assembly replaced due to rust or if I am worrying about nothing? My guess is the steel pipe and junctions are pretty thick walled and with oil on the inside, only likely to corrode from outside in? No sign whatsoever of a leak, and never has been, even when operating the gate valve to change filter.

If changing, can it be done with smallish amount of oil still in the tank somehow or will tank need totally draining? Obviously I am mostly concerned about the rust on the tank side of the valve and the risk of it failing catastrophically somehow as with potentially tank full of 5,000 L of oil, could be a very poor outcome to put it mildly.

The part that is not corroded on the far left of the connectors seems to be a flexible joint as the non-corroded nut can be easily rotated (discovered by accident when changing filter). I guess that also has a service life of some sort? Would this job be taken on by a boiler engineer or are there tank specialists?

Thanks for looking.

Only valve handle is rusty as valve body looks to be brass or gunmetal. Some paint on the pipe could be a good idea, else it may only last another 50 years (ish). Red oxide primer is cheap enough. Or a mini pot of Allback linseed oil paint wouldn't need primer if you want a nice colour.

First stop worrying!
That fitting has many years of life left in it .
If your bothered about rust wire brush it clean then paint.
I would certainly get a much better bracket in place instead of half a brick.
Correctly sized rubber lined clip and back plate joined by a section of M10 would do nicely.
We have ourselves stopped doing tank installation (just don't like the graft)
Use a tank installation team.

exedon2 said:

I would certainly get a much better bracket in place instead of half a brick.

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A three-quarter brick is a minimum, I'd suggest

exedon2 said:

First stop worrying!
That fitting has many years of life left in it .
If your bothered about rust wire brush it clean then paint.
I would certainly get a much better bracket in place instead of half a brick.
Correctly sized rubber lined clip and back plate joined by a section of M10 would do nicely.
We have ourselves stopped doing tank installation (just don't like the graft)
Use a tank installation team.

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OK thanks folks. Seems I was getting over concerned about it. I was not really worried about the condition of the valve itself. More worried about the thinner connector to the immediate left of the valve which goes into the flexible coupler, which is the most corroded part, especially as it's to the tank side of the valve.

Anyway, I will wire brush it all off, paint as recommended, fill up (well, maybe not 5,000 L!) and stop worrying.

Regarding the brick, yes, I am building a support under and also a bridging cover over top to prevent it being stepped on which is probably the greatest risk. Originally had no support under the valve at all, not even the brick. Anyway, yes, point taken and many thanks for comments.

Hi, new to the forum

Since Max has already started a recent thread on this, thought I'd tag along as I'm dealing with a very similar situation. It's a 1600l tank in my case, but valve and connections also corroded. Does it look substantially different, or should I take the same advice to wire brush / repaint?

Any views will be appreciated!

You can get a new head but I would advise replacing when you run low on oil as gate valves arnt the best

ShaunCorbs said:

You can get a new head but I would advise replacing when you run low on oil as gate valves arnt the best

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Thanks Shaun! Sorry I'm a little slow with my plumbing - which part of the setup is the head? I'm guessing you mean the valve handle, but could well be wrong! Like Max in his original question, I'm more worried about the parts that connect into the tank, rather than the valve itself (but do let me know if I'm wrong!)

In any case, do you think there's an immediate risk of a leak or am I ok to wait until oil runs out? I'm thinking that'll be around January/February.

pitevo said:

Thanks Shaun! Sorry I'm a little slow with my plumbing - which part of the setup is the head? I'm guessing you mean the valve handle, but could well be wrong! Like Max in his original question, I'm more worried about the parts that connect into the tank, rather than the valve itself (but do let me know if I'm wrong!)

In any case, do you think there's an immediate risk of a leak or am I ok to wait until oil runs out? I'm thinking that'll be around January/February.

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Yes correct valve handle

The one on the tank is galv and shouldn’t rust but it’s thick I would get a wire brush and clean it off and give it a paint