Heating Oil Tank Approvals

As you’d expect from a safety-critical product, Heating Oil Tanks sold today should be engineered to exceed the most demanding technical, safety and environmental requirements. In the UK and Republic of Ireland, there are 3 manufacturing standards – EN 13341, OFS T100 and OFS T200. They’re all designed to help consumers to determine whether or not a Heating Oil Tank complies with applicable industry and statutory requirements. Despite the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in January 2020, compliance with EN 13341 remains a legal requirement under The Construction Products Regulations 2013 throughout the UK. 

European Standard EN 13341

Since June 2013, it has been a legal requirement under The Construction Products Regulations 2013 in the UK and the European Union (Construction Products) Regulations 2013 in the Republic of Ireland, for all Aboveground Plastic Heating Oil Tanks to be compliant with European Standard EN 13341 2005 +A1 2011. The European Standard takes the form of British Standard BS EN 13341 in the United Kingdom and Irish Standard IS EN 13341 in the Republic of Ireland. 

The standard applies only to Plastic Tanks and details minimum design, manufacturing and product testing requirements. It does not apply to tanks manufactured from steel or any other material, nor does it apply to Plastic Heating Oil Tanks with a capacity greater than 10,000 litres, or any tank designed for installation below ground. Manufacturers of compliant plastic tanks will be able to provide you with a Declaration of Performance to demonstrate compliance with the standard. Supplying a non-compliant product or false certification is an offence.

For complete peace of mind and reassurance, all plastic heating oil tanks supplied by Fuel Tank Store and falling within the scope of EN 13341, are fully compliant with it.

OFTEC OFS T100 and OFS T200

The Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC) operates the OFS T100 and OFS T200 product testing and licensing schemes. OFTEC is the training, standards and registration agency for the oil heating industry in the United Kingdom. Both schemes are a voluntary, industry-led initiative. Each scheme independently assesses the compliance of Plastic (OFS T100) and Steel (OFS T200) Aboveground Fuel Oil Storage Tanks with predetermined design, performance and manufacturing standards. OFS T 100 is applicable to Plastic Tanks with a nominal capacity between 600 and 10,000 litres, whilst there is no maximum threshold for Steel Tanks.

Additionally:

• All Plastic Heating Oil Tanks tested and approved in accordance with OFS T100 are also compliant with EN 13341;
• All Heating Oil Tanks tested and approved in accordance with either OFS T100 or OFS T200 are compliant with the product design and manufacturing requirements contained within British Standard BS 5410.

All Heating Oil Tanks tested and approved in accordance with either OFS T100 or OFS T200 are compliant with the product design and manufacturing requirements contained within British Standard BS 5410.

Verification

How can you tell whether a tank is compliant with all applicable standards?

• Plastic Heating Oil Tanks compliant with the European Standard can be easily identified through a CE mark affixed to the tank. If a tank does not incorporate this logo, it may not be approved for installation in the UK, Republic of Ireland or any other EU nation. Choosing it could prove an expensive mistake;

• The manufacturer of a CE marked compliant Plastic Heating Oil Tank will also be able to provide a Declaration of Performance, detailing its compliance with the construction products regulations. This should always be requested from the supplier when purchasing, specifying or installing any new or replacement plastic heating oil tank;

• Tanks assessed as compliant with OFS T100 (Plastic) and OFS T200 (Steel) will be licensed by OFTEC and will display an OFCERT License Number. But beware, just because a company is an OFTEC Member and displays an OFTEC logo does not necessarily mean all the products they supply are OFCERT Licensed.

Despite EN 13341 being a legal requirement for aboveground, Plastic Heating Oil Storage Tanks, in 2016 OFTEC expressed concern that a number of manufacturers may be supplying non-compliant products to British and Irish consumers. OFTEC has a list of Plastic Oil Tank manufacturers whose products have been verified as CE marked and who are therefore compliant with all current regulations.

OFTEC can also confirm the validity of OFCERT License Numbers. License numbers are also published in the OFTEC Equipment Directory, which you can view on the OFTEC website. If in doubt as to the compliance of any tank, be sure to contact OFTEC. You can visit OFTEC at www.oftec.co.uk or call +44(0)1473 626 298.

Compliance

To ensure full compliance with all regulatory and technical standards, insist that all aboveground Plastic Heating Oil Tanks are:

• CE marked;

• Supplied with a Declaration of Performance confirming compliance with EN 13341;

• OFCERT licensed in accordance with the requirements of OFTEC’s OFS T100 Standard.

All aboveground steel tanks should be OFCERT licensed in accordance with OFTEC’s OFS T200 standard.

Buy with confidence

For complete peace of mind and reassurance, we only supply Heating Oil Tanks manufactured by members of The Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC). Additionally:

• All plastic heating oil tanks supplied by us with are OFCERT licensed where applicable in accordance with OFS T100. A copy of the OFCERT License for each product can either be downloaded from the product page on this website, or supplied upon request by e-mail to hello@fueltank.store 

• All Plastic Heating Oil Tanks supplied by Fuel Tank Store are CE marked in accordance with EN 13341 where applicable. Dependent upon manufacturer, Declarations of Performance can either be downloaded from each product page or supplied upon request by e-mail to hello@fueltank.store;

• All Steel Heating Oil Tanks supplied by us are OFCERT licensed in accordance with OFS T200.

Where a tank is not OFCERT licensed or is not issued with an EN 13341 Declaration of Performance on our website, it falls outside the scope of the respective standard.

Queries? Questions?

We’d be the first to admit that product testing, certification and licensing requirements for Heating Oil Storage Tanks are not as transparent or straightforward as they could and should be. As a responsible supplier, we too are concerned at reports that non-compliant product is on-sale in the UK and Irish markets.

If you’ve any queries therefore over the certification or approval of any product listed on Fuel Tank Store, you’re very welcome to contact us. We’re open weekdays from 9am to 5pm. You can call us on 01789 632 151 in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, call 01 5268 642 in the Republic of Ireland or e-mail hello@fueltank.store