i have no experience with oil tanks, but i have seen enough horror stories about clean up from a ruptured one that i would go double walled just for the extra security it gives. some areas require them just for that reason.

The advantages are secondary containment, less bacterial growth, they're installed by professionals and they look better. We install mostly Granby steel tanks, but install Roth and Granby/Dehoust tanks in new construction homes and high end jobs.

My family has been in the oil business for much longer than I've been alive and we've never seen an indoor oil tank with a major leak unless it has been neglected for a long time. It's probably a good idea to replace steel tanks every 30,40 or 50 years give-or-take. The same goes for oil fired boilers.

Not sure where in the northeast you are, but those prices both sound good to me, well I'm waiting for a seperate estimate, but the one is $2500 for a Roth tank, the normal steel single wall would have been $1800. Certainly wouldn't mind if the second quote is more in line with yours!
Where are you located? I'm in the NW suburbs of Philly.

If you can afford the extra $500, I certainly would go for the doublewall! Someone in my jeep club had an outdoor (underground) tank leak and the cleanup was well over $100,000. Luckily he was able to get his insurance to cover it, though he said often they won't (can't remember the details of how he was able to get insurance to cover it)

I'm located just outside of Boston. Are you also replacing your boiler/furnace? If so, which one are you going with and what is the estimated cost? We are thinking of going with a Burnham and waiting for the estimate.
Thanks

I ended up going with a Columbia low mass boiler with a Triangle Indirect water heater. I really like the indirect since I don't have anymore flucuation of water when taking a shower. Don't know what type of hot water heater you have though, but maybe new boilers with a domestic coil don't flucuate as much as my old Repco boiler did. The whole job I think was around $5000, could have saved alot if I went with the domestic coil instead of the indirect.

I'm happy with what I have, but if my boiler didn't die in February, I would have looked at more brands (got quotes on Columbia, New Yorker, Weil-McClain, EFM, Buderus, and system2000). Might have gone with a Buderus if I could have found another installer.

Which dealer did you end up using?

Thanks to all for your feedback! We have a few estimates and have not finalized on who we will use, but we are definitely leaning towards the Roth tank.

Glad I dont live in the Northeast. My supplier here in the PNW BC Canada is Columbia Fuels. Our tank is 34 years old and is sonic tested once a year as part of our platinum plus service. This test measures the thickness in mils of the oil tank. So far so good. A replacement is $799 plus tax. and includes labour, and the transfer of oil.etc. That is for a steel tank 250 imperial gallons and warrantied for 15 years. Because the sonic testing guarntees no leaking tank they replace it free if it does. Even the insurance companies have had to accept these tests as valid and no longer insist a replacement after 20 years. (as long as the tests continue on an annual basis). Thats my 2 cents worth..

Many of our fuel oil customers with indoor steel oil tanks replace them every 20 years or so as a preventive maintenance measure. The cost of ownership per year over the lifespan of the tank(s) is quite low and the peace of mind is nice considering the value of some homes.

When we replace older tanks we also replace the old undersized fill & vent piping, replace the piping on incorrectly piped cross-connected tanks, move tanks to better locations, remove rusted tank legs buried in concrete and eliminate many troublespots like rusted filter housings, dual line oil supplies, leaking fittings, flares, valves, compression fittings, buried copper oil line(s), rusted vent caps etc.

Ultrasonic tank testing doesn't show pinhole leaks that are found in a simple visual inspection. Tank warranty programs are a numbers game and the ultrasonic testing is part of the feel-good marketing strategy. As long as they pay to replace the tank and warranty providers or insurance covers any damages caused by a spill, the warranty programs are probably a good value in the short term.

Totally agree Mark. Should have mentioned that my tank is outside, where pinhole leaks can be visually inspected by looking under the tank.The ultrasonic testing is basically free, since we chose to go with bio-fuel and a higher grade of fuel anyway. Otherwise, if you only want the cheap stuff, you dont get the testing done. Having said that: I do plan on replacing our tank in 2010 (37 years old then). unless it leaks first-lol