If your oil tank is over 10-15 years old, it is a fact that freezing temperatures can result in your oil tank cracking & leaking

Article written by The Oil Tank Doc on 04/01/2026

We always receive an influx of calls in early January from customers with the same issue. Following heavy oil consumption during the Christmas period, homeowners rush to fill their oil tanks and end up with a leaking oil tank.

Here are 2 factors that affect your oil tank integrity:

1. Low & freezing temperatures: oil tanks with an age of 10-15 years will 99% of the time have UV sun damage with micro-cracking. Cold weather leads to contraction of these cracks, and throughout the day when temperatures rise, the cracks expand. This occurs until the split is all the way through, resulting in an oil leak.

2. Improper base support: there is nothing that affects an oil tank's life expectancy as drastically as poor base support, leading to uneven weight distribution. Oil tanks can easily contain over a tonne of fuel, with uneven weight loading resulting in deformation of the plastic, and a split forming.

Check yourself or call The Oil Tank Doc!

We work with a lot of oil delivery companies which are excellent and very switched on informing customers of their oil tank's condition. However, sometimes splits or cracks can be missed, and we still attend a lot of calls were the oil tank has started to leak from a split, shortly after a fill of oil.

We are always happy to advise customers on their oil tank's condition throughout Northern Ireland.

The Oil Tank Doc has 30+ years experience in all oil tank issues, and replaces oil tanks across Northern Ireland.

The Oil Tank Doc has been specialising in oil tank replacement, emergency oil spill response, and oil tank inspections across all of Northern Ireland for over 30 years. We bring our wealth of experience to your door. Contact us today for any oil tank concerns you may have across Northern Ireland.

📞 028 9131 4041

📞 07549 211 090

✉️ info@theoiltankdoc.co.uk

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The Oil Tank Doctor provides professional and affordable oil tank services across Northern Ireland

The Oil Tank Doctor specialises in oil tank replacements, emergency oil leak repair services, oil spill clean ups, and the safe disposal of oil tanks. Based locally in Newtownards, we have been providing oil tank replacements across all of Northern Ireland for a number of years. 

If you are looking to replace your old oil tank in Northern Ireland, upgrade to a new modern tank, relocate an existing oil tank or put a new base in, we do it all. We are OFTEC Trained Oil Heating Engineers and are qualified to work in all oil settings.

We provide site surveys on existing and new oil tank installations to ensure your oil tank is situated safely as per the OFTEC guidance.