Lanair XT250 Waste Oil Heater — Value Package 3, with a 215 gallon tank

Of all the XT250 packages we list, this is the one that solves the problem people do not anticipate. The heater is straightforward. The chimney is a known quantity. The thing that stalls a first waste oil installation is where the oil is going to live — and this package answers it, because its own description states what it comes with: a heater, a 215 gallon tank, and a thru-roof 8" chimney kit.

Why the tank is the part worth paying for

A waste oil heater does not draw from a barrel that happens to be nearby. It needs a reservoir plumbed to it, sited somewhere it can be filled without carrying oil across a working bay, contained in case of a leak, and large enough to ride out a cold week without running dry mid-shift.

A 215 gallon reservoir is meaningful against this unit's 1.79 GPH fuel input. Fill it and, at continuous fire, you are looking at well over a hundred hours of burn before it is empty — which in practice means a shop generating a normal volume of drain oil tops it up as it goes and never thinks about it again. That is the difference between a heater that runs on free fuel and one that has somebody buying diesel in January because the drum ran out.

Siting the tank, and the questions to settle first

Before the delivery arrives, decide four things. Where it stands — level, on a surface that will take the loaded weight, out of vehicle traffic. How it is filled — a drain point you can reach with a caddy without walking oil past a customer. What contains a leak — many jurisdictions require secondary containment for used-oil storage indoors, and that is a local question with a real answer. How the line runs to the heater — the shorter and better protected, the fewer problems later.

Used-oil storage is regulated, and the rules vary by state and sometimes by city. Confirming what applies to your building is the customer's responsibility, and it is genuinely worth a call to your environmental or fire authority before the equipment arrives rather than after.

The venting: thru-roof

This package is specified as a roof-mount vent, and the kit is cut for a 16 ft eave: one chimney cap, one 24" Class A chimney pipe, one storm collar, one roof flashing for a 0/12-6/12 pitch, one 36" Class A chimney pipe, one finishing collar, one 14" slip connector, four 24" black pipe sections, one black tee pipe with cap, one roof support bracket and one 90 degree elbow.

The flashing covers roof pitches from flat to a 6/12 pitch. Steeper than that, or an eave above 16 ft, and the kit will not finish the run — tell us before you order and we will quote the extra sections.

The heater

The XT250 is the second-largest in the line: 250,000 BTUH over a listed 8,500 square feet. It burns used crankcase oil up to 50 weight, used synthetic oil, used automatic transmission fluid and used #1 and #2 fuel oil. The cabinet is fine-grained galvanized, specified rust-resistant; the fan is internal, which Lanair specifies to keep shop noise down; the louvers are adjustable and locking, so the airflow stays where you aimed it; and the combustion chamber is 10-gauge cold-rolled steel, which is what a regularly scraped chamber needs.

Will it fit?

The heater cabinet is 47" x 46" x 36" (length x width x height) with a hanging weight of 630 lbs. It is a suspended unit, so confirm that your roof structure or wall steel can carry that load and that the connection points are sound — the customer's responsibility, and worth a qualified opinion.

Then the services: 120 V-60Hz, 20 Amps of power; 2 CFM of compressed air at 15-18 PSI, continuously, whenever the burner is firing, dried and filtered; and 8" Class A chimney, exiting the cabinet at the top or the side. And the floor plan needs to accommodate two objects, not one — the heater overhead and the tank at ground level, with access to both.

Specifications

One inconsistency worth naming: this package and Package 4 list the ductable option as No, while XT250 Packages 1 and 2 — the same heater — list it as Call. If ducting the output is part of your plan, do not read either as an answer. Ask us, or look at the XTD models, which are listed as ductable.

Perfect for

• A first waste oil installation — heater, storage and flue arrive together, which is the whole point of this package.
• Shops without existing bulk oil storage — 215 gallons is a working reservoir, not a drum.
• Buildings where a roof penetration is the sensible vent route.
• Operations paying to have used oil removed — the same fluid becomes the heating budget.

Certification

Lanair states that its units are UL listed; that claim is on this page today and we pass it on as the manufacturer's.

Note what it does not settle, which on this package is more than usual. Local mechanical code governs the installation, and used-oil storage brings environmental and fire rules of its own — containment, labelling, quantity limits. Those are set locally and it is the buyer's job to confirm them. Talk to your authority having jurisdiction before you order, and ask us if an insurer wants current documentation.

Shipping and delivery

Freight only, lower 48 states. This package is more than one crate — the heater, the tank and the flue components — so the unloading question is worth answering before you order rather than on delivery day. Unloading is the customer's responsibility. Forklift or dock is the easy answer; otherwise take terminal pickup, available on every freight order we ship. Residential delivery carries a residential fee, added at checkout.

Inspect every piece before you sign, and count them. Damage or a short shipment goes on the bill of lading while the driver is there, with photographs. A clean signature is the carrier's evidence that everything arrived and arrived intact.

Warranty

Coverage is Lanair's; ask us for the warranty document if you want to read the terms first. And as always: do not take a part apart before claiming on it — once it has been opened in the field it usually falls outside the terms. Photograph the fault as found and start at our warranty claims page.