Good post Mike. Very interesting, and informative. Not to me because of the way I do things.
First and most important thing to understand about oil heat is the storage, the good clean oil, and the delivery from the oil lines to the oil burner. 99% of all oil burner problems are caused by the oil tank.
That story about the oil tank was totally avoidable. When I do any service it starts with the oil tank. I have actually lost customers because 38 years of my experience does not allow me to deliver to a tank I deem unsafe. That is what you are paying me for. You have a new car and you kept the old tires to save a few bucks.
HEATING IS NEVER A CRITICAL ISSUE UNTIL YOU START GETTING COLD, YOUR PIPES ARE FREEZING, AND YOU FINALLY WANT TO LISTEN.
FUNNY, your story about getting the old equipment out. I think you started to realize it is not always that easy.
I have done service on equipment that was put in the basement before the house was built around. I have seen old boilers so large, that 100 years ago they were floated on ice to drop them into place as the ice melted.
You were lucky that tank was empty. The sludge at the bottom of these old tanks is so bad that with 3 pairs of protective gloves, it will stink up your hands. Another funny thing... When scrap prices were higherI have actually had people fighting over it when I put something out at the street. I put an old boiler out in the street one time and before I could come back out of the basement... IT WAS GONE!
Anyway good post Mike!