Maintenance is the Key for Fuel Dispensers

The maintenance of fuel dispenser pumps and Underground storage tanks is very important to keep it running in a proper way. The simple old operation and maintenance of fuel dispensers and USTs is something fuel station operators need to understand. That is often easier said than done. If we look at laws and rule of different countries like The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed extending the compliance date by one year for certain facilities subject to recent amendments to the Spill Prevention Control and Counter measure (SPCC) rule.

The proposed rule to extend the SPCC deadline was significantly delayed and final publication threatened by polifical backlash resulting from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Neglecting USTs can prove costly and it can also cause damage to the fuel dispenser equipments. In August, an EPA official announced that P.J. Hyde & Son Inc. would not only spend $60,000 to upgrade its leak-detection system, but would pay a $16,000 fine because it had failed to properly test leak-detection equipment for leaks at five gas stations in Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake and Indian Lake, and a hotel in Lake Clear in upstate New York.

"Out of sight does not mean out of mind when it comes to underground storage tanks, which is why it is a critical operator don't necessarily own the sites or the equipment, and somebody who's leasing it to them may tell them they're fine when they're not," he said. "Just try and follow the rules."

If something involving the tanks looks amiss, Santicola urged operators to react to it immediately. "Don't wait a couple of days to see if the shortage fixes itself or something.

I've seen it happen. Cars don't heal themselves, and neither do tanks."

Submersible turbine pumps also require some operator attention. "People start to complain that the fuel flow is slow, or the nozzles are clicking on and off all the time. Don't just stop at changing the filter, take a look," Santicola added. "If you're in a vapor-recovery area make sure the vapor-recovery system isn't jammed up, because that will create nozzle issues on the back pressure. Also, be sure to check the STPs to make sure there isn't something going wrong there."

A fuel pump, isn't really a pump. "It's a dispenser. The thing that actually pushes the fuel out sits in the bottom of the tank. That's really what you need to look at."