Eurotank is seeing increasing numbers of its retail customers with single-skin tanks starting to think about the integrity of those tanks, and the environmental impact they could have in the future.
Group Sales Director, Jack Aplin, says: “In a lot of cases retailers don’t know the age of their tanks and have never had any kind of condition report completed on them. This causes a dilemma for the site owner to decide what action needs to be taken and how much investment is required.
“A lot of owners believe the only options are to re-line the tanks or to simply do nothing. However, we believe the best option is to first find out the condition of your single-skin tank so an informed, calculated decision can be made.”
Jack explains that Eurotank engineers often find that once tanks are emptied, and years of compacted sediment and rust are removed, micro leaks are identified.
“We can reinforce these areas with GRP doing localised repairs and effectively stopping a minor issue before it becomes a major issue. Our engineers are able to inspect the steel shell in fine detail, taking particular notice of the depth of pitting corrosions. Areas that are considered ‘deep’ can be reinforced withGRP repairs that will effectively stop the corrosion in the area completely.”
He says steel tanks generally fail due to spot corrosion.“Failed tanks can nearly always be repaired without the need to complete a full re-line. The main benefits of this service are that failed tanks can be put back into use very quickly, the cost is low in comparison to full replacement or re-lining, and our experience is that re-tightened tanks have not failed again.”
Jack says this re-tightening process has multiple benefits:
• The tank is fully cleaned;
• The thickness of the tank shell is measured and compared to its original thickness;
• Internal corrosion can be inspected and pitting areas risk assessed;
• Localised fibreglass patches can be applied in the tank to upgrade risk points;
• Tank lids and fittings are cleaned as part of the lid removal and replacement.
“The re-tightening process can be even more beneficial to operators that have multiple sites with single skin tanks as the re-tightening process costs significantly less than tank lining,” adds Jack. “Once the assessment work has been completed, companies can budget and make real plans for spending money on the right tanks at the right time.”
One company that is impressed with the tank re-tightening process is Highway Stops. Development Director Tony Head, says: "We have11 sites and we have a rolling programme of maintenance across those sites, managed by Eurotank.
“It’s really all about good housekeeping. Eurotank engineers come along and check inside all our tanks, clean them and do whatever’s needed to give them a clean bill of health.
“Some tanks will need relining but not all of them and we take Eurotank’s expert advice on that. This year our tank inspection programme continues across all sites.”
Tony says tank inspections are especially important now with the biofuels that are in use. “Having Eurotank assess our tanks provides us with a lot of comfort.”
He is also happy that there is minimal disruption on-site when the work is being done.
“At the end of the exercise, they always give us a full report with pictures so we can see exactly what’s been done.”
Email jack.aplin@eurotank.co.uk for more information.