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Don’t Leave That Stick in the Tank!

December 8, 2022

As part of a recent training class for Class A/B UST operators, we visited a nearby convenience store and did a physical inspection of all the tank openings. The very first fill opening we inspected looked pretty good until I looked closer and noticed that — deep down — there was a stick lodged against the overfill device.

If you are new to UST systems: When you have an automatic shut off device and a level gauge stick jammed inside it, the overfill device will not shut off the flow fuel at 95% full. You have no protection from a potential catastrophic overfill.

Which is why during a mandatory 30-day compliance inspection you must inspect all the fill openings for obstructions. In other words, look for sticks lodged in the fill openings.

Quite frankly I was surprised. This sort of thing used to happen a lot and I thought this practice had mostly gone away. To get a pulse on things, on a social media group site I asked our national network of UST service providers if this still happened. Here’s the replies I got, almost instantaneously:

  • What ya mean  still? Never stopped lol.
  • I’ve pulled out three in the last month alone.
  • I pulled out seven sticks at one site one for each tank it was insane
  • I pulled one out yesterday
  • Yes I pulled one out yesterday
  • Pulled two out of the same site yesterday
  • I take them home and collect them I got a pretty good collection going
  • It’s more of the common carriers doing this versus the truck owned by the station

Yikes!

A word to the wise. Consider the following action items:

  • If you get daily deliveries, check each tank every day for obstructions in the fill opening.
  • When doing your 30-day walk through inspections, be extra careful when inspecting the fill openings and don’t just pencil whip that line on the form that says “any obstructions in the fill opening?”.
  • Contact your delivery driver right away if you find a stick inside. It’s probably their fault.

Another solution? Let us know at [email protected].

 

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