On October 29^th, 2011 the northeastern United States experienced a recording breaking early season snow fall that delivered several feet of snow across the northeastern states including New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont.  The storm’s damage was extensive, but the most catastrophic damage occurred to utility and telecommunication services throughout the region.  Over 3 million individuals experienced power failure as a result of this storm.  Many critical infrastructures were required to operate under emergency power resources for days. Most facilities escaped this record snowfall unscathed as emergency systems operated as intended. With January rapidly coming to a close most facility engineers believe they can relax as the worst of the winter weather is now behind us, but in fact we know disaster preparedness is more important now than ever thanks to  historical data. 

According to the Northeast States Emergency Consortium; January, February and March typically produce the most severe winter storms of the season. Historical data shows the most recent blizzards and severe snowstorms in the Northeast occurred in March of 1888, January of 1978, March of 1993, February of 1996, March of 2001 and February of 2006. Each of these late season storms paralyzed the Northeast with power outages and supply shortages. These storms can be costly to homes and businesses, but devastating to hospitals, data centers or any mission critical facility. One-hundred percent disaster preparedness is the key to mitigating downtime and equipment failure. Disaster preparedness includes meeting compliancy, operational equipment and stored fuel to operate emergency equipment. When asked if their facilities are disaster prepared, most facility engineers will answer, “Yes, my generator technician said we are good to go and I took a load of fuel last week.” To facility experts this is only an 18 word answer that can be translated into “No, we are not prepared.” Any facility without a fuel management program in place has a potential liability looming in their tanks.

Stored diesel fuel is the most important asset to any facility relying on diesel generators for emergency power. The stored fuel is the lifeblood to the emergency generators. ASTM quality stored diesel fuel will operate any generator, but no generator will operate on contaminated stored diesel fuel. It is not uncommon for any facility to store over a quarter-million dollars of diesel fuel at any one time. This fuel must be managed to slow and prevent the degradation process which begins 28 day after initial storage. An all-encompassing fuel management program consists of independent laboratory testing, state of the art fuel filtration, coalescing water separation, chemical treatment, compliancy inspections, chain of custody fuel programs and fuel quality trending through documentation. A credible fuel management expert should be able to provide you all of these items as a turnkey solution to fuel management.  

BE PREPARED - CONTACT PATRIOT CLEAN FUEL TODAY!

The December Sample of the Month comes from the Northeastern area of the United States. The samples above are from an indoor aboveground storage tank and display two very different scenarios of stored diesel fuel used for mission critical emergency power equipment. The fuel on the left was extracted prior to Patriot Clean Fuel's reconditioning and maintenance service. This left sample displays severely degraded stored diesel fuel contaminated with water, particulate and microbial contamination. This fuel is highly contaminated and will be the direct cause of generator failure! The sample jar on the right was extracted following Patriot Clean Fuel's diesel fuel management service. This right jar displays ASTM quality stored diesel fuel necessary for optimal performance per manufacturer specifications. Your stored diesel fuel should an asset not a liability. 

CONTACT PATRIOT CLEAN FUEL TODAY FOR A COMPLIMENTARY FUEL QUALITY INSPECTION!

The Patriot Clean Fuel sample of the month takes a different approach this month.  The sample of the month comes to us from a facility in our local market.  This single wall fuel storage tank is enclosed in a secondary containment dyke for compliancy as required.  During our initial site audit and inspection we identified the absence of a fuel tank emergency relief vent as required by code.  Given unavailability of an appropriate tank access port to accommodate an appropriate sized emergency relief vent, Patriot Clean Fuel creatively adapted this man-way to ensure compliancy.  Emergency relief vents are designed to rise and fall freely to relieve excessive pressure inside the vessel.  A non-compliant tank installation poses potential liability or risk to the site and should be considered at risk of a potential unplanned release until corrective measures are installed.

NFPA 30 states that every aboveground storage tank shall have emergency relief venting in the form of construction, a device or devices that will relieve excessive internal pressure.  This requirement shall apply to each compartment of a compartmented tank.  The upgraded emergency relief vent in photograph 2  brought the tank into emergency venting compliancy as well as prevented potential tank ruptures due to the inability to equalize the pressure inside the vessels. Routine inspections of tank appurtenances and fuel quality will keep your site safe and reliable. Contact to Patriot Clean Fuel today for a complimentary tank compliancy inspection!

Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy with family and friends while enjoying overfilled plates of turkey and all the delicious fixings. As turkey is the main ingredient to many Thanksgiving meals, diesel fuel is the main ingredient to all emergency diesel generators. To ensure reliability, facilities relying on stored fuel for emergency power need a comprehensive fuel management program in place.

Studies have shown it can take up to 20 years to turn over a single tank of stored diesel fuel designed to operate a generator at full-load for 72 hours.  This is a concerning statistic as stored diesel fuel begins to degrade after only 28 days of being delivered into a vessel for long term storage.  Generator engines like all engines are designed by the manufacturer to operate on ASTM quality stored diesel fuel. Due to the fuel degradation process, research concludes over 80% of all generator failures are a direct result of fuel related issues. A quality fuel management program will provide a turnkey solution to meet your facility's fuel related needs and validate all services through certified ASTM analysis.

Don't let generator failure due to degraded stored diesel fuel compromise your Thanksgiving holiday.

Be thankful for emergency equipment reliability, contact Patriot Clean Fuel today!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM PATRIOT CLEAN FUEL!

The October Sample of the Month comes from the Gulf of Mexico area of the United States. The samples above are from an underground storage tank and display two very different scenarios of on-road stored diesel fuel used to fuel fleet equipment. The fuel on the left was extracted prior to Patriot Clean Fuel's reconditioning and maintenance service. This left sample displays severely degraded stored diesel fuel contaminated with water, particulate and microbial contamination. This fuel was the direct result of unnecessary fuel filter changes, blown injector tips and costly equipment downtime. The sample jar on the right was extracted following Patriot Clean Fuel's diesel fuel management service. This right jar displays ASTM quality stored diesel fuel necessary for optimal performance per manufacturer specifications. Patriot Clean Fuel services are often imitated but never duplicated.

Spend pennies to save dollars, contact Patriot Clean Fuel today!