Avoid Repairs with These Simple Gas Station Maintenance Tips

Avoid Repairs with These Simple Gas Station Maintenance TipsAccording to a research published in September 2016, the total number of gas stations in the US is roughly about 121,446.

While this is a huge number, it isn’t wrong to say that running a gas station isn’t an easy job. It has its own share of responsibilities. You ought to know new techniques and have all the latest knowledge regarding the equipment to be able to spot any problem immediately.

To ensure that your gas station is fully functional all the time, it is important to provide preventive maintenance to all the equipment and keep a regular check over them in case they need repairs.

The fuel dispensers are made up of different small parts, making it essential to ensure the perfect performance of each part to be able to provide high quality and profitable service.

So, here are a few simple maintenance tips for your gas station to help you avoid repairs.

1. Check the flow rate

The flow rate at the dispenser must be approximately 9gpm. A lower than 9gpm flow rate is poor. In that case, you must…

2. Check the fuel filters

If there is fuel contamination in your tank, fuel filters will inform you by giving away warning signs.

3. Keep water away

Since water can host a lot of microorganisms, it is best to keep water out of your fuel tank to avoid fuel contamination. Also check for water at the end of your fuel tank and try keeping it out of the fill pipe sump. Water often ends up in the tank when left in the sump.

4. Use biocide

Using a soluble biocide regularly is important to eradicate microbial contamination in your fuel tank.

A few other important tips include checking oil for consistency and proper level, checking the pump for both oil and water leaks, checking for change of valves, checking the clutch and belts for proper alignment and tension, checking the micro-switch and tightening all the lose fasteners, nuts and bolts.

Since it is extremely important to maintain your gas pump, you can form a checklist as a reminder to perform maintenance of your gas station regularly.

The John W. Kennedy Company is a leading petroleum equipment company since the 1930s. We take pride in offering a wide range of items to fill your needs. So, if you are looking for the best petroleum equipment solutions in town, click here to contact now!

Gas Station Fuel Nozzles are Fascinating Contraptions!

If you have ever wondered how all those fuel nozzles at your gas station actually work…

Gas Station Fuel Nozzles are Fascinating Contraptions

…then you have come to the right place.

It’s a simple, yet complex, arrangement of mechanical components—linkages, valves, springs, diaphragms, seals—that work together to make these fascinating contraptions function.

Please explain…

How Gas Station Nozzles Work?

Let’s have a quick review of couple of concepts that we established in our physics classes, the understanding of which would be required to fully grasp the mechanics behind the functioning of a gas station nozzle.

  • We know that a fluid flows from a high-pressure area to a low-pressure area.
  • We know that the pressure in vacuum is less than the atmospheric pressure.

Now that we have reviewed the essential concepts, we can press the lever on the fuel nozzle to see how the whole thing works.

As you press the lever, it opens the main poppet valve

This poppet valve allows the gasoline to flow through the body of the fuel nozzle. However, this flow only lasts for a short term. To continue to draw more gasoline through the nozzle, the contraption has to pull-in additional force to assist the gasoline flow.  That is where the design of the device helps itself.

The initial flow of gasoline causes an anti-drain valve to move downwards

The downward movement of the valve, creates a low-pressure area within the fuel nozzle. This low-pressure area is connected to the spout of the gas pump nozzle via a tube—the point of insertion being a small hole present at the bottom of spout. This hole is exposed to the external environment, allowing air to enter.

When the vacuum is created, the resulting pressure drop causes air to flow from the small hole, all the way through the tube and into the vacuum space. There it mixes with gasoline, and the flow of air causes gasoline to maintain its own flow.

This flow continues until the gasoline level in the fuel tank reaches a certain point

At this point, the filled gasoline covers the small hole through which the air has been entering. When the hole is covered, instead of air, gasoline starts flowing through it and all the way up to the vacuum space.

Since gasoline is denser than air, the pressure changes in the vacuum space. This pressure change causes a diaphragm to be sucked, which then shuts off the main poppet valve. Consequently, the gasoline supply from the mains is cut off.

And this is how the fuel nozzles at your gas station works.

Want to Buy a New Fuel Nozzle for Your Gas Station?

We stock high quality branded fuel nozzles. All our products come with manufacturer’s warranty and along with fuel nozzles, we also provide other petroleum equipment supplies for your gas station. Check out our expansive inventory of products.

A Safety Checklist for Fuel Dispensers at Filling Stations

Industry compliance is probably the biggest challenge that you face as a gas station owner, when running a service station business.

However, it’s not hard to understand why the industry is highly regularized and monitored, since gasoline and other petroleum products have environmental and fire safety risks. As such, it’s the responsibility of every gas station owner to take every possible step to mitigate the risk of accidental spills and leaks at their facility. Continue reading

Cumberland Farms Kicks Off Best Practices Seminar Series Featuring Bravo Systems

BEST PRACTICES SEMINAR SERIES
CF Bravo Best Practices Collage

On November 8, 2017, the John W. Kennedy Company in conjunction with East Coast Associates hosted the first Cumberland Farms Best Practices certification seminar at the John W. Kennedy Company’s Mark A. Ring Memorial Training Facility  in East Providence, RI featuring a presentation from S. Bravo Systems.

In an ongoing effort to enforce the integrity of their spec and consistency of equipment installation standards for all their refueling construction projects,  Jim Scholes, Senior Construction Project Manager of Cumberland Farms worked with Tom Correa, National Account Manager of the John W. Kennedy Company to create the Cumberland Farms Best Practices Seminar Series.

These seminars invite contractors doing work on Cumberland Farms projects to learn, review and discuss how the spec equipment Cumberland Farms uses from various manufacturers should be installed in accordance to manufacturers’ recommended installation procedures that adhere to the expectations of Cumberland Farms to provide a consistent outcome from contractor to contractor and location to location.

Micah Nelson, Bravo National Sales Manager was the seminar presenter, accompanied by Bravo Regional Sales Managers, Bob Hyatt and Trent Caster.  Also on hand were Mark Sisco and Jim Holland of East Coast Associates who are the Bravo representatives on the U.S. East Coast.

Best Practices BravoAnd while the contractors learn first hand from the manufacturer how the product should look when it shows up on site and how best to go about installations, they also share their trials and tribulations of the realities on the job site. As Micah Nelson spoke to a packed house, reviewing Bravo off-the-shelf products and those assemblies they build specifically for Cumberland Farms during the half day event, the exchange between presenter and attendees brought to light details and issues new to both sides.  There were also discussions about the direction the future holds.   This is exactly what drove the concept for the Best Practices seminar series.

As Micah summed up the event, “It’s amazingly helpful to us as a manufacturer when we can have an open forum with our distribution partner, the end user, and the installing contractor all in the same room. It’s great events like this that help us make our products better.”

In support of Micah’s sentiments, Jim Holland added, “We (S. Bravo & ECA) were grateful to be a part of the first Cumberland Farms Best Practices seminar hosted by the John W. Kennedy Co. It’s humbling to gather with companies both large and small to reach a common goal.  To pull in a manufacturer, distributor and competing construction house’s to exchange ideas and develop a road map to support the end customer’s best interest, is both advantageous and inspiring.”

 

While this was the first event in the series, the next is already being planned.  The goal is for everyone to walk away with the feeling that such events are a worthwhile investment of their time.

Jim Scholes stated, “Thanks to Kennedy Co. , Bravo , East Coast Associates and the many companies that attended.  The presentation was great , the room was energized and the overall sense of partnership was palpable.  One of Cumberland Farms main company values is succeeding together and this event certainly practiced that.  Looking forward to the next Cumberland Farms Best Practices workshop.”

Opening the lines of communication to avoid issues is the first step to yield positive results.  Best Practices becomes part of the solution to achieve greater success for all involved by doing just that!

The John W. Kennedy Company appreciates your business and continued support!

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Air Compressor Maintenance Tips for the Heedful Managers

Air Compressor Maintenance Tips for the Heedful ManagersAir compressors are an important part of your fuel station equipment arsenal. Their use is as extensive as any of your service equipment. You run them daily, throughout the operating hours, inflating the tires of deflated long queues of vehicles—rolling in, one after the another.

And so, amidst this heavy traffic of customers, it becomes easy to neglect the all too important—that is, the upkeep of your air compressor. Continue reading

An Invisible Thief: Poor Fueling Ventilation In Product Losses

An Invisible Thief Poor Fueling Ventilation In Product LossesOften times, gas stations are faced with inventory shrinkage. Much to their dismay, it is nearly impossible to avert the cause, or causes rather, leading to fuel loss. However, if the fuel distribution operations are properly scrutinized and fuel storage facilities are adequately ventilated, the inevitable product loss can be managed and controlled to a great deal. Continue reading