Travels to sites across the country produced yet another stellar collection of “Worst of
the Week” recipients. With anticipation assuredly growing, let’s dive into this week’s
submissions.
Big Bucket of Yuck
Proof that this UST was dirty lies right here in the picture as nearly an entire 5-gallon
bucket of rust and sludge was removed from this tank. Without question, the slow flow
problems that this site owner was experiencing were a result of this rusty mess.
Gas Rags Times Three
More often than not, when a gas rag finds its way into a fuel tank the culprit is a sloppy
fuel delivery. Careless delivery drivers will insert a fuel rag into a hose to limit fuel from
dripping out, but then the driver will forget that the rag was ever in there. And when the
hose is hooked to the fill at the next station, the rag will be pumped into a tank right
along with the fuel. Apparently, this was a common problem last week judging by the
three rags found at three different locations.
Corroded Cap Threads
The riser cap on this ATG has certainly seen better days. The threads on the cap are
so badly corroded that it will not adequately tighten. Obviously, site maintenance had to
be contacted to fix this problem. All that to be said, a little housekeeping would have
gone a long way to ensure this problem never would have happened.
STP Sump Taking on Water
There are two glaring problems with this STP sump and the STP within it. First: it had
a drum full of water pumped from it and it was still taking on water. Second: it was
nearly rusted to the point that the bolts holding it in place could hardly be removed.
Again, never neglect checking out the quality of your sumps—if you don’t, the costs in
the long run will only further add up.
Here is yet another adventure into the world of storage tanks and the dirtiness that can
unfortunately collect in and around them. And chances are there will be another round
of exceptional entries next time. Until then…