Cold Weather Preventative Maintenance

Ice and snow create slippery surfaces for customers, pedestrians and vehicular traffic.  Snow removal activities can be hazardous to surface covers that protect UST systems.  Vent lines can be damaged by snowplows and snow piles creating a direct pathway for water to flow into your tanks. Snow can accumulate as ice or water in below ground structures.

Cold temperatures can create ice buildup in submersible pump basins, and under-dispenser containment.  The cold also makes it more difficult to open system manways and dispenser skirts to conduct basic system maintenance.  Cold weather is also a nuisance to your customers who may become sensitive to the time it takes to dispense fuel.

We can’t change the weather, but we can prepare for winter.  Preventative maintenance can save you money.  Some pre-Winter suggestions:

  • Make sure fill port manways are properly color coded and protected from snowplow damage.
  • Mark and protect vent lines.
  • Change fuel filters before customers complain about slow fuel dispensing.
  • Evaluate all gutters and downspouts to ensure that water will not pond in drives or on or around walk ways.
  • Have snowmelt, brooms and shovels readily available to remove any snow or ice accumulations.
  • Wear high-visibility safety clothing when working on the drive or around the fueling islands.
  • Remove water from basins immediately to avoid ice buildup.
2894 106th St. Ste. 220 Urbandale, Iowa 50323