Whether a retailer is operating a traditional service station, a convenience store with a six-island forecourt or a truck stop with 10 to 20 diesel-fueling lanes, the goal is the same: ensure drivers are able to get fuel into their tanks quickly, reliably and safely. This objective requires an underground fueling system that will perform without fail. Ensuring that performance can be tricky, however, since a great many of the fueling system’s components are buried out of sight.
Common problems associated with buried fueling systems were greatly alleviated a decade ago with OPW’s creation of the FlexWorks Loop System. The genius behind the Loop System was that it was the industry’s first completely integrated, environmentally secure “plug-and-play” underground fuel-delivery system. The system’s true innovation was that it employed pre-fabricated, factory-assembled components that drastically reduced the amount of field labor that was required to install it, while simultaneously lowering the risk that installation errors would occur.
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Learn how traditional and high-volume fuel retailers can optimize the installation, monitoring, maintenance and safety of their underground fueling systems with the FlexWorks Loop System™ from OPW.
Expanding the horizon
The success of the Loop System is illustrated in the hundreds of installations that have been successfully completed since its introduction about 10 years ago, as well as in the number of major fuel marketers who now specify only this system. However, as the retail-fueling industry has changed—with the growth in the number of dedicated truck stops and the increasingly popular “hybrid” convenience stores that feature truck-fueling lanes—the need for a version of the Loop System that could service these high-volume sites became apparent.
To address this need, OPW has responded with the development of the High-Flow Loop System.
The High-Flow Loop System takes the components from the original system and sizes them up so they can handle the increased flow rates that are required to create an expedient high-volume fueling operation. The upsized components include:
- Loop dispenser sumps designed to match the footprint of high-speed dispensers that produce high-volume flow rates while also accommodating fuel dispensing on both sides of the truck with satellite dispensers
- 3-inch (up from 1.5- and 2-inch) double-sided flexible/rigid entry fittings (RBF) that provide containment protection to prevent fuel contamination and groundwater intrusion
- 3-inch (up from 1.5- and 2-inch) UL971-listed coaxial pipe that is easy to install, requires no adhesive or welding and eliminates leak points and exposed joints and fittings by providing a continuous run of pipe between the tank and dispenser
- 6-inch (up from 4-inch) access pipes that resist crushing and allow easy access and pipe retraction for maintenance, repair, removal and replacement
- 3-inch (up from 1.5- and 2-inch) double-walled, stainless-steel pipe couplings (DPC) that eliminate the need for a rubber test boot and the trimming back of secondary jackets, while allowing for continuous monitoring
The High-Flow Loop System also includes the new 2-inch version of OPW’s 10 Plus Series Emergency Shut-Off Valves with both 2-inch and 3-inch pipe-connection points. These valves have proven to be the industry’s best protection against low-impact fractures in the fuel dispenser’s shear groove, which reduces the risk that undetected dispenser leaks can result in ground contamination or a fire/explosion hazard.
Conclusion
The No. 1 challenge for operators of truck stops or hybrid c-stores is finding a fuel-delivery system that can reliably create the high-volume flow rates that enable fast refueling speeds. A second major requirement is to identify a fueling system that is easy to install, monitor and maintain. The FlexWorks High-Flow Loop System from OPW satisfies both needs with its integrated, pre-fabricated design that lessens installation times, costs and risks, and enlarged components that meet the refueling times required at high-volume fueling sites.
Visit opwglobal.com to learn more about OPW’s FlexWorks Loop System and its new High-Flow offering. The new High-Flow system will be on display at the upcoming NACS Show, and officially launch in the coming weeks.
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