Resolve to Clean Up the Fueling Experience With Diesel-Capture Nozzles
By Ed Kammerer
The dawn of a new year can be a great time for a top-to-bottom reassessment of a retail-fueling business, in addition to executing a regular schedule of operational reviews throughout the year. A yearly reassessment can provide the perfect opportunity to audit the previous 12 months, determine what went well and what could have gone better, and then identify the best ways to ensure that the right things continue while the other things are improved. It provides the opportunity to begin the year with a clean slate.
This reassessment can be cosmetic, like replacing those burned-out lightbulbs on the marquee, patching pavement holes in the forecourt or determining if a new coat of paint is warranted for the convenience store’s interior, exterior or washrooms. The reassessment can also be operational. Take inventory of the performance of the fuel storage and dispensing equipment systems and see if any of it needs to be repaired or has reached the end of its service life and should be replaced. Any new equipment technologies that have entered the market should also be assessed to see if their implementation can help improve the performance of your operation.
Come Clean at the Fuel Island
When making resolutions after your reassessment, there should be one ultimate goal: offering a fueling experience that is clean and attractive to drivers, one that will keep them coming back. If those drivers sit behind the steering wheels of diesel-powered vehicles, they are likely well aware that diesel can leave behind a residue of dirt and grime that is both unattractive and potentially dangerous. Unlike gasoline, diesel does not evaporate. It stays around to make a mess of things if left to drip down the spout after a post fueling event.
Diesel fuel can destroy rubber or plastic soles on shoes and stain leather uppers. Any nozzle and dispenser buttons that are coated with diesel residue just don’t look good, and the diesel left on the buttons may end up on the hands of the driver before getting transferred to clothes or the interior of the vehicle. Diesel fuel that is also allowed to drip and puddle on the forecourt can create slip-and-fall and – in extreme cases – fire risks. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the retail-fueling site operator that the best diesel-nozzle technology be used for that ultra-critical “handshake with the driver,” i.e., the removal, interaction with and operation of the fueling nozzle.
Recognizing the need for a clean and safe fueling experience in all instances, OPW Retail Fueling, Smithfield, NC, USA, developed the 14 Series of Clean Fueling Nozzles, all of which feature innovative patented and patent-pending free-draining spout and fuel-recapture technology. These design innovations help the 14 Series nozzles significantly minimize the potential for fuel to be retained in the spout after fueling, which keeps the fuel off drivers’ hands and clothing, the dispensing equipment and the ground.
The latest addition to OPW’s cleaner, greener 14 Series nozzle family is the 14HC High-Flow DieselNozzle, which has been designed for use in high-speed diesel-fueling activities, particularly those that are common at truck stops and high-volume c-store sites that feature truck-fueling islands.
The operational foundation of the 14HC nozzle, which is approved for use with diesel blends up to B20, is its patented diesel-capture chamber that retains fuel at the conclusion of the fueling process. The diesel-capture technology enables any excess fuel left on the spout to be drained back into the diesel-capture chamber where it is held until the next fueling event occurs. The result is a cleaner fueling process that protects the nozzle, dispenser, forecourt surface and drivers from fuel and the grimy residue that can result in unattractive and unclean nozzles and dispensers and an overall unappealing refueling process.
The 14HC also targets high-volume fueling sites by being able to deliver high flow rates that reduce refueling times, resulting in shorter waits and faster turnover. Finally, the 14HC nozzles, like all members of the 14 Series nozzle family, are UL- and ULc-listed for use at fueling sites in the United States and Canada.
Conclusion
Everyone makes resolutions at the beginning of a new year. The challenge is keeping those resolutions. For the operators of retail-fueling sites who are looking for ways to optimize the performance of their facilities, there is one resolution that should be pursued and successfully completed year-round: resolve to make the fueling operation as clean, green and safe as possible. OPW Retail Fueling stands ready to assist in this endeavor, offering its 14 Series nozzle family, with the new 14HC High-Flow Diesel-Capture Nozzle being designed to provide a cleaner, faster and safer diesel-fueling experience. Begin your fueling year with a clean start by installing “cleaner” nozzles.
Ed Kammerer is the director of Global Product Management for OPW, based in Cincinnati, OH, USA. He can be reached at ed.kammerer@opwglobal.com. OPW is defining what’s next in fueling solutions and innovations worldwide. OPW delivers product excellence and the most comprehensive line of fueling equipment and services to retail and commercial fueling operations around the globe. For more information on OPW, please go to opwglobal.com
