Masthead 75 years with diamond
July - 2012  
GEC e-Newsletter Archives:  
To view copies of our previous issues           Click Here for Archives 

  

Propane Celebrates 100 Years
NPGA Centennial Logo
2012 is an exciting year for the propane industry.
It marks the 100th year of the first use of this exceptional fuel, and celebrates its role in improving the lives and businesses of millions of people all over the world.75 Logo

Join GEC in celebrating
o
ur 75 year anniversary. 
Dear Valued Customer:

Gas Equipment Company is pleased to provide the e-Newsletter as a service to share useful & valuable information about the products & services we offer.  You will find sections on technical topics, new product announcements, "Did You Know" regulatory compliance requirements, "Virtual Warehouse" online ordering tips, along with an occasional "What's Wrong With This Picture?" section.  We hope you enjoy the Gas Equipment Company e-newsletter and choose to continue receiving it.  And, PLEASE feel free to email us with recommended topics or products you would like to see addressed in this forum.

Thank you for patronage.
 
 NEW BASE Engineering
WIRELESS EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN  Radio Remote Control for Anhydrous Ammonia Bulk Plants

Base EngDesigned specifically for Industrial, Fuel, & Anhydrous Ammonia Plants, our Remote Emergency Shutdown system was developed to eliminate costly hard-wiring of manual emergency-shutdown switches. Any number of radio transmitter units can be installed within 1,000 ft of a receiver control unit. The receiver control unit is powered with 120vac and includes a weatherproof potted air solenoid (not approved for Class D locations), an internal 120vac relay to kill power to the motor circuit, a portable handheld transmitter for the operator to carry with him and a wall mountable mushroom button transmitter to mount up to 1000' away

  

 The system is designed to work in conjunction with existing or new plant safety equipment and is easily installed. The ASK system can also be ordered to work in conjunction with our Truck Remote Units if required. Transmitter devices are low-voltage intrinsically safe units suitable for use in Class 1, Div 2, Group "D" hazardous environments. Transmitter batteries will last three-four years and have a test feature and low battery alarm.  

 

Remote stop-switch is rugged non-sparking cast aluminum and is fully sealed against extreme weather and temperature conditions. Receiver units are designed to easily interface and trip electrical, pneumatic, nitrogen, or mechanical plant shut-off equipment. BASE can supply actuators for these systems as required. Systems are pretested and shipped with detailed installation guide and schematics. A four-year full replacement warranty and 24/7 lifetime product support is included.

Base Eng AA BP
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
 

Frequency of Operation ......418-914 Mhz (433 Mhz Standard)

Method of Transmission .....On/Off Keyed

FCC Approval # .................N8K4401B

Normal Operating Range ....1,000'

Antenna Type ....................1/2 Wave Rigid External

Battery Requirements  ........2 AA

Low Battery Test ................Included

Receiver Power Supply ......12/24 Volts DC or 120 Volts AC

Receiver Output ................10 Amp Dry Contact Relay, Pre-wired Plug-ins

Construction .....................Non-sparking Aluminum Weatherproof

System Weight ................10 lbs.

 

CLICK HERE for NH3 Products Flyer 

 

NEW BLACKMER Pump
Model 3021- Direct Product Replacement 
Model 3021LGL3021

 

Before the turn of the 20th century, a rotary pump was generally understood to be a "gear pump," consisting primarily of two meshing gears which trapped liquid between the gear teeth and the pump housing creating small sealing cavities that transported fluid as it rotated, forcing the liquid out the other side. But in 1899 R. M. Blackmer came up with a vane-type pump design that was an important departure from the old gear principle. In contrast to the flow rate from a gear pump that drops steadily as the gear teeth wear away, the loss from a vane-type pump is practically negligible. As the vanes wear away at the tips, they simply move further out of the rotor slots to self-adjust and maintain the original rate. That style pump is still the premier choice of the propane industry today.  And as a leader in first innovations Blackmer continues that trend with the 3021 pump. Blackmer's innovations include developing the first sliding vane pump, the first practical positive displacement liquefied gas pump, and more recently, the patented cavitation & noise suppression technology.

 

The LGL3021 was designed to provide the same foot-to-flange and flange-to-flange dimensions as a competitive replacement pump model. This allows for easy pump installation during change overs or plant maintenance without changing piping or motor drives because the inlet and discharge flanges are on the pump shaft centerline. A major benefit is the LGL3021 has the same horsepower requirement as the competitive pump but provides 13% to 25% more flow, depending upon the LPG installation and application conditions.

Blackmer Foundry

 

I recently visited and toured the impressive Blackmer manufacturing plant in Grand Rapids and found they are a vertically integrated company; in that they own and operate their own captive castings foundry. This allows them to control the quality of the iron and steel used in the manufacturing of Blackmer pumps while operating more efficiently.

 

CLICK HERE for 3021 Spec Sheet 

     WHAT SQE Size
IS
IT?

Super Quick Exhaust Valve (SQE)

or 

Multi-Control Shuttle Valves

Your Choice: It Can Be Used As Either 


Enhanced Remote Closure

 The SQE valve is available in 1/8" FNPT openings-SQE1 or 1/4" FNPT openings-SQE2.
 
A number of authorities having jurisdiction have expressed concerns that occasional storage locations take too long to shutdown the internal valves and ESV's when the remote shutdown systems are activated.  GEC offers a product called a Super Quick Exhaust Valve (SQE), manufactured by Humphrey Valves to solve this issue.

The SQE valve speeds up the discharge rate of a pneumatic actuation system. Let's look at a pneumatic system that consisted of 300 feet of tubing with 9 actuators and included two 3-way shutdown control toggle valves in the system.  One was located at the bobtail bulkhead and one at the exit fence about ninety feet away. The toggle at the bulkhead was closing all the valves in about 15 seconds which was acceptable; however it was taking 55 seconds to close when activated at the fence control valve.

By utilizing an SQE2 (1/4") super quick exhaust valve and installing it near the inlet side of the bulkhead toggle; after installation when re-tested the 3-way shutdown toggle at the fence closed all the actuators in 10 seconds. When you recharge the pneumatic system it automatically resets itself.

The SQE valve provides a very affordable and enhanced pneumatic shutdown system providing rapid closure of ESV's and internal valves.
The installation is simple by using two quick connect tubing fittings and cutting the tubing to install.

Important Note:  Since NFPA 58 (2008 ed), 6.10 (2) limits the size of tubing that can be used on a pneumatic control system to 3/8" outside diameter, shutdown times will be extensive with lengthy runs of tubing on a large installation.  The use of several SQE(s) may be warranted on an as-needed basis, since most tubing used is 1/4" OD.

Multi-Control Shuttling:

The SQE valve can also be utilized as a SHUTTLE VALVE as opposed to a super quick exhaust valve.  "What is a shuttle valve?  Have you ever had an installation with multiple bulkheads where you wanted to have individual control of the storage tank internal valves and individual bulkhead ESV's from each bulkhead?  If so, by utilizing a shuttle valve you can control internal valves or ESV's from multiple locations without hindering each other's operation.

Another application for a SQE valve as a Shuttle valve is a bulk storage site with a bulkhead but also has a cylinder filling station that is supplied from one of the storage tanks.  By installing separate 3-way control valves at the bulkhead and cylinder station you can use a SQE to control the internal valves on the storage tank that supplies the cylinder pump.  This will allow you to be able to 1) shut down all ESV's and internal valves from the Remote station,  2) The control valve at the bulkhead will shutdown the bulkhead ESV's and all internal valves on all tanks UNLESS the control valve for the cylinder pump is open, then the cylinder filling supply tank internal valve will remain open until that control valve or the Master remote control valve is closed.  3) if the master remote is open and the cylinder pump control is opened it will open only the internal valve on the pump supply tank.


Additional Note:  Some AHJ have required only one remote shutdown station; but in accordance with NFPA 58 (2008 ed), section 5.12.4 (3) if you are installing ESV's with Actuators (not cable or pneumatic releases), you may be required to provide a pneumatic shutdown station at the ESV location to meet paragraph (3) that requires manual shutoff capability at the installed location (especically if they are installed on top of tanks or in inaccessible areas or without manual closure capability).

Multi-Control Shuttling Example #2:

For example, a customer with bulk storage tanks incorporating two bulkheads with ESV's at each bulkhead; can prevent operation of internal valve closure at the remote bulkheads when one transport completes unloading/loading.  The concern is when a bobtail would load at a different/second bulkhead while a transport was already unloading at the first bulkhead.  You do not want the transport driver to shutdown the master remote shutdown and close the tank internal valves while the bobtail driver is still loading his bobtail creating a safety issue by running the pump dry with no liquid supply from the tanks.  To prevent this from occurring you can utilize separate 3-way control valves at each bulkhead with a SQE valve as a shuttle valve and still have a master remote control shutdown to meet the regulatory requirement (at least 25' not more than 100' from the liquid transfer point).

FREE Employee Training
Amerigas Training
Recent AmeriGas training class conducted by Debbie Cannon featuring students from Greenville, New Brockton, Opp, and Troy, AL

Front Row:  Andrew Haygood, Bill Swindle, Danny Gregg, Gary Cheatwood, Ronnie Westmoreland
Back Row:  Chris Tarvin, Phillip Thrasher, Jonathan Sansing, Joey Shelton, Tim Moses, David Dudley  

 

Gas Equipment Company sales representatives and customer service specialists are factory trained and experienced in all product lines to provide dependable solutions with a personalized approach. Armed with this extensive product knowledge, our sales representatives travel 28 states conducting field and classroom training seminars, providing safety information, and establishing a direct link to manufacturers.  Our curricula include in-field hands-on training demonstrating proper pump, meter and compressor installation, maintenance, troubleshooting and rebuilding.

 

GEC provides Certificates of Completion for training classes conducted allowing employers to file copies in employee files for future documentation demonstrating a commitment to continued education.

 

 CLICK HERE for a copy of our offered training curricula.
Training List
For Specific Product or Service Questions please contact one or our Customer Service Warehouses below:

Atlanta, GA

(800) 241-4155         

Dallas, TX

(800) 821-1829

Fayetteville, NC

(800) 447-1625

Houston, TX

(800) 334-7816

Indianapolis, IN

(800) 241-1971

Kansas City, MO

(800) 821-5062

Little Rock, AR

(800) 643-8222

Orlando,  FL

(800) 821-0631

Richmond, VA

(800) 368-4013

St. Louis, MO

(800) 423-4685


Sincerely,
GEC e-Newsletter
Gas Equipment Co., Inc
In This Issue
Propane Centennial & GEC 75th Anniversary
NEW BASE Engineering Bulk Plant Wireless Emergency Shutdown System
NEW Blackmer Pump-Model 3021
WHAT IS IT? SQE Valves
FREE Employee Training
HEATSTAR Vent-Free Heater SPECIAL OFFER
GEC Regulator Program
Join Our Mailing List
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HEAT STAR Vent-Free Heaters 

SPECIAL OFFER
July 1-August 31, 2012  
HeatStar
 
on Top of the Pre-Season Program  
For Every 10 vent-free Heat Star heaters Purchased Receive 1 Free heater *

 
* Select FREE heater from these 4 models: 
 
HSVFR10NG-F155225
HSVFR10LP-F155228
HSVFB10NG-F155549
HSVFB10LP-F155582


GEC 2012 Regulator Program
Gas Equipment's 2012 RegO Regulator Program.


Our Best Program Ever!
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Inet Specials

Save with Internet Specials

Visit www.gasequipment.com and shop online at the "GEC Virtual Warehouse" and take advantage of several Internet Specials. 

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS REGISTER FOR A WEB ORDER ENTRY (WOE) ACCOUNT WITH GEC*.  You'll be issued a confidential user I.D. and password that will allow you to order on your schedule.

Click "Register for Online Ordering" to get started.

 

*All registrants must have a current account with GEC in good standing before the WOE account can be activated.

 

For a copy of the GEC Solutions introducing our CLICK, SEARCH, BUY, MANAGE edition of our Virtual Warehouse email your request to

e-newsletter@gasequipment.com

Online Specials are changed regularly, check back periodically for new offerings!