Belzona® offers several innovative applications for floating roof tanks. The installed cost of these repairs pales in comparison to the cost of conventional repair methods. Floating roofs can and do develop leaks at two and three plate welds of the skin as well as at corners of certain pontoon types. Additionally, pontoons themselves can develop leaks which are difficult to seal reliably. Belzona® offers Belzona® 1831 (Super UW-Metal) which is moisture and hydrocarbon tolerant to deal with such situations. Surface preparation consists solely of removing the existing paint or coating to expose the surface profile and then wiping down with solvent to eliminate the bulk of moisture and hydrocarbon contamination. Belzona® 1831 (Super UW-Metal) does the rest and is able to achieve bond strengths in excess of 2,000 psi even under adverse conditions such as those found on floating roofs. This allows for repairs to be conducted without a vapor space while the roof is still floating and without the need for any hot work. Customers routinely save hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding draining and gas freeing a tank prior to weld repairs and this does not include lost production costs.

Caulking between a tank shell and the concrete ring it rests on is notoriously unreliable, and at least one major oil and gas company has stopped specifying it at all since it only lasted three months on average in their experience. Once compromised, this joint allows snow melt and wind driven rain access to the underside of the tank floor where corrosion can proceed undetected. Ideally the floor does not corrode through before the next API 653 inspection but this is not always the case. The cost of installing a new floor in an above ground storage tank is $100-$150/ft². Belzona® 3111 (Flexible Membrane) can be used in place of caulk to form a flexible, breathable seal from the tank shell to the concrete pad. Unlike caulk which has little bond area, Belzona® 3111 (Flexible Membrane) is applied several inches up onto the shell, over the chine, and several inches down onto the concrete ring. This large bond area coupled with Flexible Membrane’s significant ability to expand and contract ensures a water tight seal for many years. Better, because Flexible Membrane is microporous, any trapped water beneath the floor can exit as water vapor even while liquid water from outside is prevented from entering. Please do not hesitate to contact us regarding these or other repairs to floating roof storage tanks; we look forward to helping your facility reduce operating costs.

Chris Lucas 
clucas@rumfordgroup.com
937-435-4650
RumfordGroup.com

Time sure does fly, 35 years have gone by

On January 11, 1980 Rumford Industrial Group was incorporated, becoming the Great Lakes Region distributor for Belzona polymeric repair compounds and industrial protective coatings.

We are honored to know that you rely on us to repair, protect and improve your machinery, equipment, buildings and structures when things stop working.  We trust that you’ll allow us to continue to be a trusted business partner for the next 35 years and beyond.

On behalf of our employees and associates, thank you so very much for the opportunity to be of service.

Jim Rumford

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