Storage tank safety is of utmost importance to every industrial business, as these tanks often contain volatile or strong chemical compounds. By employing the proper safety methods and procedures, management can avoid accidents, potentially millions of dollars in damages, and unnecessary loss of production time.

Never overfill the tank

The simplest precaution is to avoid filling the storage tank beyond its designed capacity. Accidental overfilling or an obstruction in the flow at the exit vents are also grave mistakes. Remember that some of the most well-known industrial accidents occurred due to overfilling.

Ensure your tanks are installed by experts

Trained and licensed professionals ensure that your tanks are installed with all the pertinent storage tank safety regulations. They also know the quality work it takes to install a tank without errors or costly mistakes that could result in storage tank damage or, worse, the tank failing while it’s full.

Maintenance is crucial

Regardless of whether or not your tank is above ground or underground, you need to continue to perform regular maintenance checks and determine if the tank is still in working order. Look into the use and maintenance of the specific tank to understand how to care for it.

Always use protective equipment

When cleaning, maintaining, or checking the tanks, ensure that they are being performed by trained personnel who know what to do and how to do it while following storage tank safety protocols. They also must be fully equipped with personal protective equipment. If there is an issue with the storage tank, the risk of harm to them is as minimal as possible.

Monitor the pressure

An under-pressured tank is as bad as an over-pressured tank. The pressure within the tank walls can increase or decrease depending on the contents, their degradation with time, and the volume of matter in them. It’s crucial to continuously inspect and monitor the pressure levels to determine if they are still within a safe threshold or if the tank is at risk for rupture.

KC Supply Co emphasizes getting the help and advice of professionals. A specialist can help determine the best inspection intervals and the ideal processes for handling the tanks in every storage tank safety aspect.

KC Supply Co has specialists and safety equipment for working around storage tanks. Visit KCSupply.com to find out more.

When choosing industrial storage tanks for your factory or your plant, the adage “the right tool for the job” still applies. There are multiple varieties of storage tanks, and they have different levels of performance according to what is designed to get stored in them.

Some of the most common types are:

• Fuel Storage Tanks — These are specifically designed to hold fuel or petroleum but can also be used to hold organic and non-organic liquids. This is because the standard required for fuel tank safety is exceptionally high, making them ideal for storing other fluids.

• Aboveground Fuel Tank — Has easy long-term maintenance and has direct costs. Essentially, these are the most cost-effective tanks and, therefore, popular.

• Underground Fuel Tank — These industrial storage tanks are also USTs or Underground Storage Tanks. At least 10% of their contents are buried underground. They’re beneficial for storing hazardous material. Like their aboveground counterparts, they’re handy for a variety of fluids.

• Chemical Storage Tanks — These tanks vary in material, such as stainless steel, polyethylene, and fiberglass.

• Stainless steel — These are the most expensive options but are the most highly effective variant, capable of holding a variety of strong acids and compounds.

• Fiberglass — Suitable for some chemical storage applications but has leakage risk and needs constant monitoring.

• Polyethelene Storage — These are the most versatile among the storage tanks of choice, as they can hold more than just chemicals.

• Industrial Oil Tanks — These industrial storage tanks act more as reservoirs. Unlike the other tanks, they’re not used explicitly for long-term storage. Instead, they are containers where different oil phases are stored as they constantly flow down the supply line before finally getting consumed.

• Fixed roof tank — Keeps stored oil protected under an unmoving cover, preventing exposure. Often, these are used for holding low-volume oil products.

• Bunded tank — These tanks are often surrounded by a containment dike or another tank. This secondary layer provides a catch system for any spills.

• Single skin & Double skin tank — These tanks have one or two layers of plastic or steel which improve the structural integrity of the tanks.

These are only some of the most common types of tanks. Depending on what you need to store in it, choose the appropriate tank for the contents you intend to put in.

KC Supply Co recommends asking specialists to determine the ideal tank type for your industry and contents. Visit the website to get in touch with an expert today.

Bucket elevators are familiar tools for people in the industrial field, but others may have never seen them before as they had never had a reason to use them. But this multipurpose piece of equipment helps improve efficiency at just about any site, especially if you know how to use them.

What is a bucket elevator?

Bucket elevators are must-have tools that enable workers to vertically convey, elevate, or lift large amounts of materials through a large bucket where the material goes. For example, if you have a large amount of material that needs to be moved from one end of the factory to the other, this is the tool to do it. With bucket elevators, workers and personnel won’t have to carry those by themselves.

The bucket is attached to a rotating belt or chain, which picks up the material and moves it to the endpoint. It then discharges the material and goes back to the starting point.

Here are the different types of bucket elevators:

• Centrifugal Bucket Elevator

This type of bucket elevator uses centrifugal force, which hurls the material out of the buckets as they travel over the head pulley. It operates much faster than others, and the buckets are spaced apart separately. The result is that the material is speedily and constantly transported, saving time. These bucket elevators are the best options for free-flowing, fine, or powdered materials such as paint powders, dry chemicals, cement, and more.

• Continuous Bucket Elevator

These are much larger capacity bucket elevators compared to the centrifugal ones. They’re best for more significant loads and applications that require handling material with care. Steel or synthetic buckets have a single chain or two on each side. The buckets are continuously mounted and moving at slower speeds. There is a direct feed on the up-leg side that loads the buckets. Once they reach their destination, they discharge through gravity.

KC Supply explains that depending on your industry needs and the amount of material you need to be transported. You should choose the right bucket elevator that gives you efficiency and safety in handling the materials.

KC Supply takes pride in providing heavy-duty industries with the right equipment. Visit KC Supply Co to learn about applications for equipment.

Belt tension is one of the most crucial factors affecting conveyor belt performance and maintenance. Conveyor belts are highly dynamic equipment used for multiple purposes across many industries. Everything from manufacturing to distribution uses conveyor belts to get the work done.

Because these machines do so much work, companies have to maintain the life of the conveyor belt, and one of the best ways to do that is to ensure that the belt tension remains optimal. Not only will this keep the belt running smoothly, but if you can detect anomalies in belt tension, it could be a sign that something is wrong.

Importance of Belt Tension

• It affects all the rest of the machine

Without the proper belt tension, the rest of the conveyor belt’s parts start to suffer. Rollers, joints, and other machine parts begin to strain and operate poorly if you don’t have the correct tension. You have to determine the perfect level accurately: not too loose that the belt slips or too tight that it causes the machine to break apart.

• It causes unnecessary wear

Without the proper belt tension, the conveyor can’t run smoothly, and it becomes challenging for the rest of the machine to get the belt going. If the belt is too tight, the bearings and shafts of the machine start to grind and wear down prematurely. You may also experience tracking problems. The strap itself starts to wear out unevenly.

Maintaining Belt Tension

The best way to find out if your belt has improper tension are these checks:

• Is the belt lacing pulling out? This may mean having too much tension.
• Check the belt track. It may not be tracking properly if the belt edges curl.
• Stalling belts means it’s too loose, starting to slip.
• Squealing noises means the belt is not tracking, and there’s too much tension.

KC Supply Co explains that with these tips, you can keep an eye on the performance of your conveyor belt and ensure that there is optimal belt tension at all times.

KC Supply knows how important maintaining heavy-duty industrial equipment is for company processes. Head to KCSupply.com to find more tips to keep equipment at top performance.

KC Supply sometimes receives queries about types of bearing and bearing lubrication. Rolling elements typically require proper lubrication to increase their performance efficiency and prolong their overall lifespan.

Benefits of Lubrication

Something worth noting is that lubrication of a bearing can be a messy process that isn’t always considered practical by some companies. Some people see it as an unnecessary secondary process. But proper lubrication for bearings is crucial, especially to your machinery.

Not lubricating properly can break a whole machine. Furthermore, lubrication defends against corrosion and contaminants and prevents heat from transferring.

 Tips for Correct Lubrication

1. Identify the correct lubricant

Depending on the ball bearing or roller you use for the machinery, you might use oil or grease. It becomes imperative to check the manufacturer’s instructions on the appropriate lubricant for specific machines, even down to specific parts.

1. Know the benefits of each type

Oil is typically used for multiple bearing components and is often used for high-temperature equipment. It’s easier to change out and drain. On the other hand, grease remains in place and is more likely used on equipment that requires sealing. While high-temperature grease does exist, it can be expensive.

1. Ensure that you clean the area first

Remove all existing oils, grease, and anti-corrosion coatings on the bearings that you will lubricate. It improves the adhesion of the new grease and oil. It also eliminates potential incompatibilities between different lubricants.

1. Fill the lubricant cavity appropriately

Some machines have a specific fill quantity that allows all bearings and rollers in the area to receive proper lubrication. Keeping the right fill quantity means not over or underfilling the lubricant cavity. Over-lubricating can be just as dangerous as under-lubricating. Over-lubrication can increase internal friction. Under-lubrication means contact surfaces on the bearings and rollers aren’t lubricated enough.

For KC Supply, it’s essential to be aware of these different factors as improper lubrication, whether too much, too little, or the wrong type of lubricant entirely, can be detrimental to equipment lifespan. It may cause workplace hazards errors and will cost your business money in maintenance and repair.

Ensuring that your equipment runs smoothly is critical to continued efficiency in any production line. Learn more about crucial equipment maintenance tips by visiting KC Supply.

held every year to continually and constantly remind the workers and farmers of the agricultural sector to remain vigilant about the safety of workers that do their jobs in and around any bin that holds any grain.

The Numbers to Know

It’s extremely easy for something to go wrong during cleaning or unclogging a grain bin, and tragic accidents have affected entire communities. In 2020 alone, 20 people died of entrapment inside grain bins.

To prevent more accidents, it’s crucial to put grain safety at the forefront of all activities regarding the grain bin and to have all the necessary safety items like grain bin safety tubes, oxygen tanks, and masks at hand.

Grain Bin Safety Week

Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety Week is holding a contest where fire departments across the country can get nominated to win some all-essential grain bin safety tubes and proper, hands-on training on how to use them. First responders will also need training on how to proceed in a grain entrapment situation, which requires absolute speed and skill as lives hang in the balance.

If you want to win a grain bin safety tube for your fire department, you can nominate them online and through email from January 1 to April 30, 2022. You can email gbswinfo@nationwide.com to describe your fire department or emergency rescue team and explain how they can benefit from receiving the grain safety tube and how big a difference the entrapment training can give them and their community.

As a nominator, you have to provide your name, occupation, phone number, postal and email addresses, and your nominated fire department or rescue team’s name, address, and phone number.

KC Supply Co fully supports Grain Bin Safety Week 2022, emphasizing the need for safety equipment when handling all things grain. Visit KC Supply to learn more about our safety equipment.