Repainting liquefied natural gas tank: workflow

When we come to you, we announce ourselves: 10 to 14 days in advance. Our employee will report to the front door. If no one reacts to his ringing, he asks himself to search for the liquefied gas container and check whether it is freely accessible.We hope for your understanding, because we have to do our work even when you are not at home.

The best and fastest way to work is when the container is freely accessible, i.e. not included, delivered or grown.Therefore, please read the installation instructions for liquefied gas tanks In principle, containers must be set up in such a way that there is sufficient space for maintenance and cleaning work as well as escape and rescue routes. As a rule, a distance of one meter should be maintained. In justified individual cases, a distance of 0.5 meters is permitted.

If the time is reasonable, our employees prepare the workplace: cut back hedges slightly, remove objects or weeds. If the effort is too high, they continue their tour to the next customer – unfinished business. Our disposition will create a new appointment. Such a miscarriage of action entails additional costs: for us, for your utility company and finally also for you. Therefore, our request: Allow us access to the container on the announced day – in such a way that we can carry out our work.

We plan our orders 10 to 14 days in advance and try to set up an optimal route planning based on the long-term weather forecast. We have to take many factors into account.The weather can unfortunately not be reliably predicted two weeks before the date.

Basically, we can create an acceptable working environment for painting work with waterproof tarpaulins, which we attach depending on the installation of the container. Our ink systems are set in such a way that we can guarantee good adhesion of the material even at temperatures down to minus 8 degrees (winter varnish). Nevertheless, we often have to cancel painting appointments due to weather conditions.

During the repair of painted objects outdoors, residues arise as a result of the removal of the old paintwork. This grinding dust is, as the paint manufacturers and exporting companies confirm to us, environmentally friendly. The worn old coating is a 100%lacquer solid, consisting of binder (resins) and color-giving pigmentation. The white hues (titanium dioxide = white pigment), but also the pastel colours (such as light green) are based on so-called inert pigments, which do not pose a danger to soil, flora and fauna. "Titanium dioxide = white pigment", for example, is ubiquitous in our normal consumptionbehavior: as a component of cosmetics, toothpaste or sunscreen.

We still want to leave as little dust as possible. Theoretically, this is feasible: with the help of a suction device for our hand-held grindingmachines. However, the additional construction of larger machines would make our work considerably more difficult, but above all the work on the underside of the container, the container feet, the pipes and the fittings would be impossible.

Before our employee starts his work, he documents the current state of your liquefied gas tank. On the basis of the detailed photo documentation, individual work steps and working conditions can be easily traced later.

First of all, the old paint and all stickers must be removed so that the new protective paint holds. Depending on the condition, our on-site employee decides whether the container is washed first in order to be able to estimate the grinding effort.Wash water and an electricity generator are part of our equipment. However, it would simplify our work if we could tap washing water and electricity from you on site. You are not obliged to open up these possibilities. If we do not meet you, we use our own equipment. With the help of tarpaulins we collect as much grinding dust as possible. Against strong wind, however, we can do little.

Once the container has been sanded, we apply primer and paint. Where the container is sanded down to the metal, we apply the primer a little thicker. At the container site, we cannot completely remove the corrosion due tothe space of the straight and rigid surface of our grinding machine. Residues remain on and around

• the fittings
• the inner feet of the container
• the container flangq

With our sandblasting equipment, which we use in our closed sandblasting hall in Dortmund, we can remove all corroded areas.

Very deep corrosion (usually on older containers) we cannot completely derust or guarantee that the container will not rust repeatedly within the next time. If the Corrosionso fara material removal is visible, we recommend a container replacement for safety reasons. If the corrosion is so advanced that a material removal is visible, we recommend a container replacement for safety reasons.

Finally, we stick all the necessary stickers on:

• Operating instructions
• warnings
• if necessary, the advertising label (incl. logo) of the supply company.

If the container is not your property, but rented, you must allow the advertisement of the gas supplier on the container. Because we are acting on his behalf. However, if you do not want us to advertise the tank, please confirm this with your signature in the order form. Our work is done when we have cleaned up. Of course, we take the resulting waste with us.