Tank Trouble Tuesday

Throughout the Tank Trouble Tuesday series, we've seen that breaches in double walled tanks are often first detected by interstitial monitoring.

Further investigation can be difficult, but a TankCam inspection is an excellent tool for examining the cause of an interstitial alarm and pinpointing the leak, as in the Florida tank below.


TankCam is patent pending.

Tank Trouble Tuesday

During a routine TankCam inspection to evaluate the state of each of their tanks, a site in North Carolina discovered that the STP system in their diesel tank was damaged and affecting the tank's ATG.

What other kinds of "troubles" can a TankCam inspection reveal?

Read more on our website or follow our weekly Tank Trouble Tuesday series. 

TankCam is patent pending.

Tank Trouble Tuesday

Recently, we confirmed a leak in this steel clad compartmentalized tank in Florida.

Though the tank was emptied of fuel, sludge and debris on the tank bottom made it difficult to exactly pinpoint the leak. It is evident that there was a crack in the interstitial pipe or at the weld between the interstitial pipe and tank bottom, which we have observed to generally be a weaker point of steel clad tanks.

Could your diesel tank use a TankCam inspection? Learn about the varied applications on our website. 

TankCam is patent pending.

Tanknology Executive Vice President of Sales, Richard Schnabel, announces retirement

J. Richard Schnabel    

Austin, TX – Tanknology Inc. announced today that J. Richard Schnabel, the company’s Executive Vice President of Sales, will be retiring at the end of this month.

Schnabel is a 40-year petroleum industry veteran, with experience encompassing dispensers, POS systems, general petroleum equipment, construction services and environmental compliance services. He has worked in senior sales management at Tanknology for the past 20 years.

“It is hard to put into words how much we will miss Richard, both within Tanknology and in our industry,” said Allen Porter, Tanknology’s President and CEO. “He has had extraordinary impact on our company over the past 20 years. As an unfailing advocate for our customers, there is no doubt he has made us a better company.

“All of us, his co-workers at Tanknology, his loyal customers throughout the country and his colleagues in the broader petroleum industry, will miss working with Richard. He has earned our deep respect and our friendship, which will live on for many years to come.”

Schnabel’s first roles in the industry were with Tokheim Corp., where he spent 15 years in total. Beginning in 1987 he served as eastern district, then eastern region manager before becoming Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Tokheim’s Financial Card Systems Inc. and then President of Sunbelt Petroleum. Post-Tokheim, he then spent three years as President of Tennessee Petroleum Equipment Co., and five years directing sales at Omega Environmental.

Schnabel’s roles at Tanknology over the past 20 years evolved from running the company’s construction services subsidiary to ultimately directing sales efforts as Executive Vice President of Sales.

Commenting on his 40-year career in the petroleum equipment services industry, Schnabel said, ”It has been such an exciting industry to be a part of for these past 40 years. The advances in technology and the development and evolution of regulatory requirements have made it an enjoyable, fast-pace business to be a part of. I’ve worked with so many great people over the years, many of whom remain close personal friends. I will miss this business and all the wonderful people I’ve had the good fortune to work with.”

While Schnabel will continue with the company for the foreseeable future as a part-time consultant, his last official day with Tanknology will be May 26. An avid and accomplished race car driver, currently with his 1974 Fiat 124 Spider, Schnabel will likely be found enjoying his retirement in vintage national races throughout the eastern U.S.

Tank Trouble Tuesday

How do you sample your fuel tanks?

The sediment and debris build up on the bottom of this Texas tank had been washed away from the striker plate by fuel deliveries. A traditional bottom sample from the fill riser may have inaccurately shown clean fuel, masking the sediment at the tank bottom.

To address the sediment and debris buildup seen in this tank we would recommend our FuelPure services or another form of tank cleaning. 


TankCam is patent pending.

Tank Trouble Tuesday

The inspection of this tank in California revealed a hole about 27 inches above the tank bottom-- the source of the diesel ingress detected in the dry interstitial space. 

Identifying the cause of an interstitial alarm is one of the many applications of a TankCam inspection. 

TankCam is patent pending.