Locate Underground Fuel Pipes

Locate Underground Fuel Pipes

Underground fuel pipes, vent lines and underground storage tanks (UST’s) are all common underground assets found around a petrol bowser or service station.

The best first course of action is for you to request Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) plans for the area you’re interested in. Always keep in mind that with Dial Before You Dig you aren’t likely to get any information on private services, though they are very useful for working in public areas. In the case of underground fuel lines, it’s very unlikely that you’ll receive any useful DBYD plans, but you still need to check.

There are many additional safety concerns when working around service stations and fuel assets, too many to go into detail here. So if you are going to locate underground services in this environment it is essential that you have the correct qualifications and supervision.

When locating around a petrol bowser, there is a system of underground assets that need to be considered. The elements of a petrol bowser are typically made up of the following:

Bowser:

This is the fuel pump. It will have at least three underground lines attached to it. The power feed, communications cable, and the fuel supply.

Power and Communications

There needs to be a power supply to the bowser to enable the pump in the bowser to pump fuel from the underground service tank. This will likely come from the service station building if that is the environment you’re working in, otherwise you’ll need to have a look around for the location of the electricity distribution board. The communications cable needs to connect the bowser to the service station building, it’s almost always going to be in the same trench as the power supply.

Underground Storage Tank (UST):

This is where the fuel is delivered to and stored in until it needs to be pumped out through the bowser. It is usually underground, but there are some sites where this can be above ground also. The obvious sign of an underground storage tank is the fill point, this is where the petrol will be fed into the tank when refilling. The UST will have at least two underground pipes attached to it, one is the vent line, and one will be the fuel supply to the bowser

Fuel Supply pipe:

This is the pipe that will connect the underground storage tank (UST) to the bowser.

Fuel vent line:

This pipe is the ventilation for the UST. It will conn
ect to the underground storage tank and then run to somewhere in the open before rising out of the ground to a tall ventilation pipe. Often you’ll see a cluster of tall vent pipes together in an out of the way area of the site.