Sunday, May 13, 2007

Moving the new tank

3) The co-op decided--assuming Doug Carrol agrees--to remove the broken concrete next to the 500 gallon tank, prepare the ground with gravel and other stabilization equipment, and transfer the 1000 gallon tank to that site. In other words, the 1000 gallon tank will sit next to the 500 gallon tank, and closer to the driveway.

 

This will require a series of steps.

 

  • First, Dave Saffel will haul out the concrete (for a relatively small fee) at some point during the next week.
  • Second, John will drop off some gravel to help stabilize the tank and level out the ground.
  • Third, co-op volunteers will either dig a small hole for the tank--so that it won't roll away--or stabilize the tank with concrete blocks (or wood), depending on whether there is concrete or dirt underneath the broken pieces of concrete.
  • Then, Dave will ask Jeff to use his forklift to transfer the 1000 gallon tank to its new resting spot.
  • Finally, John Gutierrez will be commissioned to build a new security cage and roof for the new 1000 gallon tank.

 

There are a couple of reasons for moving the 1000 gallon tank to the plateau.

 

  • First, it makes it easier to link the two tanks into a single fuel system. This would otherwise be impossible if one tank were several feet below the other.
  • Second, we want to minimize the amount of space that the co-op is using. It would be best to concentrate car traffic in the sub-driveway that we are currently using, rather than blocking the area next to the current position of the 1000 gallon tank.
  • Third, the new automated pump--discussed below--needs to be on the same level as the two tanks. Note, also, that the old tank will stay in its current location, and will be used, in the short term, as the regular tank. Once the new tank is up and running, the co-op will decide what to do with the old one (remove it, fill it with B50, use it for back-up fuel, etc).

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