Nov 9, 2021 | Industrial, Petroleum, Services
In 2016, the Department of Energy changed its standards guidelines of pumping equipment. Later, in January 2020, the Department of Energy finalized and published these standards and began requiring compliance. These measures are helpful for business owners and facility managers. They maximize the effectiveness of a pump and reduce needless energy waste, which helps save money and protect the environment. If you have not had to buy a pump in the last five years, Northwest Pump would like to offer a short guide on what these regulations mean and what to look for when purchasing a new pump.
With these rules implemented, the US expects to save 290 trillion BTUs over the next thirty years. For context, one BTU (British Thermal Unit) is the amount of energy it takes to boil one pound of water. With just half of that energy, we could boil Lake Erie and Lake Huron dry. This reduction in energy can save around three-hundred million dollars in utility bills over the course of this timeframe.
When Do These Pump Regulations Apply?
The standards in these regulations are for ‘clean water’ pumps, meaning pumps that deal with safe drinking water. These pumps will also have nominal speeds of either 1800 or 3600 RPM. Pumps that deal with slurry, fire safety, wastewater- or pumps designed with Military specifications, magnetic drive pumps, or 3-A Standard Sanitary pumps do not have to follow the listed regulations.
What are the Regulations?
The Department of Energy refined these energy standards into a PEI rating, which stands for Pump Energy Index. The industry can measure PEI in one of two ways, depending on the pump’s capabilities. A constant pump’s energy rating is divided by the standard energy rating. A variable load pump’s average energy rating is divided by the standard pump energy rating.
The Department of Energy set the scale with 1 as the baseline energy requirements allowed in the US. Anything above a 1 on that scale is too inefficient and non-compliant with the regulation. Anything below a 1 means that the pump uses even less energy and complies with the rules. On one hand, the lower the score, the more opportunities to have installation costs covered by subsidies from the county, state, or federal government. However, a pump with a PEI of .25 does not make it the end-all solution pump for a facility’s needs. While a pump may use more power, it can be more beneficial for the process of the entire facility. Understanding both the needs of your facility and the benefits afforded by PEI will give you the knowledge you need to make the best possible choice.
Next Steps
Want to understand more about what goes into pump efficiency? Check out Hydraulic Institute’s video on their energy rating system in relation to PEI. Similarly, if you need to look for a new energy-efficient pump, contact our team here or at sales@nwpump.com to find out how to save more energy and money today!
Sep 28, 2021 | General, Industrial, Petroleum
Product Spotlight On: Blackmer
It can be overwhelming to find the right products for your facilities. From knowing the capabilities of each pump or compressor to learning how to keep it in its best-performing condition, it can be challenging to know what choices to make. Northwest Pump wants this process of understanding and fulfilling your needs as quickly as possible, so here is a simple guide to one of our popular brands of pumps and reciprocating air compressors: Blackmer.
Blackmer Products & What They Do
Blackmer specializes in pumps and reciprocating air compressors. Their pumps come in several types: sliding vane, screw, regenerative turbine, and centrifugal pumps. Sliding vane and screw pumps are both types of positive displacement pumps, which are best for maintaining a consistent flow and pumping a wider range of liquids such as oil, gas, and slurry– to name a few. Centrifugal and regenerative turbine pumps are different kinds of pumps that work when paired with the optimal pressure and thinner, non-volatile liquids.
Gas Compressors are like air compressors. However, the only difference is that air compressors take the surrounding air and compress it for later use. Gas compressors can compress a variety of gasses, not just air.
Blackmer offers all of its pumps and reciprocating air compressors in several types of materials. This means that your pumps and compressors are optimal for the specific work they will be performing. There are iron pumps for non-corrosive liquids and stainless steel pumps for corrosive liquids. There are pumps for high volume, heavy-duty use and are best for working with high temperatures that would damage regular equipment.
Blackmer Product Maintenance
Every piece of equipment needs regular upkeep to keep running at its best, and Blackmer is no exception. However, Blackmer offers support to its customers via Blackmer+. This app is for manufacturers who want to know what is happening inside their facilities. It allows the user to see what Blackmer equipment they have on the floor, datasheets for the specific parts, and schedule routine maintenance. Additionally, Blackmer & Northwest Pump customers in Oregon and Washington can be safe in the knowledge that our service teams are Blackmer certified. Finally, these Blackmer pumps are compatible with Chesterton’s Safe Certified Sensors, which means that when paired, you will not only have diagnostic data but also prevent emergencies before they happen.
Next Steps
Want to learn more about Blackmer products for yourself? Check out their Youtube here for videos on how their products work, tips and tricks, and more.
Want to see what Blackmer can do for your facilities? See it for yourself on our online store here, or reach out to our sales team here, or call 1-800-452-PUMP.
Mar 31, 2021 | Petroleum
Something that Northwest Pump prides ourselves on is having top-notch vendors that ensure our customers longevity with their products and the best customer service for installation and questions. With the EMV compliant 700s Gilbarco dispensers, that mentality is the same. And that same mentality was instilled when approaching the Pacific Ave 76 gas station that needed our help on their ground up job site in Lakewood, WA.
The Seattle sales rep assigned to the project had just the products in mind when starting this job back in April of 2019. Gilbarco dispensers and passports, Xerxes tanks, LSI lighting, Veeder Root TLS-450, Franklin Fueling turbines and Flexpipe and OPW manholes were all installed at this site.
Xerxes 20,000 galloon fuel tank
Xerxes by Shawcor fiberglass double-wall tanks are an excellent solution because they are corrosion-resistant, both inside and out. These tanks have a proven record of compatibility with traditional petroleum fuel as well as with new biofuels, which are increasing in use. Fiberglass tanks are not vulnerable to problems inherent in storing highly corrosive ethanol-blended fuels (E10, E15, E85), biodiesel fuels and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). Nor are fiberglass tanks vulnerable to rust caused by corrosive soil environments.
Franklin Fueling Flex Pipe
XP pipe has a multi-layer construction with primary and secondary layers fitting tightly against each other to ensure additional environmental security. XP pipe rigid entry boots ensure a 90-degree, watertight entry into both round or flat fiberglass and polyethylene containment sumps. The XP pipework system features controlled flexibility, even in low temperatures, permitting fast, easy installation.
OPW Manholes
OPW Manholes have been designed for use in a wide variety of commercial, service station and industrial driveway applications. They provide access from grade level to underground equipment, including tank sumps, tank riser pipes, monitoring equipment, submersible pumps, valves and piping connections. Find the right manhole cover by browsing our Composite and Steel options below.
Veeder Root TLS-450PLUS
With an easy to understand navigation, streamlined inventory and compliance reporting, and powerful business analytics, the TLS-450PLUS Automatic Tank Gauge (ATG) is a powerful tool that allows you to run fueling operations at peak efficiency. And, with frequent releases of operating software for the TLS-450PLUS tank gauge you can be assured that data is secure and software features are routinely updated and enhanced.
LSI Lighting
LSI is a leading producer of lighting, graphics and technology solutions. The indoor and outdoor products and services are valued by architects, engineers, distributors and contractors for their quality, reliability and innovation. The company’s products are used extensively in automotive dealerships, petroleum stations, quick service restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies, retail establishments, sports complexes, parking lots and garages, and commercial and industrial buildings.
Gilbarco Dispensers & Passport POS
Gilbarco’s Passport Point of Sale System is the fuel and c-store industry’s fastest growing POS solution. Passport is designed to future-proof your business while giving you the lowest total cost of ownership. With industry-leading security and functionality, no POS system offers more runway to keep your business up and running longer.
The E700S is designed to have the ultimate flexibility and reliability to ensure your fuel dispensers fit your business for decades to come. The highly secure CRIND® provides enhanced, upgradeable security that supports emerging technologies and minimizes the need for future investments.
Need Help With Your Own Site?
Let us get you all the equipment you need for your own gas station. We supply not only ground ups but small orders as well. Please reach out to sales@nwpump.com for all questions and inquiries or call 1-800-452-PUMP.
Mar 4, 2021 | Petroleum
Article Written By: Jim Moran, NWP Product Sales Manager
Navigating the exciting future market of EV charging solutions comes with the opportunity to blend current customer’s needs to better serve the market. The future needs of commercial and retail customers require a commitment from their equipment distributors to recognize the “mixed fuels” future when providing solutions for station remodels and tank systems installations, along with the time-consuming EMV upgrades that are taking place today. A transition from liquid fuels to electrons will require a new approach to this new market augmenting a traditional fueling solution.
Electric vehicle sales of 2% today are set to significantly expand in a few years, and commercial fleets and large trucks and buses are expected to transition at an even faster clip as leases mature and fleets turn over. Current Fleet manufacturers offering an EV solution include Arriva, Chanje, Daimler, Gillig, Kenworth, New Flyer, Nissan, Paccar Proterra, Rivian, Tesla, Volvo and Workhorse. This list is sure to grow.
ChargePoint
EV charging solutions is also evolving as battery technology improves to accept faster charging capabilities. This will help make DC Fast Chargers a more attractive option for the EV customer. Home chargers only serve a portion of the fueling needs, even though these needs are being met the majority of the time for current EV owners in the U.S. Some 88% of EV owners “often or always” charge their vehicles at home, according to a J.D. Power study. Owners with permanently mounted Level 2 home-charging stations were most satisfied with their home-charging experience. Parts and labor to install a Level 2 charger typically cost $1,200 to $2,000 (even more if major electrical upgrades are required).*
Most multi-family complexes don’t offer an EV charging station, which opens a big opportunity for convenience store operators to offer this service and create new sales opportunities inside their stores while the charging takes place.
This demand will be brought on by the influx of car manufacturers making EV a bigger part of their current offering. Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Landover, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Rivian, Stellantis, Subaru, Smart, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo have incorporated EV into their lineups.
Headlines from inside and outside our industry every week tell us the story of the future today.
Jaguar Land Rover’s Jaguar brand will be 100% electric by 2025, as the company works to become a net-zero carbon business by 2039.*
Ford Motor Co. will invest $22 billion on new electric vehicle models through 2025 and another $7 billion on autonomous vehicle technology.*
EV DEVELOPMENTS
- 2020 EV battery-pack prices fell 13%, from $156 to $137 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Ten years ago, the average was $1,100 per kWh. Analysts have long predicted that EVs will achieve purchase price parity with liquid fuel vehicles when battery prices reach $100 per kWh.**
- The Biden Administration plans 500,000 new public EV charging stations by 2030 and immediate restoration of the full income tax credit for EV purchases, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Nominee Pete Buttigieg confirmed.**
- Tesla hit its 2020 target of 500,000 vehicle deliveries, despite a government-mandated two-month shutdown of its Fremont, California factory.**
- Massachusetts plans to end gasoline-powered new vehicle sales by 2035 and eliminate all passenger-vehicle greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 2050, the state announced.**
As we monitor the progress with subsidies, grant money and tax credits that are required to make most of the EV equipment purchases happen, we are reminded that the plans will have to make sense and the demand will drive the market.
The day is coming when it will cost the same or less to manufacture an EV versus a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. The only question is when, and again, demand will dictate the outcome.
As the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only thing that is constant is change.”
Jim Moran is the products sales manager for Portland, Oregon-based Northwest Pump, a 62-year-old petroleum and industrial equipment distributor. Its operations span Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Idaho and Montana. Their partnerships with state of the art, top of the line manufacturers allow NWP to provide customers quality and top notch customer service. NWP provides solutions ranging from an existing plant requiring an industrial solution to designing and building retail fueling stations. NWP has also recently launched their online sales platform that highlights petroleum products that you can now buy online and get shipped to your door. For more information on petroleum equipment or EV charging solutions, visit www.nwpump.com or call 1-800-452-PUMP.
*EV Updates from Tulsa letter PEI, 2.18.21
*EV Developments from Tulsa letter, PEI, 1.7.21
Jan 28, 2021 | Petroleum
You have bought your EMV equipment, but now what? Below is a check list of items to mark off your list of to-dos so you are 100% ready for the EMV deadline in April.
Step 1: Schedule you installation
Installation times are getting longer and longer, so be sure to get your installation scheduled asap!
Step 2: Get Financing if you need it
Patriot Capital is offering rates as low as 4.9% for EMV customers. CLICK HERE to get reach out to their staff.
Step 3: Get TCP/IP Connectivity
TCP/IP is standard Internet communications protocols that allow digital computers to communicate over long distances. Be sure to get this installed as well at your site.
Step 4: Let Your Customers Know You Are EMV Compliant
Purchase stickers to put on the pump or signs to put in the window to let customers know that you are EMV compliant.
Step 5: Train Your Staff
Train your staff so they know all the benefits EMV has to offer and why it was so important to the business and for your customers, as well as how the new equipment works.
Need to know stats & Gilbarco lead times
- 450 million dollars in fraud hit fuel dispensers in 2020
- 50% of Americans use contactless payment
- Encore Dispensers: 10 weeks
- FlexPay IV Retrofit Kits: 6 weeks
- Passport Windows 10 Upgrade Kits: 10 weeks
- BRCM Communication Kits: 8 weeks
- DCM Communication Kits: 12 weeks
CLICK HERE for the Gilbarco Resource Page.
SHELL NOTICE OF OUTDOOR EMV MONTHLY NON-COMPLIANCE FEES
The purpose of this letter is to provide notice of potential, monthly non-compliance fees and how they will be assessed. Please be reminded that pursuant to Section 12 of the Shell Transaction Card Guide – and pursuant to a prior written notice to you dated March 25, 2020 – you were informed that wholesalers may be charged non-compliance fees for each non-compliant location until the location becomes EMV compliant.
Accordingly, following the liability shift, Shell will also implement a monthly non-compliance fee for each location not fully operating with EMV as of May 1, 2021. The new fee will begin at $250/month/site on May 1, 2021. On July 1, 2021, the fee will increase to $500/month/site. Each location’s non-compliance fee will be administered to the wholesaler’s account beginning in May and will continue for subsequent months until the location is EMV compliant. Additional fee increases following July 1, 2021, will be subject to future announcement. These fees will help offset additional costs to Shell to maintain and operate two EPOS system platforms until all locations in the Shell network transition to the EMV standard.
For additional questions or assistance on the April EMV deadline, please contact your sales rep/local branch, or you can call our main office at 1-800-452-PUMP, or email us at sale@nwpump.com.
*Northwest Pump is not liable for products to show up before the EMV deadline. Lead times have been pushed out due to COVID-19.
Aug 17, 2020 | Petroleum
EMV deadline this, EMV deadline that, why is this deadline taking over my news feed you ask? What even is an EMV chip reader? The EMV card is a smart card, with an embedded microchip that contains the card user’s information. The chip creates a unique transaction code that can’t be duplicated, ensuring each transaction is legitimate. The card data can’t be swiped from the chip like the magnetic stripe. Most fraud happens when a skimmer or a shimmer is used.
What is a skimmer? A skimmer is a device that connects directly to the pump’s power supply, and include a Bluetooth chip that enables thieves to retrieve the stolen data wirelessly — just by pulling up to the pump and opening up a laptop.
What is a shimmer? A shimmer is a small, thin chip that’s tucked inside the slot of a card reader. By contrast, a skimmer often is fitted over a card reader, making it easier to see. “The shimmer is extremely subtle and difficult to spot. It is also able to steal the card data from a chip-based card, thereby bypassing the enhanced security of the new smart-chip system,” says David Kennedy, founder and senior principal security consultant of TrustedSec, an information security consulting company. The shimmer records the card data, which then is used to produce a magnetic strip card, he says.
So why upgrade to the new EMV compliant card readers by April 2021? Not upgrading could have severe repercussions to your business if ignored. Starting April of 2021, credit card companies are no longer going to refund any stolen money due to non-EMV compliant payments systems. This means, all store owners are going to have to cover the cost of fraudulent charges out of their own pockets.
Can I just wait until April to upgrade? The time it takes to get the EMV complaint products ordered, shipped and then installed could take months. That is why a lot of gas station owners have already upgraded so they are not missing the April 2021 deadline.
What are my options for EMV complaint products? There are a few options when it comes to upgrading your dispensers so they are EMV complaint. One option is to replace the entire dispenser with a new EMV compliant one. The other option is to get a retrofit that will replace just the payment portion of the dispenser on the gas pump. However, if your dispensers are old and in need a face lift, now is the perfect time to take the plunge and replace the old dispensers with something new like the Encore 700 S.
Who do I contact to get upgraded? This is where we come in, Northwest Pump! We can get your parts ordered for you as well as get an installation set up. We promise to be there from the start to finish. We work directly with the vendor as well as the installers to make sure that your EMV upgrade is a seamless as possible. If you are looking for a specific branch CLICK HERE for all our locations and phone numbers. If you are not sure what area you fall under, contact sales@nwpump.com or call 1-800-452-PUMP and our Inside Sales team will get you to the right person and answer any questions you have about the EMV upgrade.
Don’t let this deadline pass you by. Be proactive and get ahead of the deadline by ordering your EMV products today!
