Renovation of sprinkler tanks for Moelven
Moelven contacted Aj Floor Solutions (now Cistern Soultions Sweden) to see what we could do to save two 20-year-old sprinkler tanks at their sawmills in Torsby and Ransby. One tank already had a hole in it and had been temporarily repaired. The second sprinkler tank was still intact but an inspection showed that it was also in very poor condition.
Renovating a sprinkler tank requires careful planning but there is absolutely no economy in putting it off. In this case, when the first tank failed, the acute leakage became so severe that it led to a breakdown. An outage that basically cost more than the tank renovation.
Renovations
To begin with, we did an ocular inspection, i.e. we simply looked down into the tank. On a visual inspection, we can see the upper rollers where the oxygen impact is greatest. This gives an indication of the condition of the rest of the tank and in this case we found that the tank was in poor condition. This was confirmed the following day when one of our partners carried out an internal inspection by drone.
There was an extensive renovation. Both tanks had a 2 cm thick layer of algae and corrosion inside the entire tank. After cleaning, we were able to shovel out as much as 2 m³ of debris.
While the tank is being renovated, there must be some form of fire protection that the company's insurance company approves. In this case, it was decided that it would be sufficient to have fire guards on duty during the renovation.
Since the tanks were so badly damaged, we decided to double the reinforcement with fiberglass fabric and epoxy to ensure a stable structure. The idea is always to renovate so that the end result is a tank that is as good or better than the original one.
How messy will it be?
As a rule, a tank renovation does not require any major commitment from the customer and goes rather unnoticed. This was also the reaction we got from Moelven. It was felt that the renovation went smoothly and that our staff took care of themselves.
An important factor is that regular production can continue while we are renovating the tank and that our work does not involve any safety interruptions. Moelven was satisfied on those points as well.
The renovation, from emptying the tank to filling it, took 21 days, just as we planned.
What would have happened if the sprinkler system had been activated during an alarm?
If the debris had been set in motion by an alarm, the pumps could have failed. In fact, the entire structure of the sprinkler system could have collapsed. If the sludge had been pumped into the pipes, the nominal weight would have been higher than what the structure was designed for. The sludge could also have clogged or damaged sprinkler heads in the system. Now the costs could be limited to renovating the tank itself.
You are also welcome to contact us for inspection and renovation of your sprinkler tanks.
Moelven contacted us after finding us on the internet.