The Florida Problem

Florida can be a popular state. It has sun, beaches, palm trees, golf, and some great theme parks. However, LP gas faces a problem in Florida. Water. Water can be a good thing. Who doesn’t like cooling off in a pool or at the beach? However, Florida is an absurdly waterlogged state and water can wreak havoc on underground and aboveground tanks. Most people outside the LP gas industry don’t realize that water can be a regulator killer. Florida LP gas dealers are all too familiar with the problem of water and their 1st stage regulators.

Florida has more underground tanks than any other state in the US. No other state even comes close enough for me to mention. The large amount of underground tanks plus the lawn fertilizers plus all that water causes a problem that other LP gas deals in other states don’t have to deal with.

Florida has a lot of aboveground/underground tanks installed. Completely underground tanks usually don’t work because of the water table and flotation issues. These aboveground/underground tanks are only about 6” deep and the domes fill up with water every time it rains and we all know how much it rains in Florida. This constant submersion of the 1st stage regulator causes extreme corrosion/oxidation of the regulator body. Therefore, the problem we have when installing tanks in Florida is twofold. First, water can get in the regulator if there isn’t a snorkel installed. Second, regulator body corrosion. The first is becoming less of an issue because all first stage regulators in an aboveground/underground situation should have a snorkel installed (and most do).

However, first stage regulator corrosion is a real problem. First stage regulators are mostly made of Zinc. The Zinc acts as an anode to the tank system. I know LP Gas dealers are familiar with Magnesium anodes that they install on their underground tanks. For those that are unfamiliar with anodes and cathodic protection, I suggest you quickly hop over to this post on the Tarantin blog. Zinc is an anode in the same way that Magnesium is an anode in tank systems. This can be beneficial as it will fend off corrosion elsewhere in your system. However, the regulator will sacrifice itself to the corrosion. The only way to prevent this is to isolate the regulator. Without isolating the regulator body your first stage regulator will corrode much faster.

If you want your first stage regulators to last then you must isolate them with a dielectric pigtail.

RegO offers a variety of dielectric pigtails with a choice of size and connections available here at Tarantin Industries. Feel free to call and ask our team of experts about isolating your first stage regulator.