Since the rise of self-service stations, safety breakaways have become a vital piece of dispensing equipment at thousands of fueling sites around the world. Safety breakaways connect the fueling dispenser to the hose, and perform a simple, yet important task – halt the flow of fuel whenever excessive force is applied while preventing personal injury or harm to the environment.
Available in reconnectable, rebuildable and disposable models, safety breakaways have been specifically designed to separate when subjected to a designated pull force, such as during a drive-away incident. Because the hose and nozzle are relatively inexpensive to replace, safety breakaways help ensure that the hose breaks into two sections, protecting additional damage to the fuel island terminal. In addition, if a separation event does occur, the safety breakaway will stop the flow of fuel and limit any fuel spillage.
Drive-away incidents occur more frequently than people think. But no matter how often, where or when a drive-away incident occurs, the bottom line is that it can be very serious and expensive. Without the use of a safety breakaway, there is nothing to prevent the fuel from spilling out in the event of a drive-away. Spilled fuel not only creates a major fire and environment risk, but also equates into loss of product and potential profit. Additionally, many safety breakaways have been designed to minimize downtime and allow all hose points to be put back in service as quickly as possible following a separation event.
When it comes to safety breakaways, OPW Fueling Components offers a complete line of conventional and vapor-recovery breakaways for virtually any hanging hardware requirement. One such piece of equipment is the OPW 66REC Dry Reconnectable Breakaway, which features a dual-poppet design that enables the breakaway to close off the liquid paths in the event of any type of separation event. The “push-twist-click” quick-reconnect design of the 66REC requires only 15 pounds of force to reconnect and its dry operation prevents liquid from spraying on the fuel-site operator or technician during the reconnection process.
To learn more about OPW, contact your local OPW Sales Representative or OPW Distributor.