November 2013 • 17
Are you losing control over
your cash flow?
®
For more information about ADD Energy E3 contact our national sales office at
1-800-922-0972 or visit us on the web at
Gain Control over
Cash Flow again with the
efficiencies built into
Propane Tank Locks Deter Theft and Unauthorized Fills
LOCK AMERICA OFFERS TWO TYPES OF
propane tank locks to help marketers dis-
courage unauthorized fills and prevent tank
theft.
Frank Minnella, CEO of LockAmerica,
said the company first ventured into pro-
pane security with its POLock
™
product,
which is an outlet lock that seals and locks
retail tanks to stop unauthorized usage and
discourage tank thieves. The POLock helps
retailers lock out delinquent customers and
helps tank exchanges discourage theft.
“My intention is to help the retailer lock
out a customer if they don’t pay,” Minnella
explained. As he demonstrated the POLock
to retailers, he learned of another need: a
filler valve lock that would protect propane
suppliers against unauthorized tank filling
by competitors. “A customer can go to any
gypsy operator, and they can go fill the tank
that the legitimate dealer has spent time and
money to install,” he said.
The company developed its Propane
Filler Valve Lock line to answer the need.
“This way, another retailer cannot break
your lock and fill the tank,” he pointed out.
The locks can also help marketers collect
delinquent payments, because customers
will have no option but to pay the legiti-
mate marketer to have their tank refilled,
Minnella said.
Locking out competitors also protects
the legitimate dealer from liability that
could result when another operator fills the
tank and causes a leak, because the tank’s
owner is responsible for any damage caused
by the tank, according to Minnella. “I’d
think that every insurance company would
demand that every tank have the filler valve
locked so no other operator could fill the
tank,” he said.
The tank outlet locks are also useful
for tank exchange sites, because the owner
can lock every tank on the premises so that
would-be thieves will be deterred. Retail
propane tanks are a common theft target for
illegal manufacturers of methamphetamine.
“Those tanks are valuable full or empty
to meth factories,” Minnella said. Meth
cookers use the tanks to store anhydrous
ammonia, which is used in the manufac-
turing of the drug. If every tank in a cage at
a tank exchange has an outlet lock, thieves
will go elsewhere, he said. “The tank is use-
less full or empty because if you vandalize
it, you will destroy the threading,” he said.
The POLock outlet valve lock is a two-
piece unit that covers the tank outlet with a
reverse thread plug, which is itself covered
by a slip ring to prevent unscrewing. The
cover is locked in place with a tubular key.
Each operator has their own registered key
with over 60,000 usable key combinations.
The Propane Filler Valve Lock comes
in different models, including a heavy duty
one for underground tanks. Lock America
can produce a single keycode for all of a
customer’s locks, both the POLock and Filler
Valve lock, and most padlocks as well.
