Do you know how you can put measures in place to help protect yourself from theft of your red diesel (or other bulk liquids)? What can you do to prevent expensive insurance claims if it does happen? Or what if you have a leakage? How can you react quickly to avoid expensive clear up costs or environmental damage?

The rising price of red diesel

According to Farmers’ Weekly (24.06.2022), red diesel rose from 58p per litre in June 2021 to 119.8p per litre in June this year – a percentage increase of just over 106% and this figure is only set to rise with the ongoing Ukraine war and other global pressures.

A few years ago, farmers were warned about the theft of red diesel due to the low prices and the result that many tended to hold stock in high quantities. The reverse is now happening and the fuel, at current prices, is even more lucrative for unscrupulous individuals hoping to make a steal. This also applies to heating oil.

So, what can you do to protect yourself?

A recent article by Claire Wright, the CLA’s Southwest Rural Surveyor, in its members’ magazine, Land & Business, gives some great tips including:

- how to get the most from your CCTV system
- installing lockable fuel caps on tanks and vehicles
- placing tanks behind caging or fencing

As you probably know, from a regulatory perspective, there is a legal requirement for anyone storing over 1,500 litres of agricultural fuel to have some form of secondary containment (for example a bund) in case of leakage or spillage. Claire recommends we go further and use secondary containment for smaller amounts to help prevent any pollution if thieves puncture the tank or spill fuel.

To read the full article, visit https://www.cla.org.uk/south-west-news/running-on-empty-farm-fuel-theft/

Remote tank monitoring - how can the iLevel help?

With iLevel’s remote tank monitoring system, you’ll always know how much you have in any of your tanks easily and at a glance, wherever you are in the world. You can use the app on your mobile phone or via your secure login to the iLevel website, whichever you prefer.

Andrew Rabett, iLevel’s Managing Director, explains.

“I had a conundrum. As a farmer, I needed to measure fuel and liquid fertiliser levels in multiple tanks at multiple sites. And my family and I needed to measure our domestic heating oil levels. There was no affordable solution on the market which covered both, so I set about changing this. The result is our iLevel app which allows all users from a single tank to multiple tank/multiple site installations to remotely monitor liquid levels extremely economically. It’s a win-win. Domestic customers get the accuracy needed at an affordable price and industrial customers get an extremely competitive solution.

“Importantly, the iLevel remote tank monitoring system provides accurate ‘real time’ information on the contents of any bulk liquid tank and will alert you when levels are low or if there’s a sudden drop in tank levels. This could be due to theft or leakage and, either way, you would want to know as soon as possible.

“With harvest round the corner, mobile tanks and bowsers are at particular risk, especially if you leave these fully fuelled in remote locations.

“With the iLevel app, not only do you get an alert if your tank levels suddenly drop, mobile tanks and bowsers can have GPS tracking as an additional feature. This is especially useful at this time of year when your bowser may be left in a vulnerable position.”

If you’d like to know more about how the app works and how it can protect you at an affordable price, please see here or get in touch with us by emailing info@i-level.com or calling 01284 850160.