Stocking compounds and consumables for a programme

1. What a programme consumes

Start with the valve population, not with the store catalogue. A passing valve consumes cleaner first, then sealant on most visits. A healthy valve on a routine round consumes lubricant alone.

A seized valve may need cleaner and patience before it moves at all.

One reported operator practice tops up about one eighth of system capacity. The same practice prefers more frequent top-ups during warranty periods. Treat both as reported practice, not as rules. The real figure depends on the valve, the service and the fittings.

Sizing assumes the valves can be treated in service. That means fittings in good condition and designs suited to injection. Site rules and the permit must also allow the work. Where maker documents exist, read them for limits and warranty terms.

1. List every valve with injection points, its size and its service.
2. Group the list: routine, neglected, passing, seized.
3. Allow cleaner and sealant for the problem groups, lubricant for all.

2. Storage that protects the stock

Compounds sit quietly in a store, and stores are often warm sheds. Heat, dirt and open containers do the damage before a single injection is made.

1. Keep containers sealed until the moment of use.
2. Store them cool, dry and out of direct sun.
3. Keep them away from solvents and fuels that could react with them.
4. Mark each container with its batch and arrival date on receipt.
5. Issue the oldest stock first, and keep gun couplings clean.

Fuller guidance on shelf life, contamination and heat exposure appears in our article on valve-sealant storage. A dirty coupling transfers grit straight into the injection path. Contaminated compound can block the very fitting it was meant to feed.

Decide where the stock will live. A central store gives control, while a site box gives speed.

3. Shelf life and rotation

There is no single shelf life that fits every compound. Cleaners, lubricants and sealants age at different rates, and storage changes the outcome. Ask the supplier for the batch date and their guidance, then write both on the container.

What you cannot do is judge old stock by eye. A container that looks normal may have separated or thickened inside. If in doubt, replace it and dispose of it under site rules.

Rotation is the practical control for the whole store. First in, first out, with the oldest containers at the front. Every delivery gets a dated entry in the store log. We make non-hardening sealants in-house, which helps, but rotation still decides what is used.

Field boxes left in vehicles run hotter than the store. Date and rotate them the same way.

4. Usage records that size the next order

The usage record itself is the stock plan. Log every injection against the valve tag: date, compound, quantity and pressure response. A simple sheet or a spreadsheet both work.

The pressure response is screening evidence; it suggests progress but proves nothing. The confirming step is a seat-leak test under agreed site conditions. Record that result in the same log entry, next to the injection.

Over a campaign, these entries become a consumption history. Multiply by valve count and visit cadence, and the next order sizes itself. The same records feed wider valve integrity management. They also belong in a written site SOP for sealant injection.

A valve that takes compound repeatedly without holding needs assessment, not more stock. Record that outcome in the log as well, and act on it.

5. Building the campaign stock

Assemble stock around the campaign calendar, not around the shelves. Order early enough for delivery, inspection and dating before the team travels.

1. Compounds for each valve group, plus a margin for repeat visits.
2. Spare buttonhead caps and clean rags for fitting checks.
3. Service kits for the injection guns, so a worn seal never stops a shift.
4. A blank store log page, kept with the campaign records.
5. A small reserve apart from the campaign stock, for emergency call-outs.

For programmes across several sites, match stock to visit order, as covered in sequencing a multi-site campaign. We supply minor repair kits for injection guns. To match compounds to your services, request the guide through an enquiry.

No stock list fits every site. And no stock fixes a valve that needs assessment or replacement. Quantities come from your own records, reviewed after every campaign.