Wonder® RGR

Retractable bypass conductor for Floating Roof Tanks

Wonder® RGR [Retractable bypass conductor] is designed to discharge the

static electricity of floating roof tanks, according to API Recommended
Practice 545 & NFPA780. It is used as the direct electrical connection
between the floating roof and tank shell. The lightning current and bound
charge will be effectively and rapidly conducted to the earth when lightning
happens.

Compared with any conventional bypass conductor, the retractable cable is

always at the shortest possible length to the ground which result in lowest
resistance and impedance in the discharge route.

Features:
• SS316L Housings with Length option 20m or 24m
• Stainless-steels double springs with oil seal chamber design
• Tinned copper conductors with SS304 outer sheath providing high
corrosion resistance
• Optional conductor material in Aviation Aluminum is highly resistant to
H2S, for applications in Slop Tanks (Cone roof).
 Wonder® RGR
Retractable bypass conductor for Floating Roof Tanks
Wonder® RGR is a registered brand in Singapore with ATEX certification. Installed
base including Oil & Tanking, Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore,
PetroChina, Singapore Refining Company, and ExxonMobil etc.

Wonder® RGR has been approved by Exxon Singapore and installed in the
200,000m³ floating roof tank in 2019, which is the first for Exxon in the region to
use the retractable grounding reel. Wonder® RGR has been selected for SPM
Bangladesh EPCC project for PetroChina in 2020.

Improved mounting bracket, double spring with oil seals, optional conductor
material & size provide a more flexible and reliable field performance to suit
specific application requirements.

Specification
Housing SS316L Spring Double SS Spring
Shaft H62 brass Spring Chamber Oil Seal
Conductor Tinned copper with or w/o Spring and Axle Anti-reverse
SS304 sheath /Aviation Mounting
Aluminum
Conductor Length 20m or 24m Contacting Area 250mm²
Pulling force @1m 70-100N Pulling force @24m 20-25kg
Certification ATEX

Bypass Conductor Quantity Recommendation based on API 545 4.2.1.2 & & NFPA780
Tank Circumference(m) Tank Diameter (m) Quantity
≤ 60 Tank Circumference(m)
≤ 19.10 2
Tank Diameter(m) Required Quantity
≤ 90 ≤ 60 ≤ 28.65 ≤ 19.10 3 2
≤ 120 ≤ 90 ≤ 38.20 ≤ 28.65 4 3
≤ 150 ≤ 120 ≤ 47.75 ≤ 38.20 5 4
≤ 180 ≤ 150 ≤ 57.30 ≤ 47.75 6 5
≤ 210 ≤ 180 ≤ 66.84 ≤ 57.30 7 6
≤ 240 ≤ 210 ≤ 76.39 ≤ 66.84 8 7
≤ 270 ≤ 240 ≤ 85.94 ≤ 76.39 9 8
≤ 300 ≤ 270 ≤ 95.49 ≤ 85.94 10 9
≤ 330 ≤ 300 ≤ 105.04 ≤ 95.49 11 10
≤ 360 ≤ 330 ≤ 114.59 ≤ 105.04 12 11
≤ 390 ≤ 360 ≤ 124.14 ≤ 114.59 13 12
≤ 420 ≤ 390 ≤ 133.69 ≤ 124.14 14 13
≤ 450 ≤ 420 ≤ 143.24 ≤ 133.69 15 14
≤ 480 ≤ 450 ≤ 152.79 ≤ 143.24 16 15
≤ 480 ≤ 152.79 16
≤ 510 ≤ 162.34 17
 Wonder® RGR
Retractable bypass conductor for Floating Roof Tanks
Technical Advantages:
1. Heavy Stainless-steel structure - SS sheet thickness ≥ 4mm
2. Anti-reverse design with spring auto released from shaft
3. Double springs – able to handle large retracting force up to 25kg
4. Oil seal spring chamber – waterproof design to protect spring corrosion
5. Conductor material – Standard tinned copper with SS304 outer sheath provides high corrosion resistance,
with highest conductor tensile breaking force >21kN
6. Optional Aviation Aluminum conductor come with high H2S corrosion resistance is ideal for applications
like Slop Tanks (Cone roof)
7. Standard Conductor width 50mm , with optional 70mm to suit applications. High-copper carbon brush :
90% copper with 250mm² contact area to provide better conductivity and ensure seamless contact with
shaft & no discharge gap.
8. Design, assembled, and quality control in Singapore, complete with ATEX certification.

Wonder® is a registered brand of Wonder Engineering Singapore

Tel: +65 6686 0181 +65 6635 6759
Email [email protected]
Website www.wonder.com.sg
 RGR Reference List to End Users
S/N End User / Site Project / Description Quantity Location Year

1 Nghi Son Refinery -NSRP Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M, 70mm² Aluminum 27 Set Vietnam 2022

2 ExxonMobil Singapore - PAC Refinery Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M, 70mm² - 20 sets 20 sets PAC Singapore 2021

3 Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 5 sets Singapore Jurong Island 2021

4 PetroTerminal De Panama, S.A. Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 25 sets Panama 2021

5 PetroTerminal De Panama, S.A. Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 9 sets Panama 2020

6 Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 2 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2020

7 Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Eastern Refinery Limited Retractable Grounding Reel - 20M 21 Sets Blangladesh 2020

8 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Warehouse Stock Contract - 20M & 24M 3+3 Years Singapore Jurong Island 2019

9 ExxonMobil Asia Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 12 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2019

10 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 10 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2019

11 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 20M 5 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2019

12 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 5 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2019

13 Oiltanking Singapore Retractable Grounding Reel - 20M 14 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2019

14 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 5 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2018

15 Oiltanking Singapore Retractable Grounding Reel - 20M 1 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2018

16 Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 2 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2018

17 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 10 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2018

18 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 5 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2017

19 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 5 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2017

20 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 5 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2017

21 Singapore Refining Company Pte Ltd Retractable Grounding Reel - 24M 5 Sets Singapore Jurong Island 2017

NOTICE: The information contained herein is CONFIDENTIAL; duplication and/or disclosure to anyone other than the intended recipient of this information is not permitted
without the consent of Wonder Engineering Technologies Pte Ltd

Wonder Engineering Technologies Pte Ltd [email protected]; +65 6686 0181; 6635 6759 As of Feb, 2022
TECHNICAL LIGHTNING PROTECTION

BYPASS CONDUCTORS
PROTECT FLOATING
ROOF TANKS
Protecting your tanks from lightning strikes using a retractable grounding reel

THE roof of an external floating roof current discharge (Figure 1). However, the
tank rests directly on the surface bonds established by these shunts with 02
of the stored liquid, leaving little vapour the tank body are unreliable and create
space and consequently leading to a a greater risk of sustained arcs during
much lower risk of rim space fire. Proper operation. This can be contributed by a
lightning protection is critical for fire few factors:
prevention –the floating roof tank roof
a. Deterioration of
and the outer shell must be bonded
contact resistance
continuously to prevent arcing.
Rust, oil and wax deposits build up
Fire incidents are reported in tank farms during the course of operation causing
every year, and James I. Chang and the increase of resistance. The shunts
Cheng-Chung Lin found that 80 of 242 are located at the secondary sealing
tank accidents in their study was caused surface. If the discharge performance
by lightning1. is poor, the paint at the seal surface
can easily ignite. Without proper According to API 545 standard clause
Floating roof tanks are particularly
installation, the shunts’ installation 4.2.1.1.2, shunts are used for the
susceptible to the direct and indirect
locations may become the main conduction of fast and intermediate
impacts of lightning. A lightning strike will
ignition point of fires on the floating duration components of lightning-stroke
cause current to flow through the shell and
roof tank. current only. It will not help to conduct
roof of the floating roof tank. When these
lightning currents arc through the tank top, b. Deformation of roof plates of the intermediate and long duration
they will ignite any flammable vapours. The floating roof may move slightly component of lightning-stroke current.
off-centre which causes shunts to lose Intermediate and long duration current
To reduce the risk of arcing, a reliable,
contact with the tank wall. The shunts discharge is under the design function
continuous, low-impedance and low-
are supposed to slide along the tank of a bypass conductor. However, this
resistance connection between the tank
wall to achieve the rapid discharge of point has often been misunderstood in
shell and the roof is a must, regardless of
lightning current between the floating many floating roof tank designs, which
the condition of the shell and the roof plate.
roof and the tank wall. However, in eventually result in no bypass conductors
There are a number of options.
actual operations, the shunts usually being designed and installed. As of today,
cannot form a good electrical path many tank fires caused by lightning were
TRADITIONAL PRACTICE 1 with the tank wall all the time. The due to improper installations on these
deformation of the floating roof lightning protection devices.
Install conductive metal sheets (shunts) plate will also cause the shunts to be
only, along the circumference of the tank disconnected from the tank wall, and
wall. Shunts are used to electrically bond easily form a discharge gap. TRADITIONAL PRACTICE 2
the tank body and the floating roof for
Two 25 mm soft copper twisted cables
are installed on the sides of the floating
roof ladders to function as bypass
conductors. A ladder is typically
01 connected to the tank wall and the top of
floating roof plate (Figure 2).
The floating ladder rolls along the track
on the floating plate on the lifting wheel
shaft of the floating plate. The contact
resistance increases with the corrosion
of the floating roof. In addition, during
operation, a layer of wax, adhesives
and oil dusts will build up in tank inner
walls and create higher resistance. API
545 clause 4.2.1.2.2, states that each
conductor shall have a maximum end-
to-end electrical resistance of 0.03Ω,
including connections of the ends. With
the increased contact resistance, the

PAGE 2
 TECHNICAL LIGHTNING PROTECTION

maximum electrical resistance will soon

not be able to be met. 03
With large floating roof tanks
(> 100,000m³) being built nowadays,
the volume and surface are doubled,
increasing the risks of lightning strikes.
Two copper cables will not be enough to
meet lightning protection and grounding
requirements. API 545 clause 4.2.1.2.2
defines that bypass conductors should be
evenly spaced in not more than every
30 m around the tank circumference with
a minimum of two on each tank. Typically,
nine sets of bypass conductors are
required for a 100,000 m³ tank.

BEST PRACTICE
The recommended practice on lightning
protection for external floating roof tank
is to use bypass conductors to discharge
intermediate and long duration lightning-
stroke current, and the installation of
shunts for conduction bonding between simpler to install, and easy to maintain. • Standard conductor width is
the floating roof and the shell to discharge Since its launch in 2015, it has been 50 mm, with an option to go up to
fast to intermediate stroke currents adopted and installed in major refineries 70 mm. The conductor length can
(Figure 3). This is in compliance with API and tank farms in the region. The also be customised to suit different
545 4.2.1. improved RGR includes: applications. A high-copper carbon
API recommended practice 545 states brush made from 90% copper with
• The use of double springs with a
that the shunt to shell contact point shall 250 mm² contact area to provide
large retracting force up to 25 kg,
be submerged at least 0.3 m below the better conductivity and ensure
and an anti-reverse design with the
liquid products, and spaced at intervals seamless contact with the shaft and
spring automatically released from
no greater than 3 m around the perimeter no discharge gap.
the shaft to protect the spring, and oil
of the floating roof. The minimum shunt chamber sealing to prevent corrosion Stock of RGRs is available for urgent site
width should be 51 mm. of the spring. needs with local installation support and a
The shunt is a traditional discharge satisfaction guarantee to offer confidence
• Upgraded conductor material – the
conductor which is a standard metallic for oil and gas users. With the ownership
standard tinned copper now has a
conductive sheet. However, there are cost being dramatically reduced and
SS304 outer sheath add-on which
different designs and improvements on improved field performance, more and
provides high corrosion resistance
bypass conductors throughout the years. more end users have chosen RGR. More
and higher conductor tensile breaking
The retractable grounding reel (RGR) is than 200 units have been installed in
force more than 21 kN.
the latest design in the industry. Jurong Island. No fires resulting from a
lightning strike have been reported from
A retractable design ensures the shortest
tanks with a correctly fitted RGR.
possible distance between the tank
wall and the floating plate. With proper 04
installation, RGRs installed in a floating Reference
roof tank will always provide the lowest
impedance paths to discharge lightning 1. Chang, JI and Lin, CC (2006). A study
current safely. of storage tank accidents. Journal
of Loss Prevention in the Process
An RGR is designed to be easily retrofitted Industries 19(1), 51-59.
onto any existing floating roof tank. It
comes with the advantages of simple
installation, easy inspection, and low For more information:
maintenance costs.
This article was written by Wonder
This type of retractable bypass conductor Engineering Technologies Pte Ltd.
design has been used in the market for www.wonder.com.sg
many years. However, it is not being fully
adapted by end users due to limitations
of suppliers/choices, high prices, low
reliability, lack of after-sales support and
warranty limitations.
01`Traditional practice 1
02 Traditional practice 2
WONDER GROUNDING REELS 03 Best practice

The latest RGR has been developed in 04 A Wonder Grounding Reel

Singapore, taking in users’ feedback
on the market needs. The Wonder
Engineering RGR is more cost effective,

PAGE 3
 ACCUSE DE RECEPTION DE DEPOT DE DOSSIER
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF FILE DEPOSIT
1 Version : 00 LCIE 20 AR 035 NM Issue : 00

2 Le LCIE, Organisme Notifié sous la référence 0081 LCIE, Notified Body number 0081 in accordance with article 17
conformément à l’article 17 de la directive 2014/34/UE du of the Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and
Parlement européen et du Conseil du 26 février 2014, accuse the Council of 26 February 2014 acknowledges receipt of the
réception de la documentation technique : technical documentation :
N° Date
WE-RGR-001 2020/05/22
La conformité de cette documentation aux exigences de The compliance of this documentation to the requirements of
l’Annexe VIII, point 2, de la Directive 2014/34/UE relève de la Annex VIII, point 2, comes under the responsibility of the
responsabilité du fabricant. manufacturer.
Le LCIE n’examine pas la documentation ou le produit. LCIE does not examine the documentation or the product.

3 Fabricant : Manufacturer :
WONDER ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES PTE LTD.
10 BUKIT BATOK CRESCENT #04-05 SINGAPOUR 658079

4 Produit : Produit :
Enrouleur de mise à la terre rétractable Retractable Grouding Reel
Type: RGR

5 Dossier LCIE N° : LCIE file N°:

167409-751660
Ce document est émis conformément au Chapitre 3, article 13, This document is issued in accordance with the relevant
point 1.b.ii de la Directive 2014/34/UE. Chapter 3, article 13, point 1.b.ii of the Directive 2014/34/EU.

6 Ce document est valable : This document is valid :

Du / From Au / To
2020/06/01 2030/05/31
Toute modification du dossier enregistré, à la demande du Any modification of the registered file at the request of the
fabricant, est soumise à un nouveau dépôt de dossier et à manufacturer is subject to a new file deposit and issuance of a
l’émission d’un nouvel accusé de réception. new acknowledgement receipt.
Il ne peut être ouvert que sur demande express des autorités. It can only be opened upon explicit request of the authorities.

7 Le produit doit comporter le marquage requis par les directives The product shall bear the marking required by the applicable
et normes applicables sous la responsabilité du fabricant. directives and standards under the responsibility of the
Il n’est pas exigé que le numéro d’accusé de réception figure manufacturer.
sur le produit. It is not required that acknowledgement number be affixed on
the product.

8 Détails des modifications Details of changes

Version/ Issue Description Date
00 Initial / Initial 2020/05/22

Fontenay-aux-Roses, le 26 juin 2020 Chargé d’évaluation ATEX

ATEX Assessment Officer
Mohammed HJAJI

Page 1 / 1 CERT-ATEX-FORM 11 Rev. 03

LCIE 33, av du Général Leclerc Tél : +33 1 40 95 60 60 Société par Actions Simplifiée
Laboratoire Central BP 8 Fax : +33 1 40 95 86 56 au capital de 15 745 984 €
des Industries Electriques 92266 Fontenay-aux-Roses cedex [email protected] RCS Nanterre B 408 363 174
Une société de Bureau Veritas France www.lcie.fr
 EU Declaration of conformity
Manufacturer Name: Wonder Engineering Technologies Pte Ltd

Manufacturer Address: 10 Bukit Batok Crescent 04-05 Singapore 658079

Product Name : Retractable Grounding Reel

Model/Type Designation : RGR

Applicable Directive : ATEX 2014/34/EU

ATEX Mark : II 2G Ex h IIC T5 Gb

Conformity of Assessment procedure : Internal Production Control,

and send dossier to Notified Body (A+)

The Technical Construction File had been sent to The following Notified body:
LCIE (License
(License of
of file
filedeposit:
deposit:LCIE
LCIE167409-751660)
19 AR 096 NM)

The Applicable standards and Technical specification

1. EN ISO 60079-36:2016 <Non-electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres-Basic
method and requirements>
2. EN ISO 60079-37:2016 <Non-electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres-
Protection by constructional safety “c” >

Authorized Person for the manufacturer:

Name: Wonder Engineering Technologies Pte Ltd

Position: Engineering Director

Signature : Date : 2019.12.19

I hereby am authorized by the board to sign the EU Declaration of Conformity