What makes a tanker food grade?

Clean clean clean. When I hauled food grade and specialty I'd drop the tank at the tank wash and ask for a food grade wash. When I picked it up, I had to make sure the tank, valves and bleeders we're completely dry and all the valves and caps were sealed. If you're a company driver, dispatch has the responsibility to send the last 3 loads that specific trailer contained (may be more or less than 3, it was 3 where I worked). Probably at least a 6,000 gallon tank, or compartmented

 

Amen on the clean. We had a new set of pneumatics that had hauled half a dozen loads of cement and we wanted to get them certified for food grade. We didn't have a tank wash in our area and tried to do it ourselves. Big mistake. We spent so much time and money that we wouldn't have made anything on the haul...which was salt and didn't pay much anyway.
We probably had the cleanest cement trailers in this part of the country though.

 

Food grade tanks have liners made of a material that can be cleaned and disinfected properly. Some of the old ones were glass lined but they may have a stainless alloy or some kind of composite they use now.

 

Maybe you can tell me. What is with all these guys I see around here washing mixers and cement bulkers with Ty D Bol? There’s 3 different outfits I’m aware of that are at that.

 

Beats me. Is it some kind of acid? We bought our wash acid in 55 gallon drums and it was expensive. Nasty stuff to handle, too.
If they're sending somebody to the store to by TyDeBowl by the small container I'd think it would be costing them a fortune.

 

I think they’re using using it on the paint work of the trucks. They acid the trailers. The one guy is even more old fashioned than I am. He’s got a couple of DM’s that are ancient and the rest are R models, so none of them are new. But they’re bright red. There’s not one in the yard that’s the standard sun bleached dog turd pink for a Mack that age. That has me thinking the old buck is onto something.

 

The tank wash certifies then as clean. I imagine a "food grade" designation would come after inspections checking valves and liners etc.

In generic terms, "food grade" is a tanker with no internal baffles. It may be called that even if it nevers hauls anything edible.

 

No baffles.