Scoop on Gas Tanker Driving

What is your current field of employment?
Because your new here I am going to assume that you are new to trucking, with that said most outfits want 2-3 years tractor trailer experiance min. before they will put you into a Fuel hauling training program... Other than that I have heard its a good gig.

 

Not hooking up the vapor does not slow down the offload or load. The pincipals behind vapor recovery are simple. While you're loading the product goes into the tank and the vapors are pushed out back to the tank farm. When you offload the product goes off the tank and into the ground it pushes the vapors back into your tank. It's a huge safety factory because you never want to make a mixture that's conducive to fire.That is you don't want the proper air, fuel, and heat in your tank. So you either keep the tank truck vapor rich or product rich. By using this system you never allow the right air mixture to form and it's safer. Of course you don't want to rip the tank open because then you would be making a mixture that is right for fire.

Where some of these drivers think they save time is solely based on the time it takes to get the vapor hose out and hook it up. If they do not have vapor recovery then the vapors must go somewhere. And what these idiots don't know is that vapors are heavier than air so you could have a blanket of vapors in the station just waiting for some ignition. And if it finds one that driver will be in the middle of it.

Also in most places it's agains't the law to not use your vapor. My company would fire you on the spot because their policy was if it's there use it. That includes diesel. Diesel is not required to have vapor recovery but if it was there we used it.

 

BTW, someone not using vapor recovery is rare if you're in the city. You can smell the vapors a mile away if a driver is dropping without it.