Bulkmatic, as it happens...

Yes, that scared the crap outta me, wasn't expecting it at all.

Big decision for tomorrow. Looking at best place to fuel up along route but not sure I want to stop at Pilot #666

 

Bonehead move of the day. I'll lay it out for you as best I can, which probably won't be very good.

I'm at a mill dropping a trailer. Lot is dirt and ick since it's been raining but flat and open, probably about 250 feet almost square. Almost center in the lot is a large main that comes up out of the ground then 180s and goes back into the ground (natural gas?) with 3 bollards around it and guardrail running from bollard to bollard to form a triangle protecting the main.

The lot is wide open, a ####ing cow pasture. There's maybe 5 trailers in the thing, I don't think they really use it for much.

Guy in a dry van pulls in as I'm setting up to back in and drop and comes across my nose so I have to stop and wait. Then he zig zags a couple times like maybe he is lost and just trying to turn around and get back out on the road or trying to figure out where to park or something, I don't really know. Then he cuts a hard left, and starts dragging the last third of the bottom trailer rail across the top of one of the bollards.

But wait, it gets better, when he gets to the tandems he catches the open end of the guardrail on the forward tandem axle and pops it (man, was it loud). Hear brakes set, guy gets out, walks back, looks, walks back to cab and gets in. He's going to backup and get off the bollard and guardrail and get out of the way to figure out what to do, show's over.....NOPE!

He backs up about 5 feet then starts pulling forward cuts it to the left again, catches the rear tandem axle on the guardrail and blows that tire out too!!! All the time he had literally 80 feet in any other direction to go with nothing but flat empty ground.

Gets out again, walks back, looks, shaking his head ( I think the guy was ready to cry, truly) and finally figures backs up and turns to the right then spends a couple minutes parking at the edge of the lot.

Thank you Werner, for giving me the best chuckle, the worst what the hell am I doing on the roads with the likes of him, we're all gonna die, and also the sorriest I felt for another person moment all wrapped into one that I've had in a long time.

@Steelersjunkie Caught your post in the other thread, here's one to help ya get it together and get out to that feeling of disconnection again....

 

Can you say total ####ing failure?? I thought ya could....

What a 2 days, I haven't got my ### handed to me this bad in a while

Got a pre-loaded trailer from the rail-yard going up to Wisconsin. Not bad, little better then a couple hour run each way. New stuff I never dealt with before, semolina. This stuff must be some type of payback sent from my ex-wife. Everyone I talked to while was at the yard that asked where ya going just said oh ####, not that when I told them, now I know why.

Caught my trainer in the yard just by chance before I left and asked him about it, he made a couple suggestions and clued me into how he unloads it. Tried what was suggested, high bottom air flow, high trailer/line pressure, plugged #### up 6 ways to Sunday. Tried using 1 aerator, 2, none, adjusting valves, nothing seemed to work good. Couldn't get this crap to move out of the trailer then all the sudden it would just flood out and plug up the bottom line 1,2,3,. Got to receiver and started unloading at 3:15 yesterday afternoon, at 6:25 I had to pack it in and get to a hotel before my 14 ran out, and only had 15,000 unloaded in all that time.

And just to ad insult to injury I had to put my regular truck in the shop for a PM yesterday morning so got stuck out in a POS yard truck with half my regular stuff, including my "just in case" overnight bag still in my daily ride.... I was not happy. Dispatch was not happy either since I was suppose to make it back to the yard and reload last night. Receiver wasn't really pleased either I don't think since they were short 28K and change on product overnight.

Did my 10, got back there and with all the lines clear still from night before started experimenting. Ended up with bottom air wide open, top air between 3 and 4 notches open, no aerators open and hopper discharge valve about half open to keep between 8-9 PSI on trailer and line. It didn't go fast but I didn't have to much of an issue with anything either so let it go figuring slow and steady better then plugged and pissed, especially after being a day late to finish unloading as it was. Took about 2 and a half hours to get the other 28K and change off.

Anybody deal with this stuff regularly? I try to learn on my own and figure stuff out as much as possible but I'm not proud either, I'll take all the experienced voices I can get with suggestions.

Oh yeah, drive back and had to reload trailer out of a rail-car. Another 6 hour ordeal or fun in the sun.

@Steelersjunkie You know my opinion on blondes man, but for this I'd throw it out the window in a heartbeat.

 

I remember hearing of it when I was a kid. I want to say possibly from my grandmother or great aunts, something to do with old polish women cooking rings a bell far off in my mind.

I haven't taken the time to look it up yet, but on the BOL is was listed as flour semolina so I'm assuming it's a certain type of flour even though it looked nothing like it, or at least some part of the wheat plant that the white flour I think of as flour ends up coming from.

It's a light brownish color and small granules. I haven't had it in a long time so I could be totally wrong but what comes to mind to compare to is Malt-O-Meal, although I think these granules would be bigger. Wasn't something that you could take a handful off and clump it together and get to stay together like it was damp, but it was really dense ####.

Yes, I can adjust blower RPM anywhere from idle up to at least 1350 RPM, never tried higher then that so don't know. I tried from 1100 (my general starting point with anything, and adjust up/down from there as/if needed) up to about 1250. The results didn't seem to change to much as more CFM eventually seemed to mean more pressure in the trailer which would push the product out in larger shots (it never came out evenly, always a blast of product, then you'd hear air whistle thru for a sec, then a blast or product) which would plug up the line.

It sucks man. At least I think I figured out some setting my 2nd day back to finish up that will work, even if very slowly. Next time I will start from those and then start experimenting some more to see what I can figure out.

 

Yes it is. I remember the name change, something to do with certain bandmembers leaving maybe?

 

Next time I will probably try it without top air as you suggested, if there is a next time. It wouldn't bother me to much if there wasn't but ya know how it goes...

Some of the real old trucks laying around have Gardner Denver blowers but they seem to be mostly gone, the trucks that replaced them have Drum. I can't even get to 16psi, trailers have a 13.4 relief valve on them.