Clearing a clogged discharge hose on a pneumatic?

Usually I try to clear it by beating it over the head of the last guy that used it and left it plugged.

 

I have not found a clogged hose on a trailer unless I was the moron that just plugged everything up. I've found plugged discharge pipes, mostly with Dextrose, now and then with Calcium. Then I just keep dynamiting back into the trailer.

Done the same with hoses I have plugged most times as long as I am clear to the last hopper. Or once I had to disconnect the hose and clear it with a broom handle since it was the only long straight thing I had.

 

There's some way to put back pressure on it and suck the product back into the trailer. Maybe someone can explain it.

 

If you have a empty bin you can turn off the aerators,open the blow down valve with the bypass /hotline valve open. close the gate valve on the empty bin to build line up to 15psi, open the gate valve to vent the line in to the bin. this will create a vacuum pulling the plug back to the bin. you will have to do it many times depending on how bad the plug is.

 

Find the idiot that plugged it. Hammer same with the clogged line.

I usually carried a spare. Deployed that one and finished the unloading. The idiot is generally located and run back down to clear the hose him or herself for free. It wont be the first time.

The one exception would be a failed valve on the trailer during a unloading. The product almost made it past the tractor PTO Exhaust blower when that happened. The only thing to do then is to pound out the silo pipe, vent all pressure, shovel the small pile into the hatch and go back to shop and turn in the whole trailer with whatever is left on it. Once fixed we go back and finish it.

 

Yeah i bet you loved that when you came to start unloading huh , best get some rubber hammer like they use for tyre repair give the hose or the steel pipe a good wack and hopefully it will loosen up otherwise your going to have to get one of those whirly things the plumbers use to unblock pipes.

 

Usually just shut the hopper, cycle the air a few times until I see the hose start to compress then go back to unloading.

 

Well that's the last time I open my big mouth.

Had to deliver a load today that 1st driver only got about 7 thousand pounds off. Dispatch didn't say why, I figured guy started to unload and had a personal emergency come up or the receiver didn't have room for it (it's happened to me a couple times, they say go ahead and unload, 10 minutes later they're running out saying stop, silo won't hold it).

Once I got there I found out he plugged up most of their unloading line, about a 200 foot horizontal run with a 90 up 45 feet or so and into a silo, and a 3rd party had to be called in to take it apart and clear it.

Sure enough, pull cap off discharge pipe, totally full. 2 hoses on trailer, 1 was solid. It was a starch load so it wasn't a huge deal to unplug it all but it just pissed me off I just said No, never really had that happen then next day I get this crap.