New to pneumatics

We were hauling lime/bentonite/cement for a soil stabilization project. Way out in the middle of nowhere. We were pumping directly into enclosed spreader trucks with small airbags on the top of the tank.. We were limited to five pounds of pressure or that little airbag on the spreader would take off like a rocket. Until they got the hang of it I thought the drivers were having contests...going for distance and then accuracy. I went out to the job one day to get some papers signed and the driver offered to launch an air bag so I could see it first hand. I declined...but it would have been fun.

 

We work closely with an outfit that does the same thing. They started with trucks with the little bags on top, and they actually maintained them pretty regularly. They didn't want anything over 8 psi in the beginning, but after they saw we knew what we were doing they never bothered us. We were regularly blowing into those trucks at 10-12 psi, but we never left a hopper empty out at that pressure. We'd empty a hopper down to the aerators and close it, once we got on the last hopper we'd crack the valve on the rear hopper just a bit, once it would go empty we'd go to the middle, and by the time the trailer was empty the pressure was at less than 5 psi. Then just rattle the aerators until it was completely empty.

Yeah we occasionally blew the bags off, but they knew it was a foregone conclusion that was gonna happen at times. Now they use spreaders that have an actual dust collector, which is really nice. 20 minutes to unload and no dust

 

And if that still doesn't clear it, you can suck the plug back into the trailer.
Clearing a clogged discharge hose on a pneumatic?

 

Yea that’s right.No idea what this frank guys tip is .Doesn’t sound like he’s ever unloaded a pneumatic trailer or he hasn’t done it long.But that’s some of the worst advice I’ve ever heard on how to unclog a line.Just shut it off and sit looking stupid for what 30 minutes and then crank it up again then unclog the line you could have had it unclogged 30 minutes ago

 

I think what Frank meant was to shut off all the airflow that way the product would settle in the discharge line, and then restart the air once there was some empty space between the top of the product and the top of the discharge line. I've done it before (and I also went and tapped along the discharge line with my mallet to "encourage" the product to settle), and it does work if the plug isn't really bad.

 

I pulled pneumatics for roughly 10 years. I didn't say 30 minutes. I said a "few" minutes. And, I said "if the usual unplug procedures don't work", meaning all else failed. It's just another tool in the bag of tricks. If you never have to do it, good for you.

 

Correct

 

What product will move with no air,But sucking back in the trailer it won’t move.Seriously this is stupid advice

 

You can call it stupid if you want, but it's a hell of a lot better than opening the swingaways (if the trailer has 'em), dropping the pipes, and getting product on yourself and the ground.