Thinking bout going pneumatic

I know nothing of it either. The only thing I have heard before, is beat the side of the tank with a rubber hammer, not a metal one.

 

What kind of products are you going to haul? There's a world of differnce between cement and something like plastic pellets.

 

I would have to second what @REO6205 asked first, it will make a difference.

I'm assuming they are going to train you with a pneumatic driver and not just give you 5 minutes of verbal pointers and send you on your way.

Best I can give you right now is take lots of notes. Write down everything. I switched to pneumatic about 5 months ago and the first couple weeks of my training I was worried I wouldn't pick up (we deal with a decent amount of different products and each has it's own things) all the little things that are product specific.

The first few months after getting kicked out of the nest and on my own I was constantly looking back thru my notebook to make sure of things before doing them.

After a time I think it all becomes repetition and you start to figure out the small things the trailers/blower are telling you as you load/unload but I still refer to my notebook.

 

If your pulling dumps and it’s within your company, it’ll be most likely cement, slag, and flyash. They may throw some sand your way when it’s slow. Cement products are no big deal. Lots of steps to learn and you’ve got to watch your work but it’s a good switch. I did different kinds of dump configurations within my company but I always liked pneumatic the most.

 

My advice is make sure they show you how to unplug a line!! Listen for the different sounds the tank will make. Carry extra gaskets sucks to spring a leak. Practice controlling your pressures!! A mallet is okay but I like deadblow better but good cold weather and rain gear is a must!! I really miss pulling a tank good luck

 

Ir's not real hard to learn but it requires a certain amount of focus. You do all the unloading yourself and a lot of times there might not be anybody around to help you if things go wrong.
If you're hauling cement and then hauling something else afterward...lime, ammonium nitrate, salt, cinders, or a number of other things make sure your trailer is cleaned out before you load cement again.
If you contaminate a trailer of cement it can get costly. If you contaminate an entire storage silo of cement it can ruin you.

 

There's videos on utube. I hauled stuff that was baby powder in consistency. Like mentioned above, no one around where I loaded and unloaded. After plugging a hose or two, and the discharge line on the pup, I learned to open that product valve slowly with plenty of air to the product line and give that stuff a chance to get moving.

 

There's a whole thread on here about pneumatic tankers.