I,m thinking of taking a job on the sugar tankers the job is running out of birstall on nights 3/4 pm starts to Kellogg’s at Manchester then to immingham to pick up other tank and either back to yard or maybe go back to Kellogg’s
The company have said full training but I,m still abit apprehensive as it’s something I’ve never done
Are powder sugar tankers easy enough to learn as I’ve heard horror stories of people having problems at the silo,s
Thanks all in advance any help I’d be very greatful
Bring plenty of entertainment with you, or a pillow. When I did it there were many nights when I did 15 hours and didn’t even turn a wheel. Don’t bother scheduling your life to sleep through the day because you’ll get all the sleep you need during the night with all the sitting around you’ll do. Job is a piece of ■■■■ but make sure you stay outside with the pipes when delivering as the cameras on the cab are watching you. Oh and ignore the Pakistani guy who works for them at Crossroads - he is full of [zb] and him and his mate think they run the operation.
I have been delivering sugar out of Domino’s (Tate & Lyle) in Yonkers NY for 11 years, we do liquid and dry bulk, I hate the dry stuff, the noise and time involved is hell on earth, I may take one down to the silo’s to get it loaded and even deliver it so long as I am not involved in the actual unloading, I stick to the liquid stuff which takes 30 - 45 minutes to unload. On the other hand half our guys only do dry bulk and hate the liquid. God luck in your job.
Sugar is ok, so long as you have the pressures right…and we had a glass fitting so could see it wasnt getting blocked…powder can be problematic as it can get damp and blocks the pipes. or loaded when the tank is still damp…so make sure its dry…i do believe that sugar and powder tanks dont have to be washed every time, unless the company insists on it, i believe it last around 3 weeks if carrying the same load.
Powder tanks are a good job, after a while you get a feel for balancing the right amount of boost, aeration of the product, and the amount of opening of the product valve needed, how high to tip, how to start and finish the blow.
No company (with an ounce of sense) would throw you out there until you’ve got a decent idea of how to do the job.
Common sense and an ability to stand back and look at the pipework and understand what’s going is the thing, never rush, better it takes 1.5 hours to blow a load in than try and force it on in 1 hour only to end up clearing up the resulting mess for a further 2.
Packing away is the biggie.
Best tip i have for you is, when finshed, even if you are leaving depressurising until you leave the back of the tank (noise), always but always open the exhaust valve a bit so you hear it hissing, that way when you do a final walk around you won’t bugger off down the road with the tank under pressure… easier than you might think and thats a biggie in disciplinary terms when you get back the shunter goes to reload the tank only to find air hissing out the top when he loosens a lid.
Gardner6LYT:
You do not say who is the haulier who is doing the job,is it a secret?
I will hazard a guess it is a firm from Manchester ( red units ) … always bragging in their job adverts about how big they are and how many £million they are spending on new equip … but recently tried to CUT driver’s wages
