Bulkblower job

Seen a job advertised for bulkblower drivers. Small company, only 2 other drivers, they’re both there long . Money’s good, no weekends. My own lorry. Occasional night out if doing a Scottish run. And it’s 10 minutes from my door. So think I’m gonna take it. But no idea of the work. Should imagine it’s dusty and dirty.

see powder tanker jobs further down the page you’ve just posted on.

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Why are you wasting valuable minutes posting about it, get down there and secure the bloody job before some other bugger sick to death of bleedin RDC’s does so.

Good money , other two drivers been there yonks , own wagon , that job’ll be open for about 2 minutes after some bugger near to you reads this thread, guesses which the company is and shoots down there like the devil himself is up his arse and swipes the job from under your nose

Juddian:
Why are you wasting valuable minutes posting about it, get down there and secure the bloody job before some other bugger sick to death of bleedin RDC’s does so.

Good money , other two drivers been there yonks , own wagon , that job’ll be open for about 2 minutes after some bugger near to you reads this thread, guesses which the company is and shoots down there like the devil himself is up his arse and swipes the job from under your nose

IF I had my licence back Possibly me !

If it was me would have gone straight round got the job THEN come on here and post " just a new job"

Blower

Sorry i dud try and refrain

Smallgeeza:
Seen a job advertised for bulkblower drivers. Small company, only 2 other drivers, they’re both there long . Money’s good, no weekends. My own lorry. Occasional night out if doing a Scottish run. And it’s 10 minutes from my door. So think I’m gonna take it. But no idea of the work. Should imagine it’s dusty and dirty.

It’s a great job. I’m on with this now doing farm deliveries. The blowing side of it is easy when you get used to it. The different sounds of the blower and donkey engine, (assuming yours is fitted with a donkey), will be your first indication that everything’s blowing well or not. Hopefully you’ll have well maintained kit as little things such as door locks tend to seize up due to lack of use/grease. Doesn’t seem a big deal until you need to use one .
As for dusty and dirty, if you’re going to farms it will be dusty in the summer and dirty in the winter, but with the right clothes and attitude it shouldn’t be a problem.

Interesting title. Reminded me of a fat bird that lives down the street.

Johneboy:
It’s a great job. I’m on with this now doing farm deliveries. The blowing side of it is easy when you get used to it. The different sounds of the blower and donkey engine, (assuming yours is fitted with a donkey), will be your first indication that everything’s blowing well or not. Hopefully you’ll have well maintained kit as little things such as door locks tend to seize up due to lack of use/grease. Doesn’t seem a big deal until you need to use one .
As for dusty and dirty, if you’re going to farms it will be dusty in the summer and dirty in the winter, but with the right clothes and attitude it shouldn’t be a problem.

What he said. You’ll know within a week if it’s for you or not; you need to acqure the following skills though.

1. Navigation. Forget about satnavs, this is one job where common sense and a good old-fashioned OS map (or Phillips county one) still rules supreme. Farm may be where the satnav says, the feed bin could well be in the next valley which involves a ten mile detour. If in an artic, remember that a ten minute walk to check out the lane ahead is far better than a ten hour wait for a crane to pull you out.

2. Planning ahead. ALWAYS phone the farmer an hour in advance if you’ve not been before; if it’s a dairy farm you might also need to know his milking times as some make you wait till they’ve finished. Not because they’re being awkward, but because you can’t access the bin or loft if the cows are in the collecting yard. This of course also affects the order in which you do your drops. Incidentally, if multi-drop ain’t your thing this job is definitely NOT for you.

3. Dog handling. Pretty much every farm has a dog, some have a wolfpack. If it’s chained up don’t go near it, you’ll either get bitten, licked to death or your leg humped off. Generally speaking, ignore the dogs and they’ll ignore you; if however you are stupid enough to throw a stick or a stone for one to fetch (particularly a Border Collie) then be prepared to do that for the rest of the time you’re on the farm. The game gets a tad wearisome after the first ten minutes and you could be there for an hour.

4. Observation. If you have never done farms before, particularly those with livestock, be prepared for an eye opener. First of all, watch out for the old milk step when you go in; since being made redundant after milk churns were abandoned, they skulk in the hedge waiting for the unwary novice to leave a front bumper wrapped round them. Once you’ve passed that, go into the yard avoiding all the stuff that farmers deposit at random in such a place as to be in your way; find the bin, make ABSOLUTELY sure it’s the right one, check the chute is shut, check for overhead wires, get yourself as close to straight and level as humanly possible even if you have to use extra pipes (this is VERY important!) and don’t leave the blower to its own devices till you’re absolutely certain you know what you’re doing. ALWAYS keep your eyes open on a farm.

5. A strong stomach. You will come across dead livestock, muck heaps, slurry tanks and sileage clamps. They all stink, and the fallen stock in particular can take a bit of getting used to, especially if it’s a big dairy farm where they shoot day old bull calves. I’ve been on this job twelve years and I still go t’other end of the farm if the knacker man turns up to do that job whilst I’m there. One of them once told me that the hardest bit is when the calf tries to suckle on the gun barrel when they’re about to shoot them.

That’ll do for now. Anything you want to know, just ask. It’s a great job once you get into it.

Sidevalve:

Johneboy:
It’s a great job. I’m on with this now doing farm deliveries. The blowing side of it is easy when you get used to it. The different sounds of the blower and donkey engine, (assuming yours is fitted with a donkey), will be your first indication that everything’s blowing well or not. Hopefully you’ll have well maintained kit as little things such as door locks tend to seize up due to lack of use/grease. Doesn’t seem a big deal until you need to use one .
As for dusty and dirty, if you’re going to farms it will be dusty in the summer and dirty in the winter, but with the right clothes and attitude it shouldn’t be a problem.

What he said. You’ll know within a week if it’s for you or not; you need to acqure the following skills though.

1. Navigation. Forget about satnavs, this is one job where common sense and a good old-fashioned OS map (or Phillips county one) still rules supreme. Farm may be where the satnav says, the feed bin could well be in the next valley which involves a ten mile detour. If in an artic, remember that a ten minute walk to check out the lane ahead is far better than a ten hour wait for a crane to pull you out.

2. Planning ahead. ALWAYS phone the farmer an hour in advance if you’ve not been before; if it’s a dairy farm you might also need to know his milking times as some make you wait till they’ve finished. Not because they’re being awkward, but because you can’t access the bin or loft if the cows are in the collecting yard. This of course also affects the order in which you do your drops. Incidentally, if multi-drop ain’t your thing this job is definitely NOT for you.

3. Dog handling. Pretty much every farm has a dog, some have a wolfpack. If it’s chained up don’t go near it, you’ll either get bitten, licked to death or your leg humped off. Generally speaking, ignore the dogs and they’ll ignore you; if however you are stupid enough to throw a stick or a stone for one to fetch (particularly a Border Collie) then be prepared to do that for the rest of the time you’re on the farm. The game gets a tad wearisome after the first ten minutes and you could be there for an hour.

4. Observation. If you have never done farms before, particularly those with livestock, be prepared for an eye opener. First of all, watch out for the old milk step when you go in; since being made redundant after milk churns were abandoned, they skulk in the hedge waiting for the unwary novice to leave a front bumper wrapped round them. Once you’ve passed that, go into the yard avoiding all the stuff that farmers deposit at random in such a place as to be in your way; find the bin, make ABSOLUTELY sure it’s the right one, check the chute is shut, check for overhead wires, get yourself as close to straight and level as humanly possible even if you have to use extra pipes (this is VERY important!) and don’t leave the blower to its own devices till you’re absolutely certain you know what you’re doing. ALWAYS keep your eyes open on a farm.

5. A strong stomach. You will come across dead livestock, muck heaps, slurry tanks and sileage clamps. They all stink, and the fallen stock in particular can take a bit of getting used to, especially if it’s a big dairy farm where they shoot day old bull calves. I’ve been on this job twelve years and I still go t’other end of the farm if the knacker man turns up to do that job whilst I’m there. One of them once told me that the hardest bit is when the calf tries to suckle on the gun barrel when they’re about to shoot them.

That’ll do for now. Anything you want to know, just ask. It’s a great job once you get into it.

As Sidevalve says make ABSOLUTELY sure it’s the right bin, but before that make ABSOLUTELY sure it’s the right farm.
You’ll be surprised how many farms have the same name and are in the same small area. It really is an easy mistake to make though thankfully not by me…yet .
If this happens all the bins you blow into will have to be sucked out as it is now contaminated feed. Then, all this feed will have to be remade and replaced and also the feed for the original farm remade.
Costs a fair bit due to an address error . In other words check everything. It saves on a hell of a lot of stress.

I deliver to farms but on tankers, went in one a little while ago and the farmer was shoulder deep up a cows arse, he shouted over to me “ill sort you out in a minute” I shouted back “you stay with your girlfriend ill sort myself out thanks” loudest I’ve ever heard a farmer laugh

Johneboy:
As Sidevalve says make ABSOLUTELY sure it’s the right bin, but before that make ABSOLUTELY sure it’s the right farm.
You’ll be surprised how many farms have the same name and are in the same small area. It really is an easy mistake to make though thankfully not by me…yet .
If this happens all the bins you blow into will have to be sucked out as it is now contaminated feed. Then, all this feed will have to be remade and replaced and also the feed for the original farm remade.
Costs a fair bit due to an address error . In other words check everything. It saves on a hell of a lot of stress.

Particularly in Wales. I suspect it’s because they used all their alphabet up naming villages, but you can have for example four farms called Ty Coch (literally Red House) with Fach, Fawr, Uchaf and Isaf (Great, Little, Upper and Lower) after them, and it can be a serious embarrassment if you get it wrong. Incidentally, because all Welsh farmers share half a dozen surnames, they’re often referred to by their surname and the name of their farm, remember that if you’re asking directions. NEVER badmouth one in front of his neighbour by the way because they’re all related, even if they don’t share a surname, and bigger gossips than any woman!

Further to that, it’s a given that the farm you’re looking for will be the one without a name plate outside.