not being macabre, but a post by brit pete in the main forum rang a bell:
A certain firm had a tanker in germany, the driver was found
dead inside the tank, he was doing a self clean, that was about after
the person was 3days inside the tank
seem to remember this was norman lewis’s? anyone remember the details, robbie’s dad or anyone?
there was one found dead in a tank at marl .he wasn’t doing a self clean though. he had tipped with nitrogen and stuck his head in the tank before purging it . .i tipped there the same day .wheelnut will know more details.
Poor bloke. What a way to go. RIP
Yes. The blokes name was Bob Hurst, 
he used to run his own lorries out of Halifax area.
I dont suppose it really helps anyone to post more than a brief account as we knew it.
Bob had tipped in Italy and run to Marl in Germany. The product, Iso Propyl Alcohol is a simple solvent, no different to acetone that you would use as nail varnish remover. A self clean in this case would just require the lids to be cocked and the product would evaporate. The tanker had been discharged using an inert gas. Nitrogen in this case.
Various stories were told, but the most probable was that Bob had decided to check his tank before reporting to load on the Monday. He wore glasses and I wonder if he had dropped his glasses in the tank and decided to enter the tank to retrieve them. Entering a tank in any circumstances is dangerous, especially when inert gas blankets are used. Bob had not been with us very long, and was probably trying to create a good impression
The problem here was that although we had freephone numbers and had to call the office at least once every day, this was the weekend so no one missed Bob until he didnt report to load on the Monday morning.
Wheel Nut:
Yes. The blokes name was Bob Hurst,I dont suppose it really helps anyone to post more than a brief account as we knew it.
Bob had tipped in Italy and run to Marl in Germany. The product, Iso Propyl Alcohol is a simple solvent, no different to acetone that you would use as nail varnish remover. A self clean in this case would just require the lids to be cocked and the product would evaporate. The tanker had been discharged using an inert gas. Nitrogen in this case.
Various stories were told, but the most probable was that Bob had decided to check his tank before reporting to load on the Monday. He wore glasses and I wonder if he had dropped his glasses in the tank and decided to enter the tank to retrieve them. Entering a tank in any circumstances is dangerous, especially when inert gas blankets are used. Bob had not been with us very long, and was probably trying to create a good impression
The problem here was that although we had freephone numbers and had to call the office at least once every day, this was the weekend so no one missed Bob until he didnt report to load on the Monday morning.
i didn’t want to say any more Incas i hadn’t got the story quiet rite .when i passed him on the lorry park he was in the cab and waved to me as i passed .
i was very surprised to find out about his death .
RIP
thanks malc, I wasn’t being ghoulish, just rang a bell and wondered what real story was - RIP even if it was some years ago now