hauling sap/surge

[handtapper]

Anyone using "surge busters"? I was looking at them online and I think I'm going to invest in a set. I will feel more comfortable with heavy loads of sap, the sloshing can be fairly dangerous

[Dennis H.]

I was thinking of trying my hand at making a few of these or something similar. They would have to be smaller though. The opening in my tank is about 8".

I will again be hauling my sap and want to try and keep the surge under control.

[BreezyHill]

Hauling liquids can be very trying. The trick is to keep the product moving to control the surge.

Your goal is to keep the liquid moving in the direction that is safest...front to back... with a tank that is designed or set for transportation in the correct orientation.

Food grade transporters use baffles tanks to reduce the surfaces that will become contaminated and reduce washing efficiency.

Milk tanks are longer than they are round. So you will get the flow moving front to back and control the slosh with the use of subtle use of the brakes or accelerator just prior to a corner. The closer the tank is to half capacity the more subtle the use of power to slosh the fluid.

Keep the tank as low to the ground as possible to keep your center of gravity as low as possible. The higher the center of gravity the easier to roll the tank and trailer/truck.

Size your tank to the job will also reduce issues. Three small tanks on a trailer is far safer than one large tank. There is less weight able to surge at any given time and you are able to distribute your loud better across the vehicle.

I transport molasses in a 1600 gallon SS tank with a semi baffle design tank on a 38000 GVW International truck. at 11+ pounds per gallon when you get a half full tank moving you are talking 4 tons. It will rock the truck with ease.

Round tanks are far less of an issue than a leg tank that is longer than wide. For a pickup truck I would use a 325 leg over a round tank as you can keep the weight centered in the truck bed and not run the risk of the product standing up on the outside of the tank on a sweeping corner.

The worst setup is a flatbed pickup with a round flat bottom tank. Your surge is easily swayed to side to side from front to back on a sweeping corner. I saw a producer take a corner under the posted speed with a 1/3 of a load and the sap moved to the outside of the corner going up hill. You could see the truck lift on the inside of the corner and the operator had no idea what was happening. Only a few more gallons of sap in the tank and he would have rolled over.

Check out the link: http://www.surgecontrolsystems.com/getinfo.htm
in the upper right corner is a great video of a surging liquid in a tank. While it demonstrates the product well note the affect of the top tank on abrupt direction changes and the ease that the vehicle handles the liquid. Also note they don't seem to show the liquid going side to side in a corner situation.

I wash out my collection tanks every three days in the warm part of season...a transport tank that may be in the sun needs even more attention. The surface area this product brings will be a nightmare to keep clean, I fear.