Tanker / Tender Vent Valves

[gooselaketrain]

I'll start this thread off by first saying; I am not a salesperson looking to sell something by this post so please don’t start blasting away.

Over the last couple of years I have been tinkering with a valve for one of our tankers that allows the tank to utilize multiple quick dumps yet allow for full venting of the tank.

I know that the normal solution is to place the vent tower high enough so that liquid surge doesn’t make it out, or place the vent tower in the middle of the truck. These towers usually have lids on them so who knows how much venting you are getting.

In our case this wasn’t possible due to physical interference in our set up and we were forced to place multiple plumbing elbows on top of the tank with overflow hoses running down ( Frankly it looked like ****)

We were unable to afford the more complex valve designs such as pneumatic operation to cycle the vent valves and didn’t want the maintenance upkeep responsibility of the added equipment.

To make a long story short I designed a valve that fit our needs and convinced a valve manufacturer to make me a prototype of it. This valve worked perfectly on our tanker and has gone through several modifications over the last 2 years.

This valve is an automatic one requiring no external power or linkages, It allows the tank to vent under heavy dumping operation yet it seals and stops water surge from spilling out during truck maneuvering. One other feature I added was a pressure relief so that departments using high flow LDH won’t pressurize the tank when it’s full.

It fits in a small footprint so just about any truck I have encountered can use it, and it gets rid of extra piping that we normally use.

I know that many departments don’t need or even care if they dump water on the road as they shuttle but I also know that in the colder climates its normal to bring out salt trucks to keep the ice off the roads we make as we spill our water. A local chief also mentioned it may be possible to get more ISO points because now you may potentially get more credit for not losing your water that the vacuum tankers now receive.

Now for my request,

I have 4 prototype valves available that I need to find homes for. I am looking for fire departments that may have a need for a valve like this who would be willing to install it on their vehicle and do some testing and evaluation.

I can reimburse up to $500.00 to offset your installation costs (Sorry but this a self-funded venture and that’s about all I have to spare)

I know this valve works great on our truck and I have hopes of eventually selling it on the open market but I need feedback from different people in different geographical areas that it’s a good product and will perform for you.

If you think that this valve may be a solution to your own problem contact me at pdoyle@netins.net so I can give you more details.

Thanks