Chemical tank plumbingn pictures

There has been a lot of questions in the past couple of years about how many gallons or pounds of a chemical you can have on your truck or trailer.

When at the chemical supplier the other day I asked the rep to show me the Federal D.O.T. guidelines so I can share them with friends and other contractors that do not know what you can legally have on the vehicle without having a CDL with HazMat endorsement.

Here is some information on Placards and the Federal D.O.T. (Department Of Transportation) guidelines that are short and to the point on gallons and pounds of certain chemicals.

He cold not find the guidelines but showed me something easier, a placard chart which shows the chemical package groups and what amounts in gallons or pounds that you have to have placards for on that vehicle so if inspected, you don't end up with a lot of fines.

I could not find the exact chart that he had in his office but this is just as good, you can probably print it out or find a placard supplier and get a copy to keep in your vehicle with the Manifest and MSDS of all the chemicals that you have on the vehicle or trailer to show the D.O.T. Officer for routine inspections.

Here is a link: http://safety.science.tamu.edu/dot.html

When you go there and scroll down the page you will see the hazard class 8 which are corrosives which is in black and white, that covers most acids, caustics and bleach type products.

You might wonder why Acids, Caustics and Bleach are all in the hazard class 8, it is because they are corrosives, you can look up and do some reading for further details about that.

What this means is that you can only have 1000 pounds, not gallons of a corrosive on a vehicle (truck or trailer) without needing placards, CDL with Hazmat endorsement, etc.... 1001 and more pounds will require the above and more, you can check into this.

So, since bleach typically weighs about 540 to 570 pounds for a 55 gallon drum from different suppliers, you would want that amount on your trailer or truck to be under 100 gallons to be on the safe side, more can put you over the legal limit, at risk and potential Federal D.O.T. fines which would not only cost a lot of money but serious violations to say the least.

I know that a lot of people say that they never get stopped, know law enforcement officers, blah, blah, blah, etc.... It is not an issue of if you get stopped but when. Since Homeland Security started contacting chemical suppliers, more and more suppliers are enforcing the weight limits and most will not sell you the amount to be over the weight limit per vehicle but not all suppliers are complying yet....

This is just to let you know what the weight limits are for different chemicals, if you have a different chemical, look in the MSDS, usually part# 14 under transportation and it will tell you the hazard class it is in and you can take a quick look on the placard chart to see what the weight or gallon limit is before you have to have placards, CDL, etc....

These are Federal D.O.T. Regulations that apply to all states even though a lot of states do not enforce them and most police do not know the regs, mostly it is the Highway Police and State Troopers that know the regs and enforce them.

Hope this helps.
 
I am will be getting my Hazmat endorsement to my CDL this year so I can transport a larger amount of chemicals so I will be able to do larger jobs and not worry about getting fines, not having to do multiple trips for chemicals or worry about getting pulled over when having several drums of chemicals on the trailer or truck.

I know I have read about a lot of guys that get by or it is not an issue where they live but with my luck, I don't want to take a chance.

Something else that is a D.O.T. reg is any trailer that can hold more than 3000 pounds and is tandem axle has to have a breakaway controller for the breaks. When my trailer rig was being built it did not come with one and most trailer sales locations do not put the controllers on the trailers but once you get a ticket then you will think differently.

Another thing is that if you are pulling a tandem axle trailer with a commercial vehicle (logo'd, lettered, emblems, etc....) then here in Texas your trailer has to have an inspection sticker on the trailer to show that it has the proper axles, wiring, lights, breakaway controller, etc.....
I got a ticket for that also and did not know about that one either.

So, every year I have to get the trailer inspection but it is only like $14.00 and does not take too long but this way I don't have to worry about those tickets anymore.

On the small trailer there is only 1 axle so I don't worry about it and the enclosed trailer I have it setup correctly also, again, nothing to worry about anymore.

It sucks that I had to get a ticket to find out about the regs but that is life, O Well.
 
That's how I learned my dot regs too Chris...

In fact this weekend I learned another. If your combined GVWR between your truck and trailer is over 26001 pounds your trailer cannot be rated over 10000 pounds or you are required to have a class A CDL....Gues my guys are getting their CDL licenses.

Chemical storage in buildings falls under local regulations and SARA reporting.
 
That is great info Paul, thanks.
 
All the DOT regs can be very confusing. The state DOT regs can be more stringent than the feds. It's up to each state to adopt the feds regs. For you multi state operators you can be in violation and not have any idea you are until you are on the side of the road with a motor carrier cop.

Some of it makes sense most of it is just to generate revenue.
 
Yes It can be that is why I had the lady from DOT on speed dial when I ran 18 wheelers. Don't forget a DOT physical either, which reminds me I have to get mine done.
 
In fact this weekend I learned another. If your combined GVWR between your truck and trailer is over 26001 pounds your trailer cannot be rated over 10000 pounds or you are required to have a class A CDL.

That one gets alot of people here too, Paul. Yet, not true if you're driving a motorhome, or if you are driving a rental Penske style moving truck from what I remember. And no stopping at weigh stations as you travel across country either since they are exempt. Very confusing!! I told a guy at work last weekend that we should just be running mtorohomes with all of our equipment in and we'd have no problems! :grin::smilewinkgrin::dance3:
 
Farmers and firefighters are exempt too most of the time. And your DOT physical isn't good for the same period as your license. Like I said confusing.
 
That one gets alot of people here too, Paul. Yet, not true if you're driving a motorhome, or if you are driving a rental Penske style moving truck from what I remember. And no stopping at weigh stations as you travel across country either since they are exempt. Very confusing!! I told a guy at work last weekend that we should just be running mtorohomes with all of our equipment in and we'd have no problems! :grin::smilewinkgrin::dance3:

That would be cool, have the pto or hydraulic motor turning the pumps and a lot of times you don't need hot water or you could use a heat exchanger to heat the water, just have to build up the suspension up a lot for the tank and water.

You could have secret trap doors on the back or side panels that open up for the hoses/guns for washing.

Might look a little redneck-style but it would get the job done, just have to keep the guys out during work hours or they would really be sleeping on the job. hahahahahahaha

This way you could go on long trips out of town washing and not need hotel rooms, just make sure that the RV has a shower on board as you will have plenty of water at each location, just make sure the guys don't take a shower after working and wander around outside the RV in just a towel. hahahahaha j/k

You could put the pumps in panel-tool boxes that open up so they don't get hot but hidden when not in use.

You could get one of those bladder-type tanks that could go under the floor and maybe into the walls so it is hidden also.

The containers for soap/acid......not sure where to hide those so you don't smell them when driving, that would take some thought. hahahahaha

This Mobil Wash RV would be a cool idea! Kind of like on that old movie Stripes where the RV was also a military attack vehicle, cool!
 
http://www.transcaer.com/docs/general/DOT Chart 13.pdf

use this...

I am a career firefighter and HazMat Technician. As far as hauling you are correct. It is done by weight and you are required to placard those in excess of 1000 lbs for class 8's. Some classes/divisions are placard any quantity (like for class 1's "explosives") The military has a separate placarding system but they do not have to placard anything. If you are curious what needs to have a placard or what class it falls in you need to get and ERG (emergency response guide book). Easy to find and free just google ERG. They are classified by the NAME, CLASS, and ID number. Also a DOT 13 Chart has this info. That is for hauling... As for a fixed site, like storing. You do not have to "placard" a fixed site. It is recommended. You would use the NFPA 704 system. 704's are on buildings. You have probably seen them, they are diamonds with 4 sections...(blue "health hazard, red "flammability", yellow "reactivity", and white "special like do not put water"). I am not a truck driver but I believe you also have to have your MSDS sheets with you at all times. I have heard they must be on the drivers seat of your vehicle if you are not in it... not sure on that though. Shipping papers for trucks are called "bills of lading". They have quantity, MSDS's, etc...
 
Anyone care to share some photographs, diagrams or info on how they have their chemical tank plumbed up to their downstream injector and/or low pressure pump system?

I am just dropping the downstream injector hose into the soap/chemical tank, then into a bucket of water to rinse through... it's too time consuming and risky, so I am going to put together a closed system with valve control to turn on/off chemical from tank and turn on/off water from tank to flush hose and injector.

It would be cool to see how you all put it together (pvc fittings, flexible hose, stainless balve valves, etc, etc?)

Thanks! :idea2:

Poor guy was asking for pics n the origional post...... He never got one!!!
 
I just went thru getting my DOT numbers and got really confused and started making some calls and spoke to 3 different people and one in particular was extremely helpfull and said even if you are under 1000#s material you would still need hazmat training and the materials of trade was the one to follow which is no containor over 8gal and no more than 440#s. I'm gonna play it safe and just have 8-9 5gal jugs on the truck and if we have a big job and will need more we'll just bring a second truck
 
plumbing

I put bulkheads in both my DS tanks then put the hose inside a piece of cpvc with a filter at the end. works great
 

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