GIRARD Equipment Inc delivered its 1,000th chemical vapor recovery valve in August 2003. The valve went to Hinsdale, Illinois-based Transport Service Company, which has Girard chemical vapor vents on about 200 of its tank trailers.
“We started buying chemical vapor vents back in 1997 when we started to see industry movement in that direction,” says Pete Nativo, vice-president of maintenance at Transport Service Co. “We have one customer that is doing a lot of closed-loop loading, and other customers seem pleased that we are putting vapor vents on our chemical trailers.
“While only a few locations require chemical vapor recovery at this time, we believe that could change over the next few years. We think vapor recovery vents will become standard equipment on chemical trailers, and this is being helped along by the recommended practice for vapor recovery systems that was published by TTMA (Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association). There's a greater comfort level with vapor recovery systems now.”
Nativo adds that Transport Service chose the Girard product because the tank truck carrier has a good relationship with the vent manufacturer. “We've never had a problem with any of their products,” he says. “The Girard vapor vents are holding up very well.”
Girard developed its stainless-steel Hydraulic Vapor Recovery Adapter for chemical applications in late 1999. Since then many chemical carriers have joined Transport Service in embracing it as their valve of choice for chemical vapor recovery.
“When we set out to design this device, ease of disassembly for cleaning and maintenance was high on the list of needs for carriers,” says Dave Girard. “Our valve has a reliable threaded connection that allows the operator to take the valve apart without disturbing the tank's pipe work. We believe that this approach has scored points with maintenance managers and the people who service these trailers on a daily basis. Their input has always been the most important voice in our design process.
“We believe all of the carrier input has helped make our vapor recovery vent about as reliable and user-friendly as possible. This was a well-designed product from the outset. We made slight changes to meet the requirements of the TTMA recommended practice. For instance, we added a larger cylinder that opens at a lower pressure (just under 80 psi).”
In addition to hydraulically operated vapor recovery adapters, Girard Equipment offers a manually operated version and has recently developed an air-operated version. Girard also offers special piping kits that make it easy to pipe a vapor valve to ground level.