How To Unload A Flexitank Or Flexibag

Are you considering using Flexitanks to start shipping bulk liquid? There's lots of reasons why you should consider them, and many companies have already made the switch. If you're going to use them though, you'll see that there's a very different procedure to unloading them.

While it is different, you'll soon see that it's a lot easier overall. Here's how to unload Flexibags, and reap the benefits of using these bulk liquid containers.

How To Unload A Flexitank Container

Once that flexitank reservoir has reached its destination, it needs to be unloaded. Let's see how you get that done.

Get set up: Firstly, you need to have everything set up and ready to be used. Bring your suction pump close to the container, between that and the storage tank. This makes it a lot easier to start pumping the liquid out.

Open up the container: Now you're ready to open up the container. When discharging Flexitanks, you need to ensure that you only open the right hand door. During the entire process, the left hand door should be shut at all times.

Connect the pump: Find the valve on your flexitank, and open the snout of the wear sleeve. Then, remove the safety plug. You're ready now to connect up the hose. Connect the cam lock coupling to the product valve on your Flexibags, and connect the outlet hose to the storage tank. Ensure that all connections are secure, before you move onto the next step.

Start discharging your Flexitanks: Now you're ready to start pumping that product out. Open the product valve by moving the handle to the open position, and turn on your pump. While this is happening, you need to ensure that you're fully supporting the hose. If not, it can pull down on the flexitank reservoir valve, causing problems. You'll also need to ensure that the hose doesn't get trapped between the container wall and the flexitank, so keep an eye on it while this is happening.

Get all the product out: The pump will do all the work for you, until the Flexibags you're using become around 75% empty. At this point, you'll need to reduce the pump rate. Then, when there's around 4 inches of product left in the tank, workers will need to go inside and left the end of it up to move product to the hose. If you have the ability to lift one end of the container up, that can also help a lot in getting all product out.

Some companies find that using a flat tool, like a squeegee, helps a lot in getting all the product to the valve in the tank.

Finish pumping: Once all liquid is pumped off, close the product valve and turn off the suction pump. Then, you can remove the coupling from the tank valve. Replace the safety plug on the valve.

Now this is done, you're ready to clean up the flexitank. Open up the left hand door, and then dismantle the bulkhead. You'll then be able to roll up the tank and remove it from the container. Take out all lining from the container too, and place them with the tank ready for recycling.

Finally, remove all labels from the container, and close the doors. You're all done with emptying your flexitank reservoir.

The Benefits Of The Flexitank Discharging Process

As a business you've already used other transport methods for moving bulk liquids. You'll have had to deal with more involved discharging processes with these tanks. As you've seen above, discharging Flexitanks is just so much easier overall. Here's some benefits to the process, so you can see why businesses are making the switch:

A much quicker process: As you're using a suction pump, and only dealing with one tank, then it's going to be much quicker to get all the liquid out. Even if you need to pump out several tanks, it's going to be a lot quicker than emptying out several drums or smaller tanks.

Takes less people: When it comes to staffing, you only really need two or three people to empty a flexitank. That's going to reduce costs for you, as you won't need to have lots of staff in dealing with all the tanks that need to be emptied.

Less waste: When you're using drums to transport bulk liquids, there's going to be a lot of waste involved. They need a good amount of packaging to be safe during transit, and you'll have to deal with that once it comes to you. With a flexitank, you'll just have the tank itself, the bulkhead, and the paper lining the container. The vast majority of this can be recycled, which is good news for you.

No extra cleaning needed: As the tanks are sent to be recycled as soon as they're used, you'll see that you don't need to send them off to be cleaned. That instantly eliminates the extra work on your end, as well as any extra costs for sending back empty tanks. It's another aspect of the flexitank process that makes bulk shipping so much easier.

When using a flexitank, you're going to find emptying them to be so much easier. As you've seen in the process above, it's a simple process that can be done in minutes. If you haven't made the switch to shipping with flexitanks, now's the time to do so.