Venting, loading and unloading valves, measuring and sampling devices.

(a) Venting, loading and unloading valves must be of approved design, made of metal not subject to rapid deterioration by the lading, and must withstand the tank test pressure without leakage. The valves shall be bolted to seatings on the manway cover, except as provided in § 179.103. Valve outlets shall be closed with approved screw plugs or other closures fastened to prevent misplacement.

(b) The interior pipes of the loading and unloading valves shall be anchored and, except as prescribed in §§ 173.314(j), 179.102 or 179.103, may be equipped with excess flow valves of approved design.

(c) Gauging device, sampling valve and thermometer well are not specification requirements. When used, they shall be of approved design, made of metal not subject to rapid deterioration by the lading, and shall withstand the tank test pressure without leakage. Interior pipes of the gauging device and sampling valve, except as prescribed in §§ 173.314(j), 179.102 or 179.103, may be equipped with excess flow valves of approved design. Interior pipe of the thermometer well shall be anchored in an approved manner to prevent breakage due to vibration. The thermometer well shall be closed by an approved valve attached close to the manway cover, or other approved location, and closed by a screw plug. Other approved arrangements that permit testing thermometer well for leaks without complete removal of the closure may be used.

(d) An excess flow valve as referred to in this specification, is a device which closes automatically against the outward flow of the contents of the tank in case the external closure valve is broken off or removed during transit. Excess flow valves may be designed with a by-pass to allow the equalization of pressures.

(e) Bottom of tank shell may be equipped with a sump or siphon bowl, or both, welded or pressed into the shell. Such sumps or siphon bowls, if applied, are not limited in size and must be made of cast, forged or fabricated metal. Each sump or siphon bowl must be of good welding quality in conjunction with the metal of the tank shell. When the sump or siphon bowl is pressed in the bottom of the tank shell, the wall thickness of the pressed section must not be less than that specified for the shell. The section of a circular cross section tank to which a sump or siphon bowl is attached need not comply with the out-of-roundness requirement specified in AAR Specifications for Tank Cars, appendix W, W14.06 (IBR, see § 171.7 of this subchapter). Any portion of a sump or siphon bowl not forming a part of cylinder of revolution must have walls of such thickness and be so reinforced that the stresses in the walls caused by a given internal pressure are no greater than the circumferential stress that would exist under the same internal pressure in the wall of a tank of circular cross section designed in accordance with § 179.100-6(a), but in no case shall the wall thickness be less than that specified in § 179.101-1.

[29 FR 18995, Dec. 29, 1964. Redesignated at 32 FR 5606, Apr. 5, 1967, and amended by Amdt. 179-10, 36 FR 21345, Nov. 6, 1971; Amdt. 179-40, 52 FR 13046, Apr. 20, 1987; Amdt. 179-42, 54 FR 38798, Sept. 20, 1989; 65 FR 58632, Sept. 29, 2000; 68 FR 48571, Aug. 14, 2003; 68 FR 75760, Dec. 31, 2003]