Silo can whips up rumours

Aliens, Pokemon and pregnant women with whipped cream cravings have all been blamed for the implosion of the giant dairy whip silo in front of Tatua Cooperative Dairy Company in the Waikato.

However the reality is, the damage was almost certainly caused by human error.

A former Tatua employee, who agreed to speak to the Piako Post if he wasn’t named , said it was not uncommon for silos and tankers to be over filled resulting in overflowing, but implosion was not something which occurred often.

‘‘It would have been as simple as opening a valve that could have prevented this from happening. You would think a big red light would start flashing or a computer screen would light up with the warning, ‘open valves’,’’ he said.

‘‘Apparently it happens at Fonterra every so often too but the difference is, this is a giant dairy whip silo and dairy whip is what put Tatua on the map. I’d imagine this has been quite deflating for them.’’

From a technical point of view, a chemical engineer/boiler operator, who also wished to remain anonymous, said there were three possible reasons as to why the silo ended up in a crumpled mess.

‘‘The first is a vent valve has been blocked/closed causing a vacuum inside the silo when product is being pumped out leading to an implosion. Secondly a Cleaning in Progress (CIP) has been started with the main hatch shut, which has lead to a thermal change creating a vacuum leading to an implosion,’’ he said.

‘‘The most likely cause though is a blocked vent, which leads to a vapor lock and then implosion.’’

Speculation about the cause of the damage had people coming forward with their own humorous theories about what had happened.

One Facebook user Julieanne Coates said: ‘‘Yum, they would have to have a big mouth if they do the direct squirt approach. Of course that is very unhygienic and I would never do that myself.’’

While the crumpled can would still be functional, it would not be able to be used due to metal contamination risks and will have to be fully replaced.

Tatua communications team decided not to comment on the matter that had caused a stir throughout the Waikato region when it noticed last week.