Frozen air tank drain

[rat4spd]

My inside tank drain (the "wet" tank) is frozen. I dont imagine it'll be too hard to thaw it, but what can I do to prevent it from happening all the time here in the butt cold midwest?

 

[rlwm211]

Air when compressed is hot and carries more moisture than it can when it is cold. While it sits in the tank, the air charge cools and the moisture condenses into the tank. That is how it gets in there. Now how to deal with it.

Always drain your tank immediately when you shuit the truck off. Chances are the tank will be warm enough to allow you to let the water out.

If you are operating in the cold, and will be for a while (several hours) take a moment to drain the tank every couple of hours or so. You will get a better idea of how much air your system is accumulating after a couple of times.

I have read of using an alcohol drier for the air system and that would help in keeping the moisture from condensing and also act as an antifreeze in the operating devices in the system.

I would thaw the valve with a hair dryer or a carefully used propane torch. Remember there are rubber seasl in there so don't over heat the valve.

Hope this helps

RL

 

[surfdog]

Always drain your tank immediately when you shuit the truck off. Chances are the tank will be warm enough to allow you to let the water out.

If you are operating in the cold, and will be for a while (several hours) take a moment to drain the tank every couple of hours or so. You will get a better idea of how much air your system is accumulating after a couple of times.

And go to your local truck supply store (or even a truck stop) and buy a accumulator tank drain that comes with a ~3ft long wire cable so you can drain the tank without climbing under the truck.

I got mine at the local heavy truck parts store for less than 10 bucks.

You can loop the wire on the pioneer rack and it make it super easy (and clean) to drain the tank!

 

[fasttruck]

An alcohol evaporator is an authorized accessory and component of the artic kit for airbraked trucks such as m35 and 809 series. Meters alcohol into brakes to prevent water from freezing. If stuck without one it is possible to pour denatured alcohol into air compressor intake slowly and introduce alcohol into brake system thus. Engine must be running. I never go anyplace in the winter without alcohol in the truck. Go to some far away place to pick up a trailer and find the brakes are frozen and you cannot move it and thus will not get paid for the trip. Pour a little alcohol into the glad hands and probelm solved.

 

[rosco]

You can use "Heet" for the alcohol. But the the heavy truck stores have a special stuff that has a little die in it, so if you happen to have a leak somewhere, there will be a little color in that area, left by the die.

First though, you need the alcohol sniffer for the truck. Any of them dispatched to the cold country had them. They had a little jar fixed to the compressor that you kept full of alcohol. Also, when you are anywhere that it gets cold, always carry another source of heat. A 20# propane tank with a weed burner, is standard equipment!

Lee in Alaska

 

[1stDeuce]

I couldn't find any alcohol evap kits for cheap, so I made one. It seems to work fine.

You need: 1 Nalgene bottle. 2 1/8x1/8" nipple to pipe fittings. 1 bulkhead 1/8" nipple to nipple fitting. About 3' of clear vinyl tubing.

Drill two holes in the cap of the bottle, tap one for 1/8" pipe and install one of the 1/8" x 1/8" fittings. Put the bulkhead fitting into the other hole and put a length of tubing on it that extends down into the bottle a good ways. I put a curl of tubing on the top of that fitting so air is drawn in upwards instead of down in. Put the other 1/8" fitting where the 1/8" pipe plug on the top of the compressor air inlet. Put the rest of the vinyl hose inbetween.

Man, this makes more sense with pics... I'll take some Monday and post them. It was easy for sure!! Hopefully it keeps my brakes from freezing up this winter. I drain the tanks often in the winter, and there is always junk coming out of the inboard wet tank. Never much out of the other one.
C

 

[Speddmon]

I couldn't find any alcohol evap kits for cheap, so I made one. It seems to work fine.

You need: 1 Nalgene bottle. 2 1/8x1/8" nipple to pipe fittings. 1 bulkhead 1/8" nipple to nipple fitting. About 3' of clear vinyl tubing.

Drill two holes in the cap of the bottle, tap one for 1/8" pipe and install one of the 1/8" x 1/8" fittings. Put the bulkhead fitting into the other hole and put a length of tubing on it that extends down into the bottle a good ways. I put a curl of tubing on the top of that fitting so air is drawn in upwards instead of down in. Put the other 1/8" fitting where the 1/8" pipe plug on the top of the compressor air inlet. Put the rest of the vinyl hose inbetween.

Man, this makes more sense with pics... I'll take some Monday and post them. It was easy for sure!! Hopefully it keeps my brakes from freezing up this winter. I drain the tanks often in the winter, and there is always junk coming out of the inboard wet tank. Never much out of the other one.
C

I, for one, am very interested to see detailed pictures of your installation. I always keep my eyes open for the alcohol evap kits, but making my own would be a better plan.

 

[Srjeeper]

Alcohol Evaporator -

The Bendix kits are no longer being made, but there's still plenty out there at heavy duty truck part dealers.

The Bendix Kit part #'s are 209636 and 209637
(209636 is what the Military used, but they're very hard to find)

The best fluid to use in them on a Deuce system is Gunk's
"Air Brake Antifreez and Rust Guard" Part # M2832

 

[WPNS421]

The easiest thing to do is add alcohol base air line product usually sold at heavy truck outlets or NAPA. The big rigs use this stuff all the time in very cold conditions. When I have had frozen air line and I romove the line on the compressor added the product, 10 minutes later everything is OK.

 

[Unforgiven]

Why not just wire up a drain purge solenoid to a toggle switch? Just curious.

 

[Unforgiven]

and a dessicant can from an air conditioning system or accumulator from a shop air system.

 

[Speddmon]

not to say it wouldn't work, but the desiccant cans used in AC systems are to capture the very little bit of moisture that may be left in a system after evacuation to prevent ice from forming (you are supposed to replace that can any time the system is opened to atmosphere)...I would think that the sheer amount of moisture being condensed from the air compressor would overload and saturate that can pretty quickly.

 

[Unforgiven]

That HydroMax Spicergear brake system sounds better every day. Time & money. Time & money. I still think a solenoid purge with a toggle switch would blow that water out after a few cycles. What do the big 18 wheelers with air brakes use? That seems the logical solution short of redesigning the brakes.

 

[tm america]

big rigs run a water separater they would be easy to install .but for most of us better brain valves do the job .i like the idea of the ball valves they are simple .i put the updated drains on my truck with the cables to make it easier to drain and i hate them they leak like crazy and plug up easily .go with the ball valves

 

[rlwm211]

Dessicant cans from an AC system would simply fill up and then become sponges to hold moisture in the system. That would be counter productive.

I would be concerned about solenoid valves as most are a poppet type of valve and would most likely be prone to freezing.

If they did, it would be:
Bad, in the closed position;
Worse in the open position after you activated it.

I think that an accumulator similiar to what is used on a garage or factory compressed air system which would collect the moisture would work, but would be prone to freezing itself which also is a defeat to the purpose it has. Even with an upstream accumulator, there will still be moisture in the compressed air whcih will inevitably settle in the air tank.

The ball valves are a great idea and if they can be adapted so they can be operated without getting under the truck, a perfect solution.

Just my two cents

RL

 

[leepotter]

Would frozen water in an air line stop the truck from building pressure? This is the first winter with my Deuce. Is it ok to let the truck run to warm up and charge that batteries? I just don't want to damage the compressor. Thanks, sorry to kinda steal the thread.

 

[rustystud]

Bendix Air-Dryers are a dime a dozen now that the new colescent style air dryers are all the rage. Alcohol systems haven't been used since the 70's.

 

[andy3]

So does anyone have pictures of their ball valve systems? Are the remote wire drains really problematic or you just being cautious?

 

[Another Ahab]

So does anyone have pictures of their ball valve systems? Are the remote wire drains really problematic or you just being cautious?

Yeah, I'd be interested to hear the skinny here, too.

 

[Hainebd]

Don't the 5 tons have sevral valves near the drivers step to drain condensate, fuel filters inti a common manifold to be caught in a bucket? I know in the cold the lines to the valves may freeze but with antifreeze in air shopd be ok. Any ideas about this?