General Boards > Technical Support

Air Tank Replacement

<< < (2/4) > >>

Lee Welbanks:
Well said Gerald, water is a air system killer, before the modern air dryers came out we had to drain our air tanks everyday, then they came out with auto drains and they were a big help as long as they worked. If your coach does not have a air dryer you need to put one on it.

Bill Drout:
Agreed that the tank life will not be the same as a new tank.  I'll continue researching tank replacement options.  This coach did a lot of sitting before I bought it.  Since purchasing I have purged the tanks often, but not every day. 

My coach does not have a drier, and as best as I can tell it never had one.  Installing a drier has been on the list of to-do items since discovering that one was not on the coach, but I have been addressing other items first.  However, if I'm going back with a new tank I'd like to install it with a drier at the same time.

One of the things stopping a drier installation are some open questions that I need to get answered.  Does anyone have a recommendation on a drier model and where to install it?  When driers were installed, which drier was used and where was it installed so that the desiccant/filter was accessible?  One spot is in the engine maintenance bay because it is where the fuel filters and other items live, but there may not be room since it's already a pretty busy place.  Another possibility is the rear access door but there's not a lot of clearance.  The battery bay is right next to the engine bay and close to the air tank, so I suppose that's an option if space permits.  But there are a number of reasons not to put it there too.  In any case, I'm open for input if anyone has an opinion :-)

Thanks again for everyone's help!

Mike Shumack:
The Merritor/Wabco "System Saver 1200" drier is popular. https://www.anythingtruck.com/product/650-R955205.html
It has a spin-on filter cartridge so easy to change.

The mounting location should be close to the air compressor so the compressor discharge line is not longer than necessary and it needs to be mounted below the air compressor's height  (I believe 30" is the max. distance from compressor.  Installation instructions will specify this).

Eric Maclean Co-Admin:
Hi Bill
My 1997 Patriot Yorktown 40' has the drier mounted behind the service bay wall along with the hydraulic leveling pump rear of the battery box making it close to the compressor and the air tanks.
The air line that feeds the drier should be either braided stainless or steel tube to handle the heat and help cool the air as it travels to the drier.
The drier will reguire a tie in air line to the air governor to control the purge valve on the drier.
The exit side of the drier will go straight to your wet tank.
Most driers also have a 12volt feed to a heating element to keep the water from freezing at the purge valve.
almost any drier would serve your purpose but I would recommend the mediator unit as in the above post for the ease of replacement of the desicant filter.

If your coach was built with air brakes or air over hydraulic it should have had an air drier the fact it has no drier tells my you likely have hydraulic over hydraulic brakes.
Hope some of this helps
Eric

Bill Drout:
Thank you for all of the input.
As promised, the measurements of my tank are as follows:
Total cylinder length: 28"
Split is 9 1/4" wet tank to 18 3/4" primary tank
Circumference: 31" (so ~ 10" diameter)

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page