draining tanks after driving

[bond024]

I was wondering if you guys recommened draining the air out of the tanks on my deuce after i drive it?

 

[Snarky]

I always drain the air out of my tanks after I'm done driving it for the day. It gets the moisture out, and imo makes it harder to steal. If someone tries to start it they get a loud buzzer and if they continue on, they have no brake booster for a good few minutes.

 

[CARNAC]

daily sometimes twice a day.

 

[bigmike]

the stencil on the side reads "drain air tanks daily". That's what I follow.

 

[Keith_J]

All air has humidity. In most conditions, some of the humidity will come out as liquid water when the air is compressed and then cooled, this happens in the tank.

Draining the tank removes water but also oxygen under pressure, limiting corrosion. There is usually oil on top of the water, this will coat the steel of the tank as it is draining. The oil is from the compressor and is harmless to the air system.

Now when it is in the teens or even just below freezing, water can be very bad as it will freeze. Here, a bit of methanol is helpful, just remember it is highly toxic.

 

[Stan Leschert]

Drain daily no matter what. Moisture in the system is really bad. Too much of it can get expensive. It's worth the 5 min to drain the tanks.....trust me! And do the rest of your post trip inspection!

 

[kc5mzd]

Drain at the end of every day, It’s very important to remember to close off the valves after the tanks are empty. If you leave the valves open after the tanks are empty more moisture will get in. Also don’t forget to let the accumulated moisture out through the bleeder valves before you let the air out. The valves at the back of the truck don't get the accumulated water out of the tanks - it just lets out the damp air.

 

[zout]

Get the same brand we use on semi tractor air tanks - remove your valve type you have to get under the truck to drain and install these auto drain with a cable on them - place the cable within arms reach while standing along side your truck from then on out and it is less a chore

 

[dittle]

Tanks are drained every day that I drive it. Make sure to reclose the valves when you're done.

 

[Divemaster920]

I use these.
5 Brass Air tank drain valves - 48" cable:eBay Motors (item 320471275404 end time Jan-12-10 18:48:11 PST)

 

[mcmullag]

drain baby drain

I drain the air out of the tanks every time I use it, and even in this
dry air around here I still get mist coming out and drips of water
at the end, even after just a 20 mile drive. My objective is to make
this truck last as long as possible with few repairs or replacement
of parts.

 

[Keith_J]

Drain at the end of every day, It’s very important to remember to close off the valves after the tanks are empty. If you leave the valves open after the tanks are empty more moisture will get in. Also don’t forget to let the accumulated moisture out through the bleeder valves before you let the air out. The valves at the back of the truck don't get the accumulated water out of the tanks - it just lets out the damp air.

The moisture is from the air, certainly, but it is concentrated due to pressure. All is fine most of the time until the air cools (compression heats the air), that is when some condenses out. Unless it is very cold and dry, you will have condensation.

 

[dcwilkie]

I forgot to drain my air tanks once after driving. For some odd reason the inboard tank had pressure but not the outboard when I drained them the next morning. When I shut down, the OUTBOARD tank always has pressure, but not the inboard- just backwards from what happened when I forgot.
The only thing I can figure is there's a check valve between the tanks somewhere. When I forgot to drain the tanks, the air found its way to the inboard tank and stayed there while the outboard tank finally depressurized on its own.
One other thing- since it's been cold here down south, anytime I shut down I now hear air bleeding off without me touching a thing. Once I open the valves on the tanks, it goes away quickly. I also had one incident where the air warning horn wouldn't stop even when the gauge said all was OK.
I need to replace a couple of brake wheel cylinders, so while I'm doing that, what else should I check as far as the air system is concerned? All advice appreciated!

 

[bond024]

I like the idea that "drivemaster"had with that valve on ebay. Do you put 90" elbows with those so you can pull them from the side?

 

[Jake0147]

Maybe I'm reading too much from the original post... I don't think that draining the water was the question, but rather should the "air" be drained every day, letting the system down to zero pressure...

Yes, the water should be drained from the tanks daily. Given the opportunity, I like to drain the tanks on a touch of an incline so that the drain is at the lowest part of the tank. There's a lot of water that doesn't come out if you're incline is going the wrong way.

As for the air... Lots of opinions are out there, here's mine. The air has already been compressed and cooled, it's given up all the moisture it's going to. As the system leaks down over hours, days, weeks, etc then any moisture in the air stays in the air, at least reasonably. If there's a lot of temperature change, it could give up a touch, but not much. Thus IMHO there may well be a benefit to letting the whole system down when parking the truck for a while, but not a whole lot. There'll be more water soaked into the rusty debris in the bottom of the air tanks than what the remaining air is going to give up in the worst case scenario..
I personally drain the tanks of water and air when the truck is going to be left for a week or more, other than that I drain the water and call it a day.

The tether valves linked to above are indeed much easier. No elbows should be required, as the drains are on the bottom of the tank, so pulling from the side of the truck will be the appropriate direction to release them. The only thing I don't care for about them is because the actual valve mechanism is further removed from the tank versus a petcock, they are prone to freezing even when the warm air from the compressor keeps the inside of the tank thawed. Ice on those valves makes them "old" pretty quickly. OTOH, they are very easy to change, and they're five to eight bucks each over the counter, and any place that has parts for medium or heavy trucks has them stacked up like cord wood.

 

[emr]

The air and the water are interchangable and should be and are told to do so in the tms, water is in the air in the tanks pressurize the air and the water comes out and sits in the tank, and will freeze will cause rust and holes in tank and other problems in the lines when moisture is overwhelming, so the air and water are one in the same...........If u still have air in the tanks U still have water period. condesation does and will occur, the only way to prevent this is drain em down. I like to reach under, it is part of the truck for me, Inmy 24087 correct Vietnam deuce I would never replace the little stock valve, on the deseret current Tan deuce I have put in plumbing in line quick valves straight down for that immediate blast down, sure clears em fast ...

 

[Speddmon]

I have nothing really to add to this thread, but these last two posts make me want to stir the pot a little.

emr says to most definitely drain the tanks of all air and thus water...

Jake says that just draining the water is enough...

On a deuce with it's dual 5 gallon tanks it's a simple enough thing to do to drain the whole tank of all pressure, and it doesn't take too long...but I want to know how many of you drain your shop air compressor of it's full 25, 30 or more gallons of air when you are done with it after each days use?? I have a 30 and a 120 gallon tank, and I'll tell you, I certainly do not stand there long enough to drain down even the smaller compressor after each use (I drain the water, but that's all I do). And I most certainly do not want to wait 5 or 10 minutes for them to build up air pressure just so I can fill a tire or use my impact wrench.

If you do not drain your shop compressor, then why do you say you absolutely MUST drain the tanks of all pressure on your deuce every night when you park it. Are they not exactly the same thing...an air compressor and a steel storage tank?

I'm just curious, and want to know who is guilty of not draining their shop compressor, but believes it is a must to drain your deuce completely.

 

[Jake0147]

I personally do the same with both...

At work, the compressor is used daily. I drain the pooled water from the bottom, but if I were to open the valve it still would not remove the amount that stays as a "wet surface" on the inside of the tank. Leaving the valve open all night would still not correct this. Nor will I be pulling a vacuum on the air system to remove the air that remains.
At home, the compressor is used on a very limited basis. If I have a job to finish tomorrow, or another reason to suspect I'll only be starting it up again anyway, I drain the water. if it's going to sit a week, then I drain the whole thing and leave the valve open so that (maybe, possibly) I can let the inside dry. It's inside however. There are no bugs, there are minimal weather changes, etc. I won't leave the valves open on the truck when it's sitting outside. But again, short of pulling a full vacuum on the air compressor to recover the air and the dampness on the tubing walls, tank walls, etc. as well as removing the air (and sealing it well enough to have it keep that vacuum indefinately) then there will be no perfect answer.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

January 10th, 2010.


Gents:

I drain them completely at the end of the day (unless frozen up) and several times daily in dry weather, more often in rainy and cold weather just to get the water out of the tanks.
NOW to throw the 24" adjustable into the converstaion.....


How often do you suppose these tanks have been hydrostated, and how often should they be hydrostated??????

Cheers,

Kyle F. McGrogan

 

[Keith_J]

January 10th, 2010.


Gents:

I drain them completely at the end of the day (unless frozen up) and several times daily in dry weather, more often in rainy and cold weather just to get the water out of the tanks.
NOW to throw the 24" adjustable into the converstaion.....


How often do you suppose these tanks have been hydrostated, and how often should they be hydrostated??????

Cheers,

Kyle F. McGrogan

They are too small to fall under ASME VIII code construction/annual inspection/5 year hydrostatic test, much like consumer air compressor tanks and water heaters. Water heaters are required to have an ASME rated temperature/pressure relief valve even with the pressure vessel exemption.

Corrosion issues will cause failure and while it will be dramatic, it won't be like a water heater rupturing.