All - I recently bought a pair of air tank drain valves with cables so I could empty them from the side of the truck. I don't quite remember where I got them without searching as I bought a bunch of parts when I first got the truck. The problem is they bleed quite slowly. For those of you who have done this mod, where did you get your bleeders and how fast are they? It takes a good 4-5 minutes of standing there to bleed them. I'm looking for something that moves air closer to the stock petcocks. Thanks!
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"High Flow" air tank cable drain valves
- Thread starter kenn
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Myself I just drained the water if the was any not the whole tank. A good air dryer pulls it out and a good upgrade for the Deuce with the air pack.
ToddJK
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I have those cables on my air tanks too. It takes a few minutes to drain them it's mostly for the ease of draining any water and it works well for that. To quickly drain the air tanks, I recommend adding a fitting back by the glad hand. Could even just remove the glad hand all together if you don't plan on getting a trailer anytime soon, but that will drain the tanks quickly. It's also a good attachment point for an airline to work on our around the truck with air tools.
Darylfraser
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I added a set of NOS quick drains and cables found on eBay for cheap $. They replace the stock petcocks on the tanks. I still have to reach by the forward duals in past the mud flap but it’s better than crawling under the truck! They take a minute or so to drain the tanks and I do have to feather them some as the drains will freeze with the fast moving air. Why they did not install an air dryer we shall never know but it’s a mod I would like to make. I’ve thought about adding the arctic kit alcohol evaporator to the compressor inlet. I wonder if anyone here has any experience with that?
I'm going to try one from tramec sloan as they are USA made it seems. They are a little bit more expensive but I'll try just one. I really feel like the ones I got are just a bit slow even for just getting the water out. I can see the mist when I pull it but I feel like it needs a faster movement of air to completely evacuate the water.
rustystud
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Don't use the "artic alcohol kit" . The alcohol will eat your seals in all your air valves. Up to 1998 the transit department here had a few bus's that still used alcohol to control water in the air system. The air system had to be rebuilt every year. No one uses alcohol anymore for this very reason.
Darylfraser
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Good to know rustystud! Thanks!
HDN
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I don't think the gladhand is a good way to drain the air tanks because moisture is going to settle at the bottom of the tanks. Water won't be able to leave the tanks through the air system and through the glandhand, thus tank rot occurs. Draining at the tanks is the way to go.
I've considered getting cable drains, but I believe it's a good idea to get under the truck to drain the tanks anyway because it forces me to spend a minute or two checking for new leaks or damage underneath.
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I have the valves on one of my trucks. At shutdown I drain the tanks till there is no more mist coming out and stop. It has never been more than 10-15 seconds, and that was after a long trip in the rain. Trips under 100 miles in good weather drain out in about five seconds. YMMV.