Thinking about cold weather and air - Printable Version
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+--- Thread: Thinking about cold weather and air (/showthread.php?tid=3941)
Thinking about cold weather and air - bikestuff - 12-20-2017
Gurus,
My 120V compressor is located in the bay below passenger seat. It is a "standard" setup for this vintage coach. There is a little solenoid that releases air pressure to the pump when the pump cycles off. The air line then goes to a "spitter" to remove the water and then to a T that feeds the wet tank and also gets routed to the pressure switch.
Even though I drain the spitter and the tank on a regular basis, water can get into the pressure relief solenoid body. When it gets cold, the water freezes and chaos ensues. I have had the solenoid fail badly which resulted in huge air leak. Last week during cold weather, it froze up but did not fail.
Remember this solenoid is the first thing that the airline gets to after the pump.
I have come up with two solutions...and would like to hear your thinking.
1) Put a dryer / spitter right after the pump. The idea is to get rid of water before it gets to the solenoid.
2) Add an electric heater similar to the one in the AH bay to keep the temperature of the bay above freezing.
Has anyone made modifications to their air system to keep the ice out?
bill
RE: Thinking about cold weather and air - Richard - 12-20-2017
First option is a no go. The air has to cool off , lowering the RH, for the water to condense. Putting the collector right after the pump just puts the hot air in the collector.
Have you thought about heat wrap tape , that plugs into 110 AC?
RE: Thinking about cold weather and air - folivier - 12-20-2017
Bill on my '98 I added this "spitter" after the air pump which was in the generator compartment. But it should work wherever you put it. This one uses a float to dump the water rather than a powered solenoid. But I never was in cold enough weather to worry about it.
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RE: Thinking about cold weather and air - Land Yacht - 12-21-2017
(12-20-2017, 01:43 PM)Richard Wrote: First option is a no go. The air has to cool off , lowering the RH, for the water to condense. Putting the collector right after the pump just puts the hot air in the collector.Richard, I checked today, and my pump feeds directly into a water collector/dryer, then goes to the air tank. Are you saying this is bad? I am not currently or have had any air problems since I left Newell in September. The water collected was high this summer but very low now. I had several air/water problems this summer that were fixed at Newell, so I am please with lower water being captured. Should I be worried about something, or am I misunderstanding the thread?
Have you thought about heat wrap tape , that plugs into 110 AC?
Thanks
Mike
RE: Thinking about cold weather and air - Richard - 12-22-2017
Mike,
The collector will work to some extent coupled directly to th compressor, but it will work better if there is a length of tubing to allow the air to cool. I'll do some
Calcs when I get home from the Christmas trip to quantify my statement
RE: Thinking about cold weather and air - bikestuff - 12-22-2017
So maybe put a loop of tubing from the compressor to the collector....but then will the water freeze in the tube? :/
RE: Thinking about cold weather and air - folivier - 12-22-2017
Hmmm, thinking back about the water dump I installed on my '98 I first tried it connected to the check valve but the vibrations were bad enough so that the float keep bouncing and leaking. So I added a foot or 2 of plastic tubing and mounted it on the frame of the radiator where it worked much better. Didn't even consider the temperature delta of adding the tubing. But then again I try to stay out of freezing weather....Merry Christmas!
RE: Thinking about cold weather and air - Richard - 12-22-2017
I haven't had a problem with water freezing in the loop. And that includes the winters in West Virginia