Simple maintenance checks lead to increased uptime of air system components, according to manufacturer SKF.
Maintaining a clean, dry supply of compressed air stands is one of the trucking industry’s biggest challenges. With the use of ABS brakes more prevalent in today’s commercial vehicles, air systems tend to be much more sensitive to contaminants.
Transit and coach buses have particular challenges with increased use of air-actuated components, prompting compressor duty cycles to run as high as 100%. Traditional single-stage air dryers simply cannot continue to remove moisture and contaminants at this rate.
It’s important to consistently check a commercial vehicle’s air system for contaminants. Each day at start-up, a driver should pull the petcock and report water or contaminant expulsion to the fleet manager or technician. Oil and water contamination not only damages downstream components, but also reduces the airflow capacity putting further burden on the compressor. A rapid duty cycle could be an indicator that the air system is contaminated. If this is the case, use shop air to thoroughly clean the air supply reservoirs.
A slow build-up of pressure to cut-out could indicate there is a blockage in the line, or that carbon build-up inside the discharge line has reduced the flow capacity of the compressor.
If cut-out pressure is not reached within one to two minutes, check lines for blockage. Blockage could also be within the air dryer or even possibly the cartridge. Be sure to clear the blockage or replace the cartridge as needed.