Air brake system antifreeze

showcrop · Feb 21, 2017

What is the real heavy duty serious anti-freeze for truck air brake systems? A logger friend recommended it when I had my truck. I got it from the truck dealer. I removed a fitting from the top tank and poured the bottle in, no more problems. I wanted to tell a truck service guy about it but I can't remember it. It is not the every day usual stuff. I want to say it has "merth" somewhere in the name. It is not your everyday stuff.

retired farmer · Feb 21, 2017

I have always just used ninety proof alcohol, not the kind that you drink either.

moresmoke · Feb 21, 2017

I always used methanol. Of course we also had a drum of it to dump some in the fuel also.

MtMan · Feb 21, 2017

We use to have a glass jar in a holder mounted on the fire wall and a hose going to the compressor. When the compressor ran it would draw just the vapor from the liquid in the jar. The liquid was Denatured Alcohol. I'm not sure what that was.

mmfan55 · Feb 21, 2017

If you want the fancy hi price stuff :
look on the shelves in most any larger
truck stop. Several different name
brands.

jon f mn · Feb 21, 2017

90% rubbing alcohol from the drug store for $1.00/qt is the same stuff as the truckstop stuff for $8.00/pt. I buy several quarts each fall for that but haven't used any in a couple years. I use it in the windshield washer tank too to keep that from freezing as the new washer stuff freezes very easy, I add 1/2qt to a full quart to each gallon of washer fluid and it never freezes. It does evaporate out of the lines tho leaving just water which will then freeze, so if I'm going to need the washers I have to remember to flush them out while parked and they are thawed from engine heat.

Hogleg · Feb 22, 2017

I thought that with a properly working air dryer you no longer need to use that stuff. Am I wrong?

John

John B. · Feb 22, 2017

Most all trucks these days have air dryers and don't use an alcohol injector on the suction side of the air compressor. Then in
addition to air dryers they use automatic spitter vavles n the bottom of the air tanks that spit out the moisture every time the
comprssor cycles off. The air dryers do have a cartridge that needs to be changed out every so often depending how much the vehicle is
used.

JOCCO · Feb 22, 2017

Methanol but I understand that they have changed the make up of it. We used to pull the main line off the compressor and inject it in there if need be. The real issue is draining the tanks and getting the dryer working. Regular service from the fall to winter will keep it down some what.

Russ from MN · Feb 22, 2017

There is a company in St Cloud MN called Tannergas, we used to use their product to prevent ice buildup on conveyor belts.
Google Tannergas.

D beatty · Feb 22, 2017

The company I drove for carried 4 or 5 bottles of Isopropyl alcohol in ever unit all winter . We didn't have trouble with tractors but put it
down the air lines to trailers. Trailer brakes would ice up. All our trucks had 2 to 3 fuel tanks and transfer line between tanks would
freeze up and Isopropyl can be used for diesel or gasoline fuels.

RodinNS · Feb 22, 2017

Air brake antifreeze..... is basically methyl hydrate. The difference being that air brake antifreeze is supposed to have some rubber
conditioners in it to help prevent the alcohol from destroying the internal system soft parts. Personally I use air brake antifreeze when
needed rather than methyl hydrate....
That said, most anything put on the road in the last 25 years has an air dryer on it anyway, so the need for alcohol in the system is pretty
much limited to actual freeze ups now.... like the line from the compressor to dryer freezing during a temp inversion or something like
that..

Rod

showcrop · Feb 23, 2017

(quoted from post at 14:28:01 02/22/17) Air brake antifreeze..... is basically methyl hydrate. The difference being that air brake antifreeze is supposed to have some rubber
conditioners in it to help prevent the alcohol from destroying the internal system soft parts. Personally I use air brake antifreeze when
needed rather than methyl hydrate....
That said, most anything put on the road in the last 25 years has an air dryer on it anyway, so the need for alcohol in the system is pretty
much limited to actual freeze ups now.... like the line from the compressor to dryer freezing during a temp inversion or something like
that..

Rod

I am pretty sure that it was methyl hydrate, and he gave me that name due to the benefit of the additive to protect the rubber. My truck was an '03 and it did have an automatic air dryer on it. One cold morning in '06 my air pressure dropped. I pulled over, shut the truck off, started it back up and the compressor came back on. After adding the liquid antifreeze it never did it again.

jon f mn · Feb 23, 2017

Was going to look at the ingredients on a can of air brake antifreeze today at the truckstop, ut they
didn't have a single bottle on the shelf. Apperently it is not a big seller. Still a lot of anti-gel out
tho. As warm as it's been that stuff is not selling well this year either.

Air brake system antifreeze

showcrop

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retired farmer

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moresmoke

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MtMan

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mmfan55

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jon f mn

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Hogleg

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John B.

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JOCCO

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Russ from MN

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D beatty

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RodinNS

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showcrop

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jon f mn

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