CPC different brake types

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

hi all have my cpc mod 2 in 23rd may. few areas im struggling with. one being brake types and what each one means they are referred to a different name so could someone give explanation of each one eg

service brake
primary brake
emergency brake
secondary… etc

thanks a lot

2

As I understand it…

  • Service brake - the one that operates when you press the middle pedal with your foot. As opposed to the parking brake or the endurance brake.
  • Primary brake - typically the same as the service brake - the main one you use whilst driving.
  • Secondary brake - trucks have to have a backup braking system in case the primary braking system fails. On most trucks nowadays, this is operated using the parking brake lever - whilst, you would normally use it as a full-on, full-off switch, in reality you can apply the brakes progressively.
  • Parking brake - self-explanatory :slight_smile:
  • Endurance brake - the name for a type of brake that you can keep applied for a long period of time without loss of braking performance. If you descend a long hill with your foot on the (service) brake pedal all the way down, eventually the brakes will overheat, glaze over and stop working. So, you use an endurance brake instead for most of your braking, topping it up with occasional use of the service brakes. There are two types of endurance brakes - exhaust brakes and retarders.
  • Exhaust brake - when operated, this closes a valve in the exhaust, which makes the engine force the exhaust air out through a small hole, rather than a big fat exhaust pipe. This significantly improves the efficiency of engine braking. It is more effective at higher engine revs.
  • Retarder - there are various ways of implementing a retarder, but some of them use an electromagnetic induction mechanism. These often have various “levels” of retardation.

That’s about it for me…

3

MrFlibble:

  1. Retarder - there are various ways of implementing a retarder, but some of them use an electromagnetic induction mechanism. These often have various “levels” of retardation.[/list]
    That’s about it for me…
    [/quote]
    Is that sometimes called a “Jake Brake” where it actually slows the engine down?
4

Quality post MrFlibble! :smiley:

Although I’d be a little tentative about the progressiveness of the secondary brake in most trucks I’ve driven so far…
It’s not something I really want to test! :laughing:

5

Evil8Beezle:
Quality post MrFlibble! :smiley:

Although I’d be a little tentative about the progressiveness of the second brake in most trucks I’ve driven so far…
It’s not something I really want to test! :laughing:

Just as progressive as your foot brake, but you aren’t used to using it, so I would liken it to using the foot brake with your left foot… Usually results in a faceplant into the windscreen the first few times you try it :laughing:

But with practice it can be gentle

6

I’m up for the windscreen licking, but it’s picking up the cargo that I’m not liking the thought of! :laughing:
I’d assume it’s a bit like a biting point on a clutch, but you have complication from the muscle memory of that arm operating an On/Off brake switch… It’s going to end in tears, but I’ll give it a test if i’m empty and conditions are right! :laughing:

7

nice on for the reply guys :slight_smile: