how do i check the air tanks on a daf…them two ■■■■■■■■■ tanks that sit between the front and rear wheels .How do i check there is no water build up inside of them…overheard a driver say that his mates truck slid backwards with all the brakes on as a build up of water takes away the air,and in this weather i think i should be cautious.
I saw a pin with a hook on it on the underneath and when i pulled it it hissed but did not know if i was pulling the right thing or not…and what noise am i listening for seven years on and still learning thanks
You were pulling the right thing. Drain all the tanks you can regularly when it is cold. Air dryers do their job, but I had mine freeze up last week and had to defrost it with a paint stripper gun…
In all honesty, you need only drain them until there is no mist or sludge coming out, but check the tanks on the trailer too. They are a long way from your air dryer and they have connectors that are open to the elements. If the trailer is older it may have a tap instead of a valve. Just unscrew it a bit and see what comes out.
If your system freezes then the air won’t go through. You either won’t be able to build up air, in which case the reief valve on the compressor will start popping and ■■■■■■■, then the chances are it is the dryer frozen, or the air won’t go where it is needed and you won’t have brakes or won’t be able to release spring brakes.
thanks for the info
Surprising sometimes the questions people ask, this is one of the things my instructor taught me when I learned to drive, as part of the walk round to drain the tanks.
This isn’t a pop at ■■■■■■, its a very good question, it just shows that different instructors teach different things and ways of doing. Not all instructors follow a set “lesson” . 
Chances are your instructor was a bit older then, same as mine, and was driving before air dryers became common. I had the Seddon air system freeze several times, once in the middle of Bristol. Try getting out of there with the low air buzzer chirping away…
And last week I had a hell of a job to get back to the yard to borrow the hot air gun… I was in Winnipeg at the time.
Thing is, this weather you are having in the UK at the moment is unusual. Last time it was this cold for this long would be nearly 20 years ago, so a new generation of drivers has come along and have never seen it before.
Over here it is an annual thing that lasts 5 months or more, so we have no choice but to be ready.
Something you all need to carry right now is a hammer. Linings will freeze to the drums and you have to hit them pretty hard…
bobthedog:
Chances are your instructor was a bit older then…
Yep thats right, another thing I was taught when coupling up to drop the suspension all the way, reverse under, then lift it up so the legs are off the ground - getting out and winding legs up a bit if needed, then reverse into the pin and do a tug test, so as not to damage the legs, and ensure you are on the pin correctly. So many people I watch coupling up don’t bother with the suspension and they just ram the truck under it and then tug test while its still on the legs, its painful to watch. But is it sheer lazyness or have they just never been taught the other way.
bobthedog:
Something you all need to carry right now is a hammer. Linings will freeze to the drums and you have to hit them pretty hard…
Thanks for that 
something I shall add to the bag 
the buses I drove at First Bus were bad for popping the broms brake during the winter when the lines would freeze up. You’d be merrily going along at whatever speed then would just end up grinding to a hault
Actually, this would be a damned good module for this poxy dCPC… And it would be a worthwhile one.
It is no reflection on drivers in the UK that they do not know these things. This is an extreme situation but you will probably get a few winters like this in your careers so some knowledge would be useful.
Use the hammer on the edges of the drums. But please be sure you handbrake is on… PLEASE!!!
Yes, the way drivers hook up sometimes makes me cringe, too, but this
Lycanthrope:
But is it sheer lazyness or have they just never been taught the other way.
is at least 80% of the problem. Most of our trailers automatically drop the trailer suspension when we pull the button in the cab, but the truck suspension is dump only, so we can’t raise them up.
Steve o, the broms brake is a great theory, isn’t it? All trucks here have a similar thing. Once your air drops below 55psi the button pops out for the trailer. I think it is 30 psi for the tractor. Then all the spring brakes come on.
It was the stuff of dreams for a 12 year old boy, going round the yard on a Saturday afternoon draining the airtanks, it got even better because the boss bollocked me for leaving a big creamy mess, OK it was a black and grey creamy mess. But after that I had to drive all the trucks onto the wash bay to drain the tanks 
The loaded ones I drove round the yard with the trailers on and then had to park them up again
Even starting the diesel driven steam cleaner to clean up my mess was fun for a young kid with the run of the whole yard
Lycanthrope:
bobthedog:
Chances are your instructor was a bit older then…Yep thats right, another thing I was taught when coupling up to drop the suspension all the way, reverse under, then lift it up so the legs are off the ground - getting out and winding legs up a bit if needed, then reverse into the pin and do a tug test, so as not to damage the legs, and ensure you are on the pin correctly. So many people I watch coupling up don’t bother with the suspension and they just ram the truck under it and then tug test while its still on the legs, its painful to watch. But is it sheer lazyness or have they just never been taught the other way.
bobthedog:
Something you all need to carry right now is a hammer. Linings will freeze to the drums and you have to hit them pretty hard…Thanks for that
I see this every day in are yard from drivers who just don’t care, I was not taught this way but after passing my test my dad showed me how its all ment to be done.
Wheel Nut:
It was the stuff of dreams for a 12 year old boy, going round the yard on a Saturday afternoon draining the airtanks, it got even better because the boss bollocked me for leaving a big creamy mess, OK it was a black and grey creamy mess. But after that I had to drive all the trucks onto the wash bay to drain the tanksEven starting the diesel driven steam cleaner to clean up my mess was fun for a young kid with the run of the whole yard
Sounds great, wouldn’t stand a chance of that these days with the 'elfs
On an episode of “Ice Road Truckers” I saw, one chap was injecting some kind anti freeze into his air lines, whilst at the same time trying not to get frost bite. It was -35 C though 
.
Secretelephant:
On an episode of “Ice Road Truckers” I saw, one chap was injecting some kind anti freeze into his air lines, whilst at the same time trying not to get frost bite. It was -35 C though
Have you ever seen one of these on the lorries you have driven, they are always empty.
The reason being that they hold alcohol which evaporates quickly.
During winter the canister should be filled to prevent tanks, brake chambers and foot valves freezing up, wind chill doesn’t help though!
We usually carry a bottle of it, especially up north. It is truly evil stuff if you get it on your fingers.
On the ice in 2007 it went down to -55. Even trees were bursting because it was so cold. That stuff was beyond evil then.
bobthedog:
We usually carry a bottle of it, especially up north. It is truly evil stuff if you get it on your fingers.On the ice in 2007 it went down to -55. Even trees were bursting because it was so cold. That stuff was beyond evil then.
Is it better to rub it in or drink it ?
Secretelephant:
On an episode of “Ice Road Truckers” I saw, one chap was injecting some kind anti freeze into his air lines, whilst at the same time trying not to get frost bite. It was -35 C though
methol hydrate
going back to the draining of the air tanks this is something ive always done. i’m currently driveing a t reg daf went to drain tanks and a green liquid came out is this something the fitters have put in ■■? not had chance to ask them.
sea frog:
going back to the draining of the air tanks this is something ive always done. i’m currently driveing a t reg daf went to drain tanks and a green liquid came out is this something the fitters have put in ■■? not had chance to ask them.
Green? The only thing I can think of would be algae growth on the moisture in the tanks, the sludge is usually grey as it’s caused by oil from a worn out compressor.
It was my job as a kid to do my old man’s tanks, I quickly learned to find out which way the wind was blowing before pushing the valve in 
I have a funny memory of that sludge, a mate and I were tipping in Croydon, he was a bit of a hard man, he had to be, he was living with ex M/E man and professional wrestler Bobby Brown’s daughter, anyway he had an FL10 and the air tanks were mounted under the battery box on the driver’s side, we were having a natter and he had his foot on the step of the battery box, just as one of the office bods walked past he knocked the valve on the wet tank and this bloke got sprayed, his white shirt was dripping with black sludge, he was not a happy bunny at all
Lycanthrope:
Yep thats right, another thing I was taught when coupling up to drop the suspension all the way, reverse under, then lift it up so the legs are off the ground - getting out and winding legs up a bit if needed, then reverse into the pin and do a tug test, so as not to damage the legs, and ensure you are on the pin correctly. So many people I watch coupling up don’t bother with the suspension and they just ram the truck under it and then tug test while its still on the legs, its painful to watch. But is it sheer lazyness or have they just never been taught the other way.
Bit of both I think. These are the guys that slob grease all over the lip of the trailer swivel plate so you then get it on your trousers when you get on the cat walk to connect the lines.
If your lines are old & slack they then rub that lip & get covered in grease. Thanks lads 
IIRC didn’t unit air tanks used to have a steel lanyard attached to the drain pin upto a few years ago?
Was much better than scrabbling underneath to get at them.
For anyone reading this that thinks they’ll give this a go for the first time, yes do, they need doing, BUT watch where you park 'cos they do tend to slob out a load of yuk that you definately wouldn’t want to stand in then get in your cab.(think about the next driver to park/walk there after you’ve gone).