I had a bit of desiccant dust come out of the drain valves when opening them so I put a rebuilt Haldex dryer on last month.
Then two and 1/2 weeks ago we left to go to Arkansas and Texas and return home, a distance of about 1800 miles. Every time I've opened the drain valves there has been a tiny amount of dust, and with almost no leaks in my air system I figured I'd leave well enough alone.
We're on our way home now, in Alabama with about 250 miles to go. I just went out to open the valves and the wet tank expelled a lot of dust in about 3-4 seconds. 'A lot ' may not be the case, but it seemed like a lot to me.
Shouldn't things be getting better with a new dryer? I know the advice will be to drop the tank and clean it out, but I'm wondering while all the dust now? Did something let go, like my new Haldex desiccant filter?
Just guessing here...
Suppose, in the past, the dryer on your coach went too long between changes, and some desiccant powder was deposited in the wet tank. Since moisture was (probably)
also going into the wet tank, the two combined into a "paste" which lined the bottom of the tank.
Jump forward in time - you have put the dryer back into proper operational condition. The wet tank gradually dries out, allowing the paste (due to vibration and heat) to loosen up and again become mobile. When you open the wet tank drain, some of this powder is expelled.
IF this scenario is accurate, and IF you are lucky, the "old" powder will remain in the wet tank and NOT travel further downstream to the other tanks and valves. In that (desirable) situation, you might continue to get some powder out of your wet tank drain line for a long time.
If it was me, as long as the rest of the system works properly, I wouldn't sweat it. Open the wet tank drain valve every time you run the coach, and monitor the condition of the air coming out. Hopefully, the amount of white powder you see will gradually decline.
Thanks for your valued opinion........... and I hope you're right.
T man
Hopefully get my air dryer changed tomorrow but suspect I may have same problem as you .
Sorry to sound so dim but where is wet tank ?
T Man, to be honest if it was mine I would be dropping the wet tank right now and wash it out, then dry and replace as it is obvious the powder was wet and with the new dryer in place the inside of tank is getting dry hence the "dust"
Barry "Beam" spent years taking valves etc apart many times to be finally rid of the stuff. He told me when they were here it was a long miserable experience that he does NOT want to go thru again.
Your time taken doing that now will pay off many times over.
JohnH
Take John's advice to heart. I am unfortunately inclined to be lazy, hence my "watch and wait" approach. Aggressive procedures to eliminate the dust once and for all will certainly be in the best interest of your coach, and also will let you sleep better at night. ^.^d
Totally agree with John. Get that stuff out of there before it migrates to air brake and air suspension components.
Drain the front and rear brake tanks and see if the powder has gone that far.
Hopefully for him the majority of it got wet and stayed in the first "wet" tank. Still a good idea to drain others as should be done regularly anyway.
JohnH
Could anyone give me directions to the wet tank ?
Follow the line from your air dryer, one line comes from the compressor to the dryer, and another line from the dryer to your wet tank.
It is probably also the only tank at the rear of your coach. There is also usually a drain near the left rear wheel well. The other 3 tanks are usually in the front.
Rich
Great thanks ,