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Old 04-13-2018, 01:28 PM   #1
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"Drain Daily" (Air Tanks)

I noticed on a newer Blue Bird school bus driving around the other day the words "Drain Daily" as a sticker on the front.

Recently after doing research on Air Brakes and Semi Trucks I've learned about draining the tanks. There are 4 valves: Primary, Secondary, Wet, Accessory.

We just toss the 4 valves open and release all the air until there's no more hissing, a good little bit of moisture lands on the ground. Seems Good!

Just thought I'd share this as we went months on end without draining our tanks when we first bought our bus. . . Hoping no damage has been done!

From what I hear some busses have automatic drain valves? I have no idea how to check if ours does or doesn't though, I'm just going to assume it doesn't and keep draining after each use!

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Old 04-13-2018, 01:32 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBlue View Post
I noticed on a newer Blue Bird school bus driving around the other day the words "Drain Daily" as a sticker on the front.

Recently after doing research on Air Brakes and Semi Trucks I've learned about draining the tanks. There are 4 valves: Primary, Secondary, Wet, Accessory.

We just toss the 4 valves open and release all the air until there's no more hissing, a good little bit of moisture lands on the ground. Seems Good!

Just thought I'd share this as we went months on end without draining our tanks when we first bought our bus. . . Hoping no damage has been done!

From what I hear some busses have automatic drain valves? I have no idea how to check if ours does or doesn't though, I'm just going to assume it doesn't and keep draining after each use!
You don't need to empty the tanks.

All you need to do is crack the valve a little. If there is water inside it will be blown out first. It's very easy to see and if done regularly there will almost never be much in there.
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Old 09-25-2019, 06:47 PM   #3
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Unless you are using your bus for your daily driver, you won't come anywhere near the kind of brake cycling you'd see on a bus in service, so daily drainage is unlikely to be necessary.
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Old 08-19-2021, 04:26 PM   #4
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Can anyone tell me where exactly to locate these tanks and valves on my 2000 international Bluebird 3800?
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Old 08-19-2021, 05:30 PM   #5
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Great overview and details.

https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uplo...leshooting.pdf
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