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Aux Air Filter Element MICRON Ratings?
Trying to do all I can to prepare for successful spring & summer trips and yesterday inspected our three auxiliary air system filters.The Prevost factory installed Norgren brand aux air filter uses a 5 micron element and I will, of course, continue to use a 5 micron element.The first filter after my 120v aux air electric compressor is a Parker brand auto pulse moisture ejector type air filter and it currently has a 20 micron element. (the only other option for this filter is a 5 micron)There is a second filter inline after the Parker filter. It is a Norgren brand and it currently has a 40 micron element installed. (the only other option for this filter is a 5 micron)With both Parker and Norgren offering factory 5 micron elements, is there any reason to not use 5 micron elements after the 120v electric aux air compressor?Also, how often should those filter elements typically be changed?THANK YOU! Jeff -
2 Replies
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I cannot answer your specific questions, but I can measure success. By success I mean an aux or accessory system never damaged by anything external.
I cannot remember if the aux compressor has a filter on the air intake. I presume it does, but as a practical matter this is not considered by me as a service item. Despite having easy access from my pit I still have to remove a gazillion screws holding a mesh screen just to be able to touch my aux compressor so in the real world if it has a air filter it will not be serviced or replaced in my life time.
The real killer is moisture. So my pneumatic system primary service is to maintain the air dryer. I am on a 2 year schedule for replacing the dryer element which on your coach like mine is probably a Haldex dryer with a cartridge replaced from below the chassis. Again, my pit makes access and replacement easy.
My pneumatic system is checked every 5000 miles by draining my 4 air tanks. I never get a drop of anything from any tank, just dry air. I bleed them down to zero pressure to insure they are bone dry.
The house aux compressor is not getting the benefit of a quality air dryer. As installed by Liberty the only component to trap and exhaust moisture was what I called a “spitter” and it was inadequate to say the least. So I replumbed my system to use a Norgren water trap as you describe. I do not believe that trap as installed on your coach does anything to remove moisture from the accessory system when pressurized by the aux compressor. That Norgren water trap was installed by Prevost and I do not think it protects your house pneumatics. I changed that, eliminating the spitter and the water trap is now my only line of defense against accessory system water from the aux compressor. It works and because of the length of air line plus the copper coil of air line at the aux compressor any moisture from the aux compressor is condensed and trapped. When we use the bus I drain that water trap often and as a result have never had moisture in the accessory system.
In an ideal world I would find and install a better and more sophisticated dryer downstream from the aux compressor, but so far my systems seems to be well protected so I am leaving it as is.
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THANK YOU Jon
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