Best way to clean air lines.

Hi everyone,
Does anyone have any special tricks on how to flush out any muck in a compressed air system? Discovered mine has been full of oil and water and a lot of other junk that likes to stick in things like the parking brake and governer valve and the main foot brake valve and cause problems on cold mornings in particular. It's an ACCO and while I always drain the reservoir under the cab there is another one located on the inside of the chassis rail behind the fuel tank that has do drain tap, nice and easy to get to. Drained a large quantity of oil and water out of this one. Is it worth getting a water/ oil trap fitted once I clean the system out?
Ta,
Daryl.

We flush airconditioning with white spirits and nitrogen. You can buy white spirits and just used compressed air as the propellant.

Hey mate, it sounds like your air compressor might want a rebuild. The water in the system won't cause a problem unless its mixing with oil, and lots of it.

There's not much point fitting an oil/water separator when the compressor is worn as there is just to much oil for it to cope with. Been there, tried that.....

There is no easy way mate.
I take the air tank off then put it up on one end and let all the crap drip out for a day, then slosh some kero around in it and let it drain a few times.
I put exhausters on the wet tank of all mine, even the workshop compressor, everytime the compressor cuts in it exhausts a small amount of air which expels the water and other crap.
As DD says though, your compressor is probably knackered.

As mentioned, your compressor doesn't sound the best but you need to work out the air flow to the various tanks.
You should have a wet tank and then hopefully from there various dry tanks.
I'd fit an oil/water separator after the wet tank and things should stay clean from then on, especially if you do daily drains of your wet tank.
You can't remove moisture from hot air, so it's no use fitting a separator before the wet tank.

I found the air inlet to the compressor may have been blocked. It too, had oil in it. Probably why it was so slow pumping air up. But the outlet feeds into a T piece on the chassis rail which goes via non return valves into each reservoir. The feed pipe was full of this light brown goop that seems to be a mixture of oil and water. Was going to disconnect all the lines and blow them through with degreaser and warm water. Also take the tanks out, stand them on their ends and do same. A blocked inlet may have caused it so suck oil through the rings maybe?

BDuk
Gudday M8

Compressed air from presser is hot they usually have a copper pipe from pressor to 1st tank. eye have seen the copper pipe cloggd up from tar like substance n this restricts the air flo
try dragn a sharp ended wire thru the pipe till its clear..or new pipe

cya

Thanks Swish,
Looks like I'm going through the whole system and fixing anything I reckon is slightly dodgy.
Daryl.

BD
all air systems have a bit of oil n water az in condensation
the other thing to look@ iz the one way valve B tween each tank
we try to drain n let drain O/night the truck air tanks

a engine aircleaner partly dirty can ad to the oil in air tank az the oil iz sukd up past the pressor rings wen the govonor cuts in @ max air pressure
(th@'z ifn the pressor sux its inlet air from engine air cleaner)

cya