Will an Air Locker freeze up in cold weather when an Electronic Locker won't

[TexasJack]

Do Air Lockers have a higher propensity for freezing up in extremely cold weather than electrical lockers?

I have a brother in law that lives in Montana. He wheels nearly every day and does so in some seriously rough terrain.

I took him wheeling with me this fall in an area of Texas that has some pretty rough wheeling....i.e. plenty of opportunities for rollover, very steep climbs on sandy/rocky terrain with large vertical rock lips at the top, significantly deep ruts are a part of these climbs. My 80 series did some pretty scary things that day with ease. To say the least he was impressed.

I think he is considering lockers for one of his vehicles because he was talking with a friend recently in Montana about it. The guy told him that air lockers don't work well in Montana because they freeze up in the extreme cold when electric lockers will still work.

I live in Texas. It doesn't get that cold here so I have no way of knowing if this is true or not. It sounded hockey to me so I am putting it up for the Mud community to clarify it for me.

 

[diego355]

Remember that the locker is in your diff. Full of diff oil wich doesnt freeze, if there is a problem of freezing would only be in the air lines from the compresor to the locker if water gets in there it would freeze the line and the locker wont engage but I have never heard that. Tell him to get his air locker even here in -40 C temperatures doensnt happen.

 

[inkpot]

Both systems could have problems IF they were contaminated with water/moisture. Most of the action in both systems is coated in gear lube, so still even money. Elocker has some grease in the actuator housing, still not really affected by cold. I suppose you could get oil in the relays on the air locker, which could get stiff with really low temps, but I would think engine heat would counter that.......... Don't really see much in the way of significant differences for cold issues, unless I am really missing something. John

 

[darwink1]

I heard a rumor up here a while back, dont drive the sixty in the winter so I cant confirm or deny. Condensation in the air lines (cold hot cold hot) will accumulate at a low point and freeze over night rendering the lockers useless till the line thaws... Never seen it happen though.

D

 

[jonheld]

I've never heard of that before. There is always the possibility of condensation in the air lines, but the lockers rely on pressure, not volume to lock. So in order for the locker to fail, there would have to be 100% blockage in the line. This is highly unlikely due to the fact that the majority of ARB systems that I've seen have a coating of gear oil in the air lines.

 

[Kjartanbj]

I was on a Glacier Saturday night.. -20c and 20m/s wind , wind chill was measured about -50c celcius
my air locks worked fine

 

[ericbirk]

Big rigs use air brakes, they sometimes freeze up here. It doesnt take much water to block a tiny little airline, but it does need to be pretty damn cold! The hot cold cycles, and compression of course, is what does it.
If I had ARB's (and I will in a few months) I would throw in some alcohol/de-icer before a run.

 

[TexasJack]

Thanks guys....feedback is much appreciated. I'll pass it along!