15 Oct How to Dispose of Spring Brake Chambers

The following is only for experienced mechanics, who are aware of the dangers of a spring brake chamber. Serious injury or death could occur from improper handling!

Nowadays in order to get rid of those removed spring brake chambers you must disarm them, so they are safe for everyone. The rear spring chamber has a spring in it that’s double the height of the rear can and is compressed to about 2700 lbs. The old chambers had removable clamps and many injuries and deaths resulted from that powerful spring, so the new chambers have a one-piece non-removable ring.

So in order to dismantle your spring, you need to build a safety frame to hold the can down in a hydraulic press. Place the can rod down in the press and place the cage over the top of the can, and apply pressure to the cage with the press. Now using a torch pop a small hole in one side of the can, and then the opposite side, then go back and make the holes larger, about 1.5-2 inches big.

That way you will have an air vent for the heat and gas… Now apply heat to one of the coils and zap it, it should jump or pop a little, then move on and do at least three or until you can see the spring is loose. Now you should be able to take it to the metal bin for scrap. Also make sure you do this in a well-ventilated area because the burning rubber and oxides coming from the can are harmful, and make it difficult to breathe after some time.