I installed my K5LA this evening with help from Bixby1980. We got my old Conductors set installed in his Durango. I had an air leak in the fitting that goes to one of my compressors, so I did not go to the full 200psi. I need to get a new fitting (1/2" NPT male to 1/4" NPT female) tomorrow and try it again and make sure my pressure switch is working correctly and shutting off at 200 psi. I honked my K5LA with about 135 psi several times this evening and it was so loud I could not believe it!!! I dont know what I am going to do when I put 200 psi in them. These are definately the KING of horns. Why didnt I get them in the first place. I highly recommend them.
It’s going to lose it’s pleasant tone at 200 psi 
Oh, and do you happen to know what cast it is? Or do you have a pic of the side of one of the bells? The new cast K horns say airchime on the side.
sucks bout the air leak…but yes they are the best horns!!
yea dont blow them at 200psi, its going to F them up…
blow em at 200psi! i do! lol…
You should take your diaphragms out and see if they are concave after blowing them at 200
if they stop workin…then ill rebuild em…but until then, im not worried bout it…
Well rebuilding them would consist of remachining the nozzles. That’s only to keep them playing the right note (which new K horns don’t really do anyways lol) If they do concave, you can always just flip the diaphragms around:)
The new cast also have 30109 stamped into the backcap whereas the old ones said Made in Canada.
They do sound more melodic at lower pressures… 150 is about the right mark to keep its tone but still have lots of air. 200 is definitely louder though. The diaphragms do get worn out faster but they are a replaceable part.
Check out this thread where I posted pic of my horn. I was told mine was an older set off a real train and rebuilt, they have the number of the horn on the side and what looks like a name plate attached to the top of the mainfold and I can barely make out airchime on it, it is an aluminum type plate with a serial number as well, but it is well worn looking. The rear housing of the horn can be seen in the pics as it says airchime and a number below. Is there anything else I should look for that would help identify them?
Here is the pic post:
http://www.trainhornforums.com/showthread.php?p=1312#post1312
How do I know when my diaphrams are worn out?
Should I replace my pressure switch from the current 165/200 to a 110/150 or do they make one in between? I tried my horns at 200psi and they still sound the same as 150 but extra loud. They have a good tone to them and are sharp, sounds just like a train down on the depot here in town. I cannot believe how much they echo off things, it seems to carry for miles.
My guess is that 30109 is written on the backcaps, which suggests the new die-casted bells. Of course any of them could have just been replaced at some point.
Could the backs have just been replaced? I was told that this was an older horn. The numbers on the bells are raised and there is nothing else on the bells that I can see.
lol they do carry for miles! I think if you want to keep them at 200 psi, you can. It will just wear parts out quicker. You will know when the diaphragms are bad because that particular bell will quit working altogether or just have a horrible sound that you will notice lol. You don’t honk it as much as a train I’m sure so you should be good for a good while.
The numbers on the back caps should all be the same. That’s just the part’s number for the back cap. The numbers on the sides of the bells are just identification as well. Does your horn have 1,2,3a,4a,5? K5LA’s sometimes have different bells from being on the railroad and some lazy employee just slapping a random bell on it haha. So don’t worry if your’s doesn’t have that. Oh and the tag on the manifold is usually the serial number for the horn as a whole. I’ve heard of people calling up Nathan and asking them how old their horn is by using that number. Not sure if they do that still or not.
Edit: I forgot to address the “30109” thing further. If it has that on the backcap, they could be any year lol. They started stamping that on the backcaps when they started die casting K horns. This was in the mid to late 70’s so your particular horn could be from the 70’s, 80’s,90’s ,etc lol
lol they do carry for miles! I think if you want to keep them at 200 psi, you can. It will just wear parts out quicker. You will know when the diaphragms are bad because that particular bell will quit working altogether or just have a horrible sound that you will notice lol. You don’t honk it as much as a train I’m sure so you should be good for a good while.
The numbers on the back caps should all be the same. That’s just the part’s number for the back cap. The numbers on the sides of the bells are just identification as well. Does your horn have 1,2,3a,4a,5? K5LA’s sometimes have different bells from being on the railroad and some lazy employee just slapping a random bell on it haha. So don’t worry if your’s doesn’t have that. Oh and the tag on the manifold is usually the serial number for the horn as a whole. I’ve heard of people calling up Nathan and asking them how old their horn is by using that number. Not sure if they do that still or not.
Sounds good and thanks for the advice hondaguy. The bells do have a letter “A” on them, I cannot remember which ones so but I am pretty sure two of them have the “A”. I will double check later and let you know for sure
I forgot to address the “30109” thing further. If it has that on the backcap, they could be any year lol. They started stamping that on the backcaps when they started die casting K horns. This was in the mid to late 70’s so your particular horn could be from the 70’s, 80’s,90’s ,etc lol
Yes they all say AirChime and the number 30109.
Well rebuilding them would consist of remachining the nozzles. That’s only to keep them playing the right note (which new K horns don’t really do anyways lol) If they do concave, you can always just flip the diaphragms around
Whats this all about? I thought all you do is put a new gasket and diaphrams? Am I missing something by remachining something???
there is a 175 pressure switch
Whats this all about? I thought all you do is put a new gasket and diaphrams? Am I missing something by remachining something???
No no. Sorry for the confusion. You only have to get them remachined if the nozzle is worn or corroded or something and it is making the bell play the wrong note. There’s a couple guys I know who can remachine them to factory specs and make them play the intended notes. That’s all I meant. Sorry man
A is only ever on 3 and 4 and it marked ‘American’ tuning. The 3 and 4 were bored out to make them deeper than the original. The main difference is simply whether you have a K5L or a K5LA.
Like hondaguy said, the fact that you have A marked into your bells suggests that you’ve got a horn made after 1976… just like having 30109 on the backcaps would suggest. Unless some lazy railroad employee messed things up.