Yikes! The dreaded tank leak!

chepburn · #1 02-14-2008, 03:03 PM

OK...
Tank baffles are in place... all shop heads painted with proseal. Time to test the tank using a balloon on the vent line. Balloon deflates after a few hours, and unfortunately, its not the balloon.
There is a small leak on the inboard rib-baffle seam right by the Z bracket. I guess I did not get enough of a proseal bead on the end rib there.

The access cover is prosealed on. Before I remove the access cover and paint the seam, with all that entails, would 'exterior' proseal of the leaking edge be sufficient? Or is a tank like a basement, you can only seal it from the 'pressure' side?

Any suggestions?
Thanks

alpinelakespilot2000 · #2 02-14-2008, 03:09 PM

The most certain and permanent solution is to go in through the access cover. Anything applied from the outside is less certain. I highly doubt you could get proseal in there from the outside, but you could use green loctite as per Van's. (I had one leak that required loctite because it was on the outboard part. It's sealed for now, but I'll always be wondering how long before it fails.) Still, the fact that it's on the inboard part of the tank is, I think, karma telling you to do it the best way the first time. Just my .02, but good luck whatever you do.

chepburn · #3 02-14-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpinelakespilot2000

The most certain and permanent solution is to go in through the access cover. Anything applied from the outside is less certain. I highly doubt you could get proseal in there from the outside, but you could use green loctite as per Van's. (I had one leak that required loctite because it was on the outboard part. It's sealed for now, but I'll always be wondering how long before it fails.) Still, the fact that it's on the inboard part of the tank is, I think, karma telling you to do it the best way the first time. Just my .02, but good luck whatever you do.

Well, I guess it was kind of a rhetorical question....The access cover is off...Im going to re-seal the seam from the inside using a syringe full of proseal. As I suspected, there is an insufficent bead along the edge.

The good news is, the other tank balloon is still holding on strong. Looks like I am only going to need to order one new cork gasket.

IowaRV9Dreamer · #4 02-14-2008, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chepburn

Looks like I am only going to need to order one new cork gasket.

Do a search and you'll see that lots of people don't use the cork gaskets.... I didn't and no air leaks on either tank.

Maybe save the $7 gasket shipping fee?

664781 · #5 02-15-2008, 10:07 AM

Chris,
Don't use the cork gasket! I just pulled my tank because the gasket is leaking after just 2 years......

chepburn · #6 02-15-2008, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 664781

Chris,
Don't use the cork gasket! I just pulled my tank because the gasket is leaking after just 2 years......

OK,
Before I seal er up again...how many of you use the cork gasket? I will be prosealing both sides of the gasket before putting it in place. I thought the 'benefit' would be that the cork will provide a sacrifical surface to remove if I ever have to get into the tank again.

Obviously, there are different views on this.

Feedback?

Thanks
Chris

chepburn · #7 02-15-2008, 05:39 PM

Nevermind...I just did a search as suggested by IowaRV9. I will look at the proseal-only solution to the access cover.

Mel · #8 02-15-2008, 06:10 PM

I have repaired many leaks caused by the cork gaskets. I use pro-seal only and have never found a leak when it was done this way!

caryr · #9 02-18-2008, 12:58 PM

I am sure this will create a stir. ---
you can put a vacuum on the tank and suck the proseal into the leak from the outside.

When I say vacuum, I talking about 10 inches of water in a manometer. So you will need a clear tygon tube to make a manometer.

Thin the proseal with acetone. Maybe the consistency of 30 weight motor oil.

this works very well