Thursday, May 6, 2010

More Fun in the Sun...Tank Repairs Continued...

So... got all the belly pan removed... and the insulation... Yuck... That stuff, you could lift it all, new, with one hand, right?... twas all I could do to heave it into the dumpster on this place... was a mite bit saturated... Sweet!

Then, went to inspecting for where the leak is... and of course... everything is dry... not a drip to be found... got in there with a flashlight... Just like on CSI! :o) looking for evidence... and there is none... as in Zero sign, that anything came from the fittings on the top of the tank.

Looking at the flange that mounts the tank, it's all clean and un-marked... That much "Leakage" could not come around that flange, and leave no sign... so the leak ain't on the top... so that's a good thing!

Down below... there are two spots of concern... one is the valve to the black tank... and the other is the fitting, that the valve fits into, that is cemented to the tank...

There is a thin crack around that fitting seam... it's dry, but there is some white residue, showing where something has flowed, from that crack... my guess there is, that if the tank is full, the weight is able to put enough pressure on that crack, to open it up, and allow it to seep.

The second is a rusty bolt on the valve... and a very faint sign of old leakage from the valve itself... faint, but there...

So... my plan is to replace the valve and repair that crack... and that's the difficulty... 'cause of the way they go together, and how closely they are fitted in, it's not a simple take out the old and put in the new... I'm gonna have to get a lil' clever I think... to be honest... my 'clever muscle' is feeling poorly lately.

Though nasty... it would sure be better to have found a 'wet' leak... rather than having to just guess at things... I don't like the idea of repairing what I Think is leaking... putting it back together... and then finding out I missed something...

So, I'm thinking pretty hard, of filling the empty tank with clear water... just to put the weight in it, and see if it will reveal the failure point for sure... putting clear water in an empty tank, will allow me to just pump it back out and water the prairie after the test :o)

More fun today... at least the weather is better than they were talking about a couple days ago... so, it's time to get back at it..

Take Good Care
Brian

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3 comments:

Rex Kusler said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

If it was me, in that it has been said that

I invented the word "lazy" and having the AKA

"Macgyver" I would take my shop-vac on the roof and

connect the exhaust hose to the Black tank vent,

Close the dump valve, and make sure there was water

in the thrown. I would make use of a spray bottle of

soap-water, but then again, thats just me.

Brian said...

hmmm... sounds kinda clever!... when ya bringin' the shop vac around? :o)