LPG Sealant: Can you use standard silicone?
Lord-Data
join? Apparntly have a small leak where my fitment joins up to the
converter, and have a spare tube of silicone handy .. Is there any
reason why it would not be suitable for the job? Just did a google on
it and can't seem to find any reasons not to?
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Graham W
> Is there any reason not to use standard silicone to seal up an LPG
> join? Apparntly have a small leak where my fitment joins up to the
> converter, and have a spare tube of silicone handy .. Is there any
> reason why it would not be suitable for the job? Just did a google on
> it and can't seem to find any reasons not to?
When I did the TAFE LPG course, it was drummed into us that we must use
the correct sealant. Maybe a small tube will cost $20 (probably not),
just look on it as an essential tool in your LPG tool kit.
Lord-Data
> now will temporarily stop then become a much bigger leak, then go
> ahead and use a sealant that isn't compatible with the fuel that it
> will be exposed to...
>
> There are approved sealants including one loctite and the yellow
> italian goop that I have a tube of...
Ok, groups google picked up the thread, so I can post here (tried
emailing you, but i guess it got lost in your spam catching systems :)
(and yes, i used your real email addy, not your usenet posted one :)
The yellow goop is what was used last time .. its a small leak at the
elbow
joint into the converter .. was picked up about 6 months ago for a
pink slip
.. selling the car now, and its come up again .. so i dont think it
fixed
very well the first time .. the compatability is exactly the reason I
was
asking .. i wasnt sure what the reaction would be like .. obviously
not good
:)
So I'll have to pick up some proper sealant ..tho now that I think
about it,
I might actually have some loctite lying around .. If the ignition
switch is
off, its safe to disconect the hose at the converter, yes? I watched
them do
that last time when he re-sealed it then .. or is it best to just seal
it up
around the outside of the join?
A follow up to this however, is doing a spray test with a bottle of
soapy water, I cannot find any leaks anywhere .. having trouble
working out exactly what he means by where the leak is .. see my other
thread i've just started on this ..
Thanks again in advance!
Michael Saunders
Graham W
> .. If the ignition switch is
> off, its safe to disconect the hose at the converter, yes?
Not strictly, no. In some cases, not even nearly.
First of all, older cars have no solenoid gas lockoff at the tank, only
in the engine bay. For these cars you MUST manually close the valve at
the tank before doing any work on lines. For more modern cars with a
lockoff at the tank you really should close the manual valve anyway.
The line from the tank to the converter has liquid in it. If you just
turn the valve off and open a line, the liquid in a 1/4" or 5/16" line
the length of the car will all escape. It's potentially enough to be
dangerous, especially if you weren't expecting it.
For this reason too, it's best to manually close the valve at the tank,
then run the car on LPG until it will no longer idle. There should then
only be a little vapor at relatively low pressure left in the line.
> I watched them do
> that last time when he re-sealed it then .. or is it best to just seal
> it up around the outside of the join?
That won't work. If the leak has conme back again and if you've got to
buy your own sealant anyway, and particularly if you're not trained to
work with LPG, you probably really ought to pay someone else to do what
should after all be a 10 minute job. And if it's not just a 10 minute
job, you probably want someone else to do it right.
> A follow up to this however, is doing a spray test with a bottle of
> soapy water, I cannot find any leaks anywhere .. having trouble
> working out exactly what he means by where the leak is .. see my other
> thread i've just started on this ..
You need to use the RIGHT soapy water to be sure of getting copious
bubbles from the slightest leak. Shell brand "teepol" at 1:10 was one
approved mix when I did the course. Since I used teepol at home, I
didn't pay much attention to what other detergents were considered
satisfactory.
Graham W
> There are plenty of others around, many are anaerobic and shelf life
> is pretty bloody good.
> You just need to make sure you allow the air back in after squeezing.
Make sure you DO or DON'T let air in?
Graham W
>>There are plenty of others around, many are anaerobic and shelf life
>>>is pretty bloody good.
>>>You just need to make sure you allow the air back in after squeezing.
> Graham W scribbled thusly:
>>Make sure you DO or DON'T let air in?
OzOne wrote:
> Do.
> You palm the tube until it refills with air.
I'm looking puzzled and skeptical, but I'm stopping short of claiming
you're wrong. 8-)