Tuesday, September 19, 2017

More leak testing the tanks - 4 hours



Well I came home from work to a bit of a surprise, the tanks had lost air, but not equal for both....So it’s not the barometric pressure that has fallen. I have a leak in the tank(s). After a small bit of swearing and the five stages of grief - I then put soapy water into a spray bottle and sprayed the entire tanks down top to bottom to see where the leaks may be. I couldn’t find any spot that was leaking. I was absolutely baffled. Maybe my solution is wrong? I sprayed and sprayed again, nothing. So I went upstairs and read more blogs after blogs. I had read in other blogs some folks experience leaks through the fuel caps. So I gave the tanks a good cleaning and used duct tape over the fuel caps to eliminate them from the equation. 
 
I pumped up the tanks and left them sit....About 2 hour later, I checked them....I still have a leak. Small but it’s there. Oh dear lord. The duct tape is slightly bubbled up around the fuel cap....yup those were a leak on the last round. But it doesn’t explain why the tanks are leaking now. I used the soapy water solution everywhere again. I stopped for supper and when I came back, I noticed bubbles around the fuel supply plug! They didn’t show up right away but it took time for the bubbles to build!
 
This must be it. I was so relieved as I thought for sure I had a leak in the tank. This makes sense for a potential leak point as I was so careful not to install the blank AN fitting too tight. I didn’t want to risk breaking the seal around the fitting for that AN fitting that I torque’d it to minimum spec. Also considering that there is no soft copper tubing between the mating surfaces of the fittings the risk of leak is increased. I took the plugs off and applied a small amount of tite seal on the threads and torqued the fittings on to mid level spec range. I double checked all fittings and re-pressurized the tanks. Fingers Crossed. Its 1:30am...way past time for bed!! Grrrr, I'm not going to sleep at all!