Heater Vent -How to Seal Opening

TankerIP · 09-13-2009, 06:27 PM

I've been trying to figure out how to deal with floor rot, but also how to find what might have caused the problem. Soft Floor Area - What to Do? I learned a trick in this forum to use a paper towel to find damp spots. Today, I found one under the heater vent beneath the kitchen cabinets. I would not have been able to feel this with my bare fingers. Nevertheless there it was. The pictures tell the story. The light in the dark space was obvious.

Now the question: How do I seal this? It must get hot around this opening. Will Vulkem withstand this kind of heat? Makes you wonder if this was built this way?

markdoane · 09-13-2009, 06:38 PM

Vulkem is good up to 175F. Put a meat thermometer in the vent and see if it gets that hot.

TankerIP · 09-22-2009, 08:23 PM

I made an "emergency" fix here before the rain came. The furnace outlet has two components: (1) the air intake box. It's rectangular and has a flange on the exterior. and (2) the exhaust tube. This part is the chromed cover you see on the outside. The air intake box was not gasketed or sealed in any fashion. I think it is supposed to be.

I went to the local autoparts store, purchased RTV grey sealer. It's good up to 625 degrees and used that to gasket the air intake tube and fill the visible holes. It looks good. I was concerned about heat. Maybe Vulkem would have worked okay.

Today after rain that area seems dry. Still raining now so I'll have to keep an eye on this side of the trailer.