Do It Yourself Pressure Test

[cauchy]

Hey Kids:

I was wondering if I could rig a do it yourself pressure test on my 2001 19 foot Bambi.

Leak near door wicking under curbside dinette. Solid plywood floor, only small patch of top layer soft, will repair with marine epoxy, no wood needs to be replaced, thank God!

Door seals around sill, though they need replacing, are dry as a bone.

Have to check the rock guard bracket, and entry light. If not those then will continue working my way up slowly with hose to midline moldings and above.

Was considering making a plywood cover for the escape window hatch and capturing it inside with two plywood strips secured with long carriage bolts and wingnuts through the cover and strips, to sandwich the window frame. Then I plan to cut a hole in the plywood cover to admit a blower supported on sawhorses- I am thinking carpet dryer - but how powerful should the blower be?

Too weak might not show leaks, too strong might cause them.

Has anyone tried this? I would appreciate any suggestions.

(I had an AC pan leak two years back thru a crack in the front of the shroud. Water was entering there and pooling in the front of the AC pan, sitting directly up against the main cool air duct and thence leaking past it into the trailer. It ran along a beam around both sides of the trailer and showed up behind the door in front of the pantry and on the floor just to the left of the galley. Hose method found it, got a new shroud, sealed the dam seperating the front of the pan from the back, no problems since. Also fixed a crack in the drip channel that was letting water ht the floor and may have been the culprit behind the leak that showed up left of the galley.)

[Colin H]

The proper piece of equipment for this task is a "Sealtech 430R". I have one at my shop & it works great. If you google "Sealtech", I believe their website has a list of RV shops that have their equipment. This will be much better than trying to reinvent the wheel.
Colin

[soldiermedic]

I agree with Colin. I use a Sealtech 430R for all my pressure tests. The 14" impeller provides enough airflow to properly do the test even on a small Bambi.

Steve

[Aage]

Yes, I see it. And only $2,950! Well, gotta rush out and get myself one of Those! (not!)

[eubank]

That is a bit high, even for a club. The website lists all sorts of places that use it. (There's even one in New Mexico!)

Lynn

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by Aage

Yes, I see it. And only $2,950! Well, gotta rush out and get myself one of Those! (not!)

can you spell EBAY
Colin

[soldiermedic]

Nor did I pay retail price. Jeff from Sealtech called me with a used one he repo-d!

[cauchy]

Wow.

I have checked with dealers around here and all want 250-300 for the test, not the resealing, just the test.

May wind up paying it; I may have to. But if I can buy/rent a blower and try it out it may save a few $$$.

I am looking at a Harbor Freight blower now with a rectangular output duct, for $44. Perhaps $20 on the sawhorses and 2 hours to put it together.

If it works, bully for me and I have an apparatus that I can re-use yearly.

If it doesn't work, then I am out $64 but have a blower that I can use to dry the still-existing leaks.

Will let you know in the next few weeks.

[soldiermedic]

Wow..that's a pretty hefty price for the service. Of course overhead is factored in I am sure. I am about a third of that at rally events.

Steve

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by cauchy

Wow.

I have checked with dealers around here and all want 250-300 for the test, not the resealing, just the test.

May wind up paying it; I may have to. But if I can buy/rent a blower and try it out it may save a few $$$.

I am looking at a Harbor Freight blower now with a rectangular output duct, for $44. Perhaps $20 on the sawhorses and 2 hours to put it together.

If it works, bully for me and I have an apparatus that I can re-use yearly.

If it doesn't work, then I am out $64 but have a blower that I can use to dry the still-existing leaks.

Will let you know in the next few weeks.

Wow, I just charge my usual hourly rate, & depending on the number of leaks, it can take about 1-1 1/2 hours.
Colin