[rheavn]

Fixed an air leak I was aware of. Aired up the coach to check the fix. Old leak was now air tight. 110V compressor cycled every 15 minutes so I knew I had more leak(s). I opened the door to the AquaHot bay & I could immediately hear a leak using my ultrasonic leak detector. Leak was located on one of the air hose fittings for the air dump valve. Fixed it. Ran the 110V compressor again and it still cycles every 30 minutes which is unacceptable to me. Me & my ultrasonic leak detector will be on a mission again.

[encantotom]

steve, you need to come out and spend a week finding leaks on my rig.....ha

mine has started cycling alot now as well.

tom

[Richard]

This is THE common denominator for us all, well except Wally. We chase air leaks all the time. For all except one, the culprit has been the quick connect push on fitting. Magnified examination of the tubing and the fitting shows that the tubing develops a depression where the grasping ring of the fitting contacts it. No surprise the tubing is nylon and will deform over time. Sometimes merely trimming 3/8 inch off the tubing and reinserting will fix the leak. Temporarily. I take the time to use DOT compression fittings. I have not had to refix one of the compression fittings ever.

Also, do use pipe dope or loctite sealant to put on the threads of the new fitting instead of Teflon tape. Teflon tape can put little pieces of tape into your air system that can migrate to valves or other orifices and stop them up.

Just my .02

---

Oh yeah, one more thing. The air leak detector that Steve uses. I bought one, and was convinced it was worthless. I learned that if I used ear muff headphones and used it to listen for leaks that it was very effective.

And a curiosity question for Wally. When you replumbed the air system on your coach did you use push on or compression fittings?

[folivier]

I'll agree with Richard, in my former life I've used literally thousands of fittings with ferrules (mostly stainless fittings and tubing) and had very few failures or leaks. An occasional re-tightening was necessary due to vibration. I do have an assortment of push-on DOT fittings mostly for on-the-side-of-the-road repairs but try to use ferrules where possible.
Just make sure you use a ferrule with the brass inner sleeve that will prevent crimping and cutting the nylon tubing when you tighten.
Hey, what brand ultrasonic leak detector are you using?
I usually use soap and look for bubbles but it's messy and hard to get into some spots.

[Chester Stone]

Me too, please tell us more about the ultrasonic.

[rheavn]

I'm using a Inficon Whisper and have been very successful in finding my air leaks. I've been using the earphones that came with it with no problems. Tom bought one and was not pleased. Sounds like Richard has found using ear muff earphones has made his more useful. I'm going to try them. If you google ultrasonic leak tester or Inficon Whisper you'll find them. I'm on iPhone so don't know how to insert link. I did notice that the price has gone up.

[rheavn]

Here is a link to the one I use.

http://www.amazon.com/Inficon-711-202-G1...B000TRJA8M

[rheavn]

I wanted to try Richard's suggestion of using ear muff style headphones with my leak detector. I got out my ear muff headphones, but the 1/8" adapter would not physically fit far enough into the leak detector to make a connection. So I tried using a pair of earbud style earphones I had for an Ipod. Definitely increased the volume dramatically. If the leak detector can hear the leak there is no way you wouldn't hear it with these earphones. I tested it by cracking a air tank drain--enough that I couldn't feel the leak or hear it with my ears. Using the earphones and the leak detector it sounded like air escaping full blast from a compressed air hose.

[Gordon]

This is THE common denominator for us all, well except Wally. We chase air leaks all the time. For all except one, the culprit has been the quick connect push on fitting. Magnified examination of the tubing and the fitting shows that the tubing develops a depression where the grasping ring of the fitting contacts it. No surprise the tubing is nylon and will deform over time. Sometimes merely trimming 3/8 inch off the tubing and reinserting will fix the leak. Temporarily. I take the time to use DOT compression fittings. I have not had to refix one of the compression fittings ever.

Also, do use pipe dope or loctite sealant to put on the threads of the new fitting instead of Teflon tape. Teflon tape can put little pieces of tape into your air system that can migrate to valves or other orifices and stop them up.

Just my .02

---

Oh yeah, one more thing. The air leak detector that Steve uses. I bought one, and was convinced it was worthless. I learned that if I used ear muff headphones and used it to listen for leaks that it was very effective.

And a curiosity question for Wally. When you replumbed the air system on your coach did you use push on or compression fittings?

Permatex makes a liquid Teflon that works well with fittings. The tape has caused many problems if not installed properly, & loctite has caused brass fitting to have to be drilled out, which is no fun!

[tuga]

I bought an Ultra Sonic leak detector several years ago. I never could hear any air leaks using the detector! Why?

Because I am hard of hearing, like most old guys!

My friend who is younger and has perfect hearing has found numerous air leaks on my coach using the detector.

So if you are hard of hearing (read deaf) let someone with normal hearing use the detector. It works a lot better that way.