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Old 12-31-2010, 01:51 PM   #21
Richard and Rhonda
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Steve,

I have used them at work looking for leaks on vacuum systems and they are deadly accurate. I just didn't realize the price had dropped by a 1000 bucks for DIY units. Technology marches on.

The same thing is true for the little infrared temp guns that can be had anywhere for well under a hundred bucks. Five years ago, the price was a lot more than that.

What I hope is the leak unit helps me find leaks in the spaghetti mess of tubing under the coach chassis. Spraying soapy water overhead has not been effective there, too many nooks and crannies not visible to the eye.
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Old 12-31-2010, 02:19 PM   #22
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If there is a leak in a spaghetti mess of wires & tubing I am confident you will know it. The challenge then becomes to find it. As I said you get within 12" of a leak you will hear it. I couldn't believe how loud the air tank leaks sounded when they were so small. Good luck as I know air leaks have been one of your quests.
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Old 12-31-2010, 09:52 PM   #23
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Default Speaking of leaks.......

Heading home today on I-10 just east of Mobile, Cindy's air ride seat decides to spring a leak. Of course it was as we were entering a long bridge! Kept one eye peeled on the air brake pressure for a couple miles until I could pull over. Thankfully I had bought some 1/4" air line plugs a while back so only took a few minutes to fix it and continue on. You're right it's amazing how loud a 1/4" air line is when it's blowing. My brake air pressure kept steady at 120# and the coach air stayed at 80# until I stopped so now I'm positive that my check valves are working.
Oh yeah, another thing. If your wife has a bad cold while in the coach, yep you'll catch it too. We both felt so bad we came home a couple days early.
Happy New Years!
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Old 01-01-2011, 02:59 PM   #24
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Happy New Year Forest and Cindy! Sorry to hear about the colds......sitting in Indio, CA in front of my Bluebird friend's home in our Newell. Very chilly last night.....low around 33. Have got the 3 gas furnaces going full blast to warm up the interior. Getting ready to watch the Rose Parade.
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Old 01-02-2011, 07:12 PM   #25
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I temporarily fixed the air leaks in the air tank(which I still need a source for a new one) and verified that I had no air leaks outside. I checked & rechecked every bay & under the coach. No leaks, but my 110V compressor still cycled every 10 minutes. I went inside & checked around pocket doors and seat--nothing. I then stuck my ultrasonic leak detector under the dash. BINGO! I couldn't tell where the leak was, but I definitely had an air leak. I removed the dash topper, but the leak was down lower. I removed the panel around the air brake pedal. I could now hear a leak(s). There are two lines leaking on the air brake pedal valve. This valve has 4 large air lines & three small air lines. Two of the smaller lines are leaking. I've never dealt with this type of air line fitting so hopefully someone has. The brass fitting has a yellow washer that the line goes through into the brass fitting. I'm sure the yellow part is not just a washer, but I don't know what to call it. I attached a photo & the leaking lines are the two small lines on the right. They are easily accessible--just don't know how to fix them. Can any one help?

Richard,
I think my experience of just pointing the ultrasonic leak detector in the top of the dash & knowing I had a leak somewhere should answer your question about finding a leak in a mess of wires & tubing. You will hear it. Then it is just finding it.
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Old 01-02-2011, 07:52 PM   #26
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Steve,
You have DOT push to connect fitting. You release by pushing the yellow ring in to the brass fitting and then pullling the nylon line out of the fitting. Sometime all you need to do is cut off the nylon line and put it back in the fitting. The fitting are reusable so you do not need to remove the brass from the body of the value. Give me a call if you need to,
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Old 01-02-2011, 09:45 PM   #27
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Steve,

Ron is correct, those are DOT spec airline fittings. You can buy push to connecto fittings at Home Depot, but I wouldn't use them on the air brake system.

If you relieve ALL the air pressure, you can press the yellow collar into the fitting and the air line will release. Most times you will see that there is an indented ring on the nylon air tubing. If you have enough tubing to snip that 1/4 inch off, you can simply stick the new end back into the fitting and it should stop leaking.

If you don't have enough tubing to snip, then you have two options. Run a brand new piece of tubing. Of use a DOT spec compression fitting, the kind with the brass sleeve and nut that tightens. You'll have to remove the push to connect fitting and replace with the compression fitting.
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Old 01-03-2011, 09:56 PM   #28
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Steve, do you know if there is more than 1 model of the Inficon, Whisper, ultrasonic leak detector? I found one, on line, from Professional Equipment for $50, originally priced @ $279. Hard to believe it is the same one, but it sure seems like the one you have is doing a good job. I seem to have a new air leak way more than I'd like, so easy detection would be a blessing. Appreciate any additional info. Happy New Year
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Old 01-03-2011, 10:39 PM   #29
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We found 1 on Amazon for like $218. So that is one heck of a buy!
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Old 01-03-2011, 10:51 PM   #30
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Here is the one I bought on Amazon.Com from Climate Doctors for $208.99.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BHNUI6/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&cr eativeASIN=B000BHNUI6&linkCode=as2&tag=affiliatech ie-20"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B000BHNUI6&Format=_SL110_&ID =AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822& WS=1&tag=affiliatechie-20" ></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=affiliatechie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000BHNUI6" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BHNUI6/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&cr eativeASIN=B000BHNUI6&linkCode=as2&tag=affiliatech ie-20">Mastercool 55100 Electronic Leak Detector</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=affiliatechie-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000BHNUI6" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />
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Old 01-04-2011, 12:04 AM   #31
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I was able to repair the two leaking air lines on the air brake valve. I snipped off about a 1/4" of air line & reinstalled them in the reusable fittings--I only consider this fix temporary as I'm going to change them to compression fittings when I get the parts. The leaks are gone & I detect no other leaks under the dash. I refilled the air system to see if I improved the 10 minute cycle time of the 110 volt compressor. It took just over an hour and a half for the compressor to cycle so it was a BIG improvement. Watching the pressure guage I am still losing 5 lbs psi every 25 minutes so I'm not totally leak free. To this point I have spent an unbelievable amount of time using soapy water and finding no leaks. I have found & now repaired four leaks that took me about 4 hours to find with the ultrasonic leak detector. I obviously still have some minor leaks which I will now try to find. Also once I put the coach back in service I will check all the leveling & travel system with the coach running for leaks. While very pleased with the results, I'm still not satisfied.
A special thanks to Ron Skeen and Richard Entrekin who took my phone call & shared their knowledge & experiences with me! Thanks guys...........................
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Old 01-04-2011, 01:37 AM   #32
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Hi Steve,
I would consider the fix good. The push conectors are just as good, if not better than the compresion fitting. Comparing the Dot push and the Dot comp. the push I think are better. What make the Dot Fitting is usally the insert which is inside the nylon line in either push or comp. Hope this helps.
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Old 01-06-2011, 10:18 PM   #33
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Default Follow up report

I was disappointed when I went out to check my air system again & found both of the push in fittings at the air brake valve leaking. They now have been replaced with dot compression fittings and are air tight. I conducted a leak down test to see how long it would take to lose the 20 psi that causes the 110V compressor to cycle. The results were encouraging, but not complete until I can get similar results tomorrow with the same test. I have been hopeful that I could get to where it takes 10 to 12 hours to lose the 20 psi. Todays test results showed I am still losing 20 psi over a 5 hr & 45 minute period. The problem is I am running out of things to check and recheck. Today I checked both the air toilets & they are air tight. I have checked & rechecked all air lines under the coach, slide seals, frt & rear six packs, horn, air dump valves, dash area, pocket doors, both air compressors, all air tanks and all air lines in all basement compartments. Am I missing anything??????????
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Old 01-06-2011, 11:36 PM   #34
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I was disappointed when I went out to check my air system again & found both of the push in fittings at the air brake valve leaking. They now have been replaced with dot compression fittings and are air tight. I conducted a leak down test to see how long it would take to lose the 20 psi that causes the 110V compressor to cycle. The results were encouraging, but not complete until I can get similar results tomorrow with the same test. I have been hopeful that I could get to where it takes 10 to 12 hours to lose the 20 psi. Todays test results showed I am still losing 20 psi over a 5 hr & 45 minute period. The problem is I am running out of things to check and recheck. Today I checked both the air toilets & they are air tight. I have checked & rechecked all air lines under the coach, slide seals, frt & rear six packs, horn, air dump valves, dash area, pocket doors, both air compressors, all air tanks and all air lines in all basement compartments. Am I missing anything??????????
This is just a WAG but is there an internal check valve in the compressor?
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Old 01-07-2011, 12:06 AM   #35
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Jimmy,
I believe there is, but if air was leaking back through the compressor I should be able to detect that with the leak detector & I've detected none. In fact I've checked both compressors. If nothing else I'm having fun with my new toy!
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Old 01-07-2011, 04:34 AM   #36
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Jimmy,
I believe there is, but if air was leaking back through the compressor I should be able to detect that with the leak detector & I've detected none. In fact I've checked both compressors. If nothing else I'm having fun with my new toy!
WE DO ALL LOVE OUR TOYS!!

I wonder what the Newell Standard leak-down rate should be..?
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Old 01-07-2011, 12:03 PM   #37
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Jimmy,
I'm well within the Newell standard which I believe is 20 psi in 40 minutes. I'm hoping my retest today gives me similar results as yesterday. Everything I checked yesterday was air tight. I must be missing something somewhere, but I'll figure it out. Only yesterday I remembered I hadn't checked the two air toilets & slide seals. I've improved the system tremendously since I started with the compressor cycling every 10 minutes.

Thanks for your help................
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Old 01-07-2011, 01:17 PM   #38
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The older Newells, like my '82 Classic, hold their air pretty well, but based on my conversations with others who have the newer, higher tech Newells, 20 psi in 40 minutes doesn't sound too bad. It the average day time temps in my area stay above 60 I may lose 20 psi in a week. If it gets below 50 for long periods of time then I may lose 20 psi in a couple of days.
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Old 01-07-2011, 02:10 PM   #39
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Very interesting! I would assume the classics used less air so air leakage would be less of a problem. On the other hand I never considered air temperature into the equation. I'm just hoping I can get the compressor to not cycle during the night.

Thanks...............
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Old 01-07-2011, 03:44 PM   #40
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yes, our coach only uses the air for the air suspension, brakes and of course the air horn. Our air system has remained with pressure since we pulled in here 2 weeks ago, temps fluctuating.
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