Pressure pot seal

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robutacion

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
6,514
Location
Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
My pressure pot needs a need seal but the cheapest I've found is $100. Has anyone ever used liquid flex seal as a gasket?


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Hi,
What sort of pressure pot do you have...?

Regular pressure pots can have the seal replaced for about AU$50 on eBay

PS: I don't know if the seal is damaged or not but, most seals after some use lose the rubbery capabilities and therefore hardens making it more difficult to seal, and the amount of pressure needed on the screw clamps is quite a lot, however, I get a lot of extra use out of my seals by simply removing them, wipe them well with Methylated spirits including the lid housing where the seal seats and then use something like vaseline (I use leather conditioner cream) and spread a little on the housing and then on both sides of the rubber seal, I also like to wipe the lip of the tanks with a little of that leather conditioner/vaseline, a little bit goes a long way but needs to be spread evenly on all these surfaces.

One other issue that can make pressure pots not sealing is when the lid screws are tightened hard (I tent to do that to avoid leaks) and doing so, the lid ring were the screw clamps press into the aluminium will push the material down to the underside of the lid, the round holes/deep marks you see on the lid top, have been transferred to the under surface, therefore, creation undulations that the rubber seal has difficulty in sealing, even a new seal may fail if those undulations are too big so to fix that as you can not put the lid on a lathe and cut those ridges as the lid strength would be seriously compromised and would mean big troubles so, I use 2 part epoxy glue (not the 5 minutes one), clean the area where I will put the glue (inner lid ring where the seal seats) with coarse sandpaper and then wipe it with acetone.
At this point, I would find a levelled place where I can put the lid upside down, mix the glue and carefully fill the seal housing right about to the level of the highest ridge, spread it evenly through the full width of the seal housing and let it dry.
This basically will give the rubber seal a flat surface to be compressed against, increasing the sealing capabilities.

PS: Still use the vaseline or other to "lubricate" all the contact areas of the rubber seal after the epoxy repairs.

Best of luck

Cheers
George

Cheers
George
 

Hutch9022

Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2018
Messages
107
Location
Georgia USA
Thanks. I have a real old devilbiss 9.8 gallon tank that my grandfather used to spray paint with when he was alive. He used paint thinner in his paint and the pots have been sitting unused for about 5 years. The rubber seal has become brittle and broken.


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robutacion

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
6,514
Location
Australia - SA Adelaide Hills
Thanks. I have a real old devilbiss 9.8 gallon tank that my grandfather used to spray paint with when he was alive. He used paint thinner in his paint and the pots have been sitting unused for about 5 years. The rubber seal has become brittle and broken.


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In that case, if you don't want to spend 100 bucks you may have to source some rubber that you can make the ring/seal from, often enough, going for the option that seems to be the cheapest endup being a big mistake so, consider your options.

Cheers
George
 

budnder

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
Messages
527
Location
Chicago/Tucson
I have a Harbor Freight paint pot and the gasket was problematic the day I bought it. I recall (it's been a couple of years.) that I pulled the old gasket out of the lid, set it some place level, then filled the gasket ridge with Mold Max 30 ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BNF3TK ). Worked like a charm. I had some of that silicone on hand, so it may have been overkill. Something cheaper like Permatex Gasket Maker might work as well ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UEOKK ).. I've got some of that on order to redo the seals on my vacuum chamber forms.
 

MRDucks2

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Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
3,215
Location
Bristow, IN
On my first to use a sealant to make the ring, I didn't factor in the thickness/size for a 5 gallon pot. Applied it as one thick bead and after a few days it still was not cured. Ended up with a mess. If you make your own I would recommend layering it in and letting it fully cure between layers.


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frank123

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2012
Messages
613
Location
Colorado
Just get some DOW 795 and use it to mold a new gasket in place.

It's hard to beat for that type of use or anything else needing a molded rubber sealant.
 

stacheman

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2020
Messages
1
Location
Escondido, CA
I have a Harbor Freight paint pot and the gasket was problematic the day I bought it. I recall (it's been a couple of years.) that I pulled the old gasket out of the lid, set it some place level, then filled the gasket ridge with Mold Max 30 ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BNF3TK ). Worked like a charm. I had some of that silicone on hand, so it may have been overkill. Something cheaper like Permatex Gasket Maker might work as well ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UEOKK ).. I've got some of that on order to redo the seals on my vacuum chamber forms.
I did the Harbor Freight paint pot mod too. Had a terrible time getting it to hold a seal. Realized after several tries and hacks that the assembly team had put the O-ring upside down with the bevel side of the seal down! After flipping it over I had no problem holding pressure. I guess my walkaway from this is that every little detail needs to be checked no matter what "reputable" product you are dealing with.
 

Curly

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Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
4,828
Location
Saskatoon SK., Canada.
I had a pot that came with crunchy seals so I dug them out and made a new one from a sheet of rubber. When I need to replace it I'll pour in the MoldMax that was already suggested.
 
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