prssure pot seal/how much pressure for alumilite/

[har18]

i recently bought a pressure pot from hf. but i can not get it to keep pressure, it leaks out the lid. i keep tightening the lid but it leaks pretty good. is there something i can add to make it hold pressure the pressure drops steadily, if i were to leave it for an hour and set it to 50 psi, it would drop to around 30psi., also i can not put more than 54 psi in the tank due to the safety valve going off. do i need more than that for alumilite with wood in it? and if so how do you get the pot to hold a little more pressure without the safety valve going off?

 

[Padre]

Some folks on this site have had success with HF pots, others, like me, have not. I tried 3 separate pots before giving up. Some folks replace the seal, other turn the seal over, others coat it with stuff. I'm sure you'll get a lot of responses. Others take the pressure up to 60 psi or so and just let it run until it seals.

Here is a great tutorial for redoing the HF pressure pot. I also did this with one of mine, but alas, my luck sucks.

 

[gketell]

You could make your own custom fit seal. Go buy a couple of tubes of RTV silicone, a roll of tape, and a roll of wax paper.

Cut the wax paper into 1/2"-3/4" wide strips about 3 inches long.

Take the lid off your pot and remove its seal.

Tape the strips onto the tank edge so that they overlap and the narrow part is crossing the lip (you want the strips to go down the side of the tank (inside and out) the long way.) If you overlap them exactly 1/2 way then you will have a perfectly smooth seal, but that isn't necessary.

Once you cut a bunch more strips so you covered the entire rim of the pot, fill the groove in the lit with 1/8" or 1/4" bead of the RTV. Carefully and gently set the lid onto the tank in the orientation you want to have when you use it for real. (You want it to settle a little bit but not enough to go to 0 thickness in the middle.)

Now let it sit for a week or two so the RTV has a chance to dry all the way through.

Before opening, take a permanent marker and mark a V down from the lid to the tank. This will be your alignment marks for putting the lid on exactly the same next time too.

Remove the lid and work out all the wax paper. (This is the challenge.)
Now you should have a 100% seal.

For a potentially easier solution, take your lid to a swimming pool supply house and see if they have an o-ring that fits within the groove. If they do, just silicone it into the groove and then lightly press the lid onto the pot to make sure it goes on flat.

GK

 

[purplehaze]

HF pot

The relief valve on mine is threaded and adjustable.

Have you pressurized the pot and sprayed it with soapy water to find exactly where the leaks are comming from? If you have and the only leaks are from the lid seal, inspect the seal for cracks and tears. Also check the pot rim for defects. Try turning the lid to see if you can get a better seal. I marked my lid so that it is in the same location each time I use it.

I did use some blue silicone gasket material where the fittings screw into the lid, because the rubber gaskets they used leaked pretty bad.

Maybe the silicone will also work for the lid gasket. If you do this you would probably need to use some wax paper on the rim so it doesnt stick.

Good luck

 

[Pepsi]

Harry, sent you a PM.

Al

 

[workinforwood]

If the seal leaks, try putting some vasaline on it. 50 LBS of pressure for alumilite is fine..that is a normal amount and that is what they use to test it at the factory. If the safety valve is going off, it should be adjustable. Other parts if they leak, I'd use a liquid teflon on the threads.

 

[har18]

thanks everyone i got some things i will be trying this week!!!