How do i properly pressure check a new heater core for leaks?
#1
How do i properly pressure check a new heater core for leaks?
I bought a new heater core. So how do i properly pressure check a new heater core for leaks before installing it? i want to make sure it doesn't leak before waisting all that time installing it. any ideas? or proper way to test it for defects?
#2
If I were doing it I would take a piece of heater hose and connect it to the 2 pipes on the heater core. I would put a T in the hose with some fittings so I could use my air hose to pressurize it. Set the pressure regulator to about 15 psi and put the heater core under water to see if it leaks.
Kind of a pain but much less painfulk than installing it, having a leak and getting to do it all over again.
Smart move on your part.
Kind of a pain but much less painfulk than installing it, having a leak and getting to do it all over again.
Smart move on your part.
#3
If I were doing it I would take a piece of heater hose and connect it to the 2 pipes on the heater core. I would put a T in the hose with some fittings so I could use my air hose to pressurize it. Set the pressure regulator to about 15 psi and put the heater core under water to see if it leaks.
Kind of a pain but much less painfulk than installing it, having a leak and getting to do it all over again.
Smart move on your part.
Kind of a pain but much less painfulk than installing it, having a leak and getting to do it all over again.
Smart move on your part.
#4
Go to the hardware store or auto store and you can buy a metal tire valve that has 1/8" pipe thread on the other end. The air chuck you fill your tires with will fit on one end and the other end will be 1/8" male pipe thread. The rest of the parts can come from the hardware store. Metal is available but plastic should be cheaper. You need a tee and 2-5/8" hose barb fittings for the hose, and reducing fittings for the other branch of the tee that will take you down to 1/8" female pipe thread so you can screw the tire valve into it. Also a couple of hose clamps.
Just be sure you don't over pressurize it and cause a leak in the heater core. The system is designed to run about 15 psi. A new heater core should hold more than that but I do not knowhow much. My guess is you could safely fo to 18-20 psi but I would not go over that and there is no reason to go higher.
Last edited by terry s; 11-26-2009 at 11:46 AM.
#5
I just thought of a simpler and cheaper way if you have access to a 1/8" pipe tap. Get a piece of thick wall plastic pipe at the hardware store that will slip into the heater hose. Drill & tap the pipe to 1/8" pipe thread. Then use the fitting I described above.
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