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Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: lavocat on April 30, 2011, 10:08:53 am

Title: Compressor for slide seals
Post by: lavocat on April 30, 2011, 10:08:53 am
Onmy 4 slide Phenix, how often should the air compressor that airs the slide seals cycle.  It is running about every 30 minutes which seems excessive.  I have changed all the valves when I found one leaking a few months ago and I checked and none of them are leaking.  Just wondering if I might have a slide seal leaking and if so how to find it.
Title: Re: Compressor for slide seals
Post by: Barry Beam on April 30, 2011, 10:23:36 am
Onmy 4 slide Phenix, how often should the air compressor that airs the slide seals cycle.  It is running about every 30 minutes which seems excessive.  I have changed all the valves when I found one leaking a few months ago and I checked and none of them are leaking.  Just wondering if I might have a slide seal leaking and if so how to find it.

Gerard,
The compressor checks your leveling every 30 minutes and adjusts it if necessary which is the hissing you hear.
If you are moving around the coach alot or are on unlevel dirt or gravel this might be normal.
You can stop the automatic checking every 30 minutes by hitting the "Stop" button.
If the hissing stops every 30 minutes that would eliminate the Slide leak.
To check for a slide leak I would start by spraying soapy water around the slide bladder & look for bubbles.
Check here for some of my exploits finding my leaks.
Emergency '03 slide bladder repair (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=10319.msg47975#msg47975)
Title: Re: Compressor for slide seals
Post by: lavocat on April 30, 2011, 10:26:47 am
Barry,
    There is no hissing involved with my issue.  I know what the sound is when adjustine leveling.  This is the compressor starting and then running for about 45 seconds before it cuts off and it is doing it every 30 minutes.
Title: Re: Compressor for slide seals
Post by: Barry Beam on April 30, 2011, 10:49:26 am
Barry,
    There is no hissing involved with my issue.  I know what the sound is when adjustine leveling.  This is the compressor starting and then running for about 45 seconds before it cuts off and it is doing it every 30 minutes.
Sounds like you have a leak somewhere in the system & you would need to isolate it.
The compressor comes on when the pressure falls below a certain psi.
The previous link below will give you the lengths that I and others went thru to find ours.
It would help if you had an air gauge on the compressor so you could see when it is dropping as you isolate the problem.
You are going to have to spray soapy water on every hose and bladder and air bag (as I just found out the hard way) to find where the bubbles are showing the leak or leaks.
I put in ball valves so I could shut off & isolate sections to help aid me in finding the elusive leak.
Dont overlook the possibility of a rodent biting an air line concealed in the belly of the coach.
I spent many months on this fun project as I did not consider the possibility of rodents or air bag leak or a slide bladder leak on the bottom that sealed itself intermittently .
I just replaced a leaking air bag and now finally I think I have found all the leaks and may have a trip without hearing that constant compressor coming on which kept blowing the 40 amp C/B because it ran so much, draws the batteries down when I am dry camping which means more generator use to charge them which is why I have 3100 hrs on the genny. I think you hit a nerve on this subject  :'(  ???
Title: Re: Compressor for slide seals
Post by: Michelle on April 30, 2011, 11:00:19 am
The compressor checks your leveling every 30 minutes and adjusts it if necessary which is the hissing you hear.
If you are moving around the coach alot or are on unlevel dirt or gravel this might be normal.
You can stop the automatic checking every 30 minutes by hitting the "Stop" button.
If the hissing stops every 30 minutes that would eliminate the Slide leak.

I would also agree that you likely don't have a slide bladder leak.  When ours went you could definitely hear air hissing from the leak and the pump never shut off.  We also heard a slide bladder leak in one of the consignment coaches at FOT late one evening (being "tuned in" to such sounds).  You could hear the air hissing around the bladder and the HWH pump running non-stop (fortunately, that bay on the coach wasn't locked, so Steve pulled the fuse and told FOT sales about it the next day).

We had similar frequent pump-running problems a few years ago and it turned out to be the o-ring seals on the solenoid "six pack" manifolds.  There is a "rebuild" kit of just the o-rings if that's what it turns out to be.  Should be easy to check with soapy water, just be safe and "block and chock" before going under the coach.

AIR LEAKS!!! (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=12292.msg63913#msg63913)

www.hwhcorp.com/mr053729.pdf (http://www.hwhcorp.com/mr053729.pdf)

Michelle
Title: Re: Compressor for slide seals
Post by: John S on April 30, 2011, 10:15:15 pm
My leak was the air step. It caused the compressor to come on every 30 mins too.  I have mine set at about 65 lbs pressure and it will come on now only every so often. I will tell you when you fix one leak you will find another soon... The weak link stuff till you get them all covered and then you are back to the solenoids again...