Another Fog Question

[bobgaggle]

My coworker and I have been in the process of servicing our old homemade dry ice fogger and we've run into a problem.

The fogger is made from a steel 55 gallon barrel. water is pumped from the bottom to the top and down through the basket of dry ice. It has two heating elements installed through the barrel wall below the water line. It has started to develop small weeping leaks around the seal of the element. We ripped out all the old rusted parts and are installing new elements. The problem we are having is coming up with a long term waterproofing solution. All the silicone products we can use for sealing around holes and joints say they shouldn't be used under a water line.

Does anyone know a product that we can use that is designed to be submerged?

side note, I tried welding the holes closed and the flange to the barrel, but either the steel gauge is too thin or I'm not a good enough welder to do it without burning bigger holes in the barrel.

 

[VCTMike]

My coworker and I have been in the process of servicing our old homemade dry ice fogger and we've run into a problem.

The fogger is made from a steel 55 gallon barrel. water is pumped from the bottom to the top and down through the basket of dry ice. It has two heating elements installed through the barrel wall below the water line. It has started to develop small weeping leaks around the seal of the element. We ripped out all the old rusted parts and are installing new elements. The problem we are having is coming up with a long term waterproofing solution. All the silicone products we can use for sealing around holes and joints say they shouldn't be used under a water line.

Does anyone know a product that we can use that is designed to be submerged?

side note, I tried welding the holes closed and the flange to the barrel, but either the steel gauge is too thin or I'm not a good enough welder to do it without burning bigger holes in the barrel.

Possibly an automotive gasket? Maybe a piece of intake or exhaust manifold or one for the thermostat - I think you can also buy blank material to cut your own.
edit: Or maybe a piece of cork sheeting cut to size?

 

[Les]

Hm, interesting one.

I like Mike's automotive gasket idea. Especially since it is designed to withstand all kinds of treacherous conditions. Otherwise, my thoughts on the matter would be just plain rubber sheeting, or aquarium silicone. Not sure how hot it gets in that area, though.

 

[emac]

I would recommend going to a marine store or website and looking at either gasket sealing for gas tanks or just for bulkhead fittings.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BillESC]

That design sounds like the Fog-It III that F & B manufacturing made back in the 70's. We used a 3M weather strip sealer, it was yellow and came in tubes.

 

[Amiers]

I would look at this website. We had to waterproof our 10,000g tank and so far fingers crossed no leaks.

 

[bobgaggle]

As a followup:

the first time we tried a silicone caulk against the manufacturers recommendation but with the recommendation of some colleagues who have done it in the past. Once I got all the spilled water mopped up we decided to look into other options. After many times trying different brands along with the sprayable rubber sealer we ended up coating everything with JB weld putty epoxy. and by everything, I mean we encapsulated the flange, bolts, nuts, everything in this putty, and the seal is holding fine. Major headache

 

[Amiers]

Will you ever be able to take it apart now?

 

[bobgaggle]

We can still access all the parts we would need to service/replace. the epoxy covers the entire flange and bolts on the inside of the barrel, but from the outside we can still unscrew the element from the outside. I'd attach a picture but I guess we can't upload them?

 

[derekleffew]

... I'd attach a picture but I guess we can't upload them?

When composing a post, click on the <Upload a File> button, which is between <Post Reply> and <More Options>.

 

[bobgaggle]

Got it.