Sealing up leaking storage tank vents

[DaHose]

Hey, people. I was putting in a new vent cover and realized just how bad my storage tank vents looked. The rain caps had disintegrated off and a previous owner just bought new vents, dropped them on top of the tapered piece of body theat was left and tried screwing everything down. Needless to say that is a very poor repair job. Everything had disintegrated again from sun exposure and was just leaking straight through.



I decided to do something about them. I cleaned off all the old sealant and crud, then used some Eternabond tape to hold the vent tubes in place and topped them with the vent caps that have "legs" you just push into the vent pipe.



I will finish everything off by wrapping the pipe sticking out in some eternabond and putting a bead of lap sealant on that bottom seam to fill things in and give a little more structure. That should not only seal, but keep the pipes from moving for next 10 years or so. 🙂

Jose

[Grillmeister]

Deleted

[DaHose]

That is a much better way to communicate Mocoondo and I appreciate your clarification. I understand what you are getting at. I think the repair you show above is a better "permanent" fix for someone who does not intend to rebuild the roof at a later time.

My style of communication is usually to ask why they did XYZ and hear their reasoning before going fully into why I don't think that might be the best way.

In that spirit I will add more detail. I was concerned at the dark ring where the old plastic cover was contacting the roof. It looks like someone used an epoxy (like liquid nails) to adhere the vent covers last time. It adhered really well in some spots and was a bear to scrape off, but it did not bond on some spots. I believe that is how moisture got in and caused that ring of mold between the layers. That means there was also moisture getting to the wood.

The poor job on the previous repair and the rotted wood are why I chose to use Eternabond. Eternabond is extremely good at flat repairs on aluminum, you can clearly see if it loses the seal and is less of a problem to clean off. It is also quite flexible and self healing. I believe this repair should completely seal up the aluminum roof sheet and prevent moisture from getting in at all through those giant holes in the center, until such time as I can tear off the entire rack up there and properly repair the rear of the roof next Spring/Summer. This repair is incomplete and I plan to finish sealing the outer diameter of the ABS pipe, before finishing with some lap sealant around the bottom edge.

I understand why you and others wouldn't like this repair and I agree this would not be a "best" and permanent fix. However, I do believe it will properly meet my needs. If it doesn't then I will certainly report back on this thread and that knowledge will be very beneficial to anyone else with a similar problem in the future.

Jose

[Mocoondo]

Jose, the reason why posts like this are problematic is the average person reading it doesn't know that your roof underneath is completely rotted, nor would they be expected to know this information. Somebody searching for sewer vent repair tips might see what you have done and think that they can make the same sort of repair and have it last for the next 10 years as you seem to imply. 6 months later, they are back on here complaining about water leaks and soft spots.

It is well documented that Eternabond does not stick well to black ABS pipe. After a couple of good rainshowers, you will be back to square one with water leaking in.

If your roof really is as rotted as you claim (and I have no doubt based upon the photos), you should give consideration to gluing down the bottom vent collar with liquid nails, then Eternabond over the perimeter. You will end up with something like this:



Finally, snap the vent cap on. This approach will keep the water out. What you've got going on with taping the pipe up and putting a cap on is just hokey. Sorry if you consider that rude, but I don't know any other way to describe it.

[DaHose]

Ah, hah! MichF gets it. If you haven't looked at my thread about rebuilding the cabover, then you might not understand what I am working with.

Cabover rebuild thread

That top railing MichF points out seems useless to me. I paid to have a "professional shop" seal my roof. It all looks horrible and they did not recommend replacing those top vents or bother sealing around the pipes. They just looked, saw a roof leak and ignored it, while making sure to take my money.

I am not completely new to what is going on here and I see I could have been more clear about the temp. nature of this fix. Few people are willing to take on the level of work that I did with my cabover rebuild. I would think that I have demonstrated I prefer to do things "right".

Mocoondo could have been better informed or polite. That is the best way to deal with people, especially when you don't know who they are, what they are capable of or what they are dealing with.

Ozlander - I absolutely agree with you. That vent is the way to go and what I will use when I rebuild the back section of the roof. Thanks for the hint.

Jose

[Ozlander]

The problem is, you replaced a cheeep plastic cover with a cheeep plastic cover and it'll have to be replaced again in a few years.

I replaced mine with metal covers that will last longer than I will.

[Mich_F]

Although Mocoondo might have come off as being a little rude, the fact is he's right, in what the end result should look like. I believe he's been doing this stuff for a number of years and knows what he's talking about.
In DaHose's defense he should have waited until he was finished with the repair to post a picture. It just doesn't look right in that picture.
I'd suggest when DaHose gets around to doing the roof repair that he gets rid of that railing, and all those additional holes in the roof that go along with it.

[Grillmeister]

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[DaHose]

I have dry rot to deal with all around those stanchions coming out of the roof. I was able to just pull out the old screws because the threads have dissolved. When the time comes to re-seal the back end of the RV, I will open up the entire rear roof section, replace the wood underneath, buy new vent covers and reseal all the edges with Eternabond

However, until such time as I have weeks of nice, warm, dry summer weather to work, Eternabond tape is a great product to seal up all the holes around those pipes and make the roof water tight.

Thanks for your opinion though, Mocoondo. However, it would be nice if you didn't come off like you are trying to be rude.

Jose

[Mocoondo]

This is a perfect example of owner performed repairs done incorrectly.

This is what you should have up there:



To do it correctly takes all of 10 minutes.