Sealing Reefer Heating Area Floor

[mrekim]

I noticed this:



I'd like to seal that opening between the plastic trim and floor up. I know silicone is bad. What is the best option and why?

Thanks!

[John_Wayne]

How about a 4-5 inch wide piece Eternabond tape.

[bcbigfoot]

BoonHauler wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
Why is silicone bad?????? That is what you DO use. Doug

X2 .....

Personally, I use Silkaflex 1A. It's pretty awesome stuff. I think it's a better adhesive than RTV.

Here's a link that I found. I buy it locally for 4.25 a tube in case lots.

Sikaflex 1A

X3 I like 1A as well but anything polyurethane will last 8 to 10 times longer than silicone.

[dougrainer]

mrekim wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
Why is silicone bad?????? That is what you DO use.

I seem to recall it being said over and over that there's no place for silicon anywhere on an RV.

I have some black RTV that I could use if that's the right stuff.

It seems like there should be something better. Something that will stick to itself so that if a re-seal needs to be done you don't need to remove the silicone from that fragile black "cloth" on the bottom of the compartment.

Where have you seen this????? I have been in the RV industry for 40 years, 36 as a tech and silicone is a perfectly good thing to use in the application the poster showed. If you look, it HAD silicone from the OEM at that spot. Silicone is NOT good on Styrofoam as it will eat it up. It will NOT work on rubber/epdm roofs. The thing I like to use is not Sikaflex(which is better than silicone), But a DAP product that comes in a red/white silicone tube. Lowes and HD both carry it. You can get it in clear and white. The neat thing about the clear is, it comes out white, but dries so clear you cannot tell it was even installed. It adheres to almost anything except rubber roofs. Doug

[mrekim]

I assume that either the wall or the floor is exposed under the repair area. I'm pretty sure there's styrofoam in both. It looks like the Proflex is not supposed to be used with styrofoam.

The Sikaflex has xylene in it, and I'm pretty sure that it does not play well with sytrofoam either.


Maybe I'm overly paranoid, but the I don't want to end up melting a hole under the area that I'm repairing.


I'm not sure about RTV and styrofoam, I'll have to look.


Another option would be to use a small strip of fiberglass cloth (I have some light stuff - 4-5oz or so) and a couple of coats of epoxy. This is assuming the epoxy doesn't melt the foam either. I've seen references where people use a foam core for epoxy projects, so I think styrofoam and epoxy play well together....

[BoonHauler]

dougrainer wrote:
Why is silicone bad?????? That is what you DO use. Doug

X2 .....

Personally, I use Silkaflex 1A. It's pretty awesome stuff. I think it's a better adhesive than RTV.

Here's a link that I found. I buy it locally for 4.25 a tube in case lots.

Sikaflex 1A

[Charlie_D_]

Dicor or Proflex would be good choices. Although not a proponent of Silicone I would not be afraid to use it in that location.

[mrekim]

dougrainer wrote:
Why is silicone bad?????? That is what you DO use.

I seem to recall it being said over and over that there's no place for silicon anywhere on an RV.

I have some black RTV that I could use if that's the right stuff.

It seems like there should be something better. Something that will stick to itself so that if a re-seal needs to be done you don't need to remove the silicone from that fragile black "cloth" on the bottom of the compartment.

[dougrainer]

Why is silicone bad?????? That is what you DO use. Doug