Pressure pot gasket fail (I think) \o/

[Magnetic Duckling]

Hey
How have you guys been doing?

I'm in a pickle here with my pressure pot.
It has been sort of leaking from the start but I solved the problem using Blind Pig's advice: car silicone lubricant. Solved everything for a while but now the pot is leaking like shit, it usually starts leaking at 40-45 psi, 50-55 psi if in a good mood.
I believe it's coming from the gasket which is worn off and dirty with resin residue.
I've got no idea how to clean it without damaging it more. I tried to gently scratch the resin residue with my fingernails and used a soft sponge. I think it's starting to get damaged at some spots but I can't be sure without cleaning it first.

Made some crappy cellphone pics !
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wzxhsrjbdw02c ... 131853.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0nc6orc57es6k ... 131832.jpg

So anyway my question is how would you clean it, and if everything else fails, where can I purchase a spare?
Cheers, thanks, love, and unicorns <3

[mangozac]

It's hard to tell just from pictures just how damaged the gasket is.

Perhaps the best solution would be to pull the gasket out and pour a new silicone gasket directly into the channel on the lid? Sit the lid upside down so that it is level, then just pour in enough silicone to fill to the height of the old gasket. I know at least one person on here has done this

[Magnetic Duckling]

Oo
That is clever tbh. I always assumed I need the same material, for .. impermeability (?). What is the name of this material anyway? Is it plain stupid rubber? That might help in my research for a spare part.
I could make more pics but I checked again and am fairly positive that the joint is damaged at some spots, surface is not smooth anymore, seems like it's curving inwards, like some of it got ripped away (clarity fail) so it's probably super dead.

So am I to assume the guy who did the silicone salvage thing is still alive? I am scared of tampering with my pot because pressure has always scared me.
I am not sure how to have a silicone ring that has the same thickness, and how to make it perfectly level hmm.. I can try things around, still better than sitting here xD
Thanks a bunch <3

[mangozac]

The original gasket will be just plain rubber, but there's no reason silicone won't work just the same.

Replacing the gasket isn't as dangerous as screwing around with the metal parts of the pot. Like I said, just guestimate how much silicone is needed and pour it into the channel in the lid while the lid is nice and level.

[Fleafa]

The gasket rubber is pretty tough. I would give it a good, hard, clean with a metal scraper. Try bending it a fair bit when you encounter tougher bits of resin. Or try taking it out and flipping it over...

Kinda related:
One of my pot's gasket started falling out of the lid. Very irritating when trying to get the lid on in a hurry! To fix it, I dribbled a small amount of mould silicone into the gasket trough and placing the gasket back on top. I then screwed the lid down to the pot. A couple of hours and a little clean up later, my gasket stays in place without any trouble.

Mould silicone on its own may be a little too soft. You would need to use a spirit level to set the lid absolutely flat if pouring silicone to replace the gasket.

[Magnetic Duckling]

I'll try the silicone and the cleaning and keep you updated, thanks <3
I took a sort of better picture where you can see the damage (sorry crap cellphone pic again, but better):

Flipping it over is a trick I already used couple of month back so this damage is on both sides now ;_;

I can totally relate on the falling gasket, mine falls off all the time, always when in a hurry but never when I need it to.

Edit: tried both, both failed. I am starting to believe that because it's a cheap product the lid got distorted and I am good to get a new one. The web-store I got it from hasn't answered so far but since it has been more than a year I am fairly confident they'll tell me to f*** off xD

[mangozac]

If it is indeed a warped lid this would be more of a reason to try pouring a silicone gasket. Because it will self level on the surface that will end up contacting the pot it will account for any mis-shape in the lid.

[Magnetic Duckling]

Status report.
On Zac's advice I tried to replace the wing-bolts with hex-headed bolts. I brought the wing bolts to the store for size reference and got 12mm bolts then figured I needed 10mm. Anyway when screwing them I realised the screw thread was damaged. This doesn't look replaceable as it is welded (?).
*unhappy face*

[mangozac]

So the screw thread on the clamp piece is damaged? That's very unfortunate and while not impossible is not easy to fix (or cheap to get someone else to fix). Can you get new pressure pots there in France?

[Magnetic Duckling]

Yea I basically went into some sort of screw-it-all fever and bought a new one, in France, a good one where you can buy spare parts.
I thought I'd be done but NO, so I asked a question in the general pressure equipment topic since it's totally unrelated with gaskets.
I am feeling pretty down right now tbh ^^;