REFLECTOR: Pressure testing Strakes. Help me!!

[Tom Falls]

Help! I'm struggling to find very very small leaks in both strakes after
closing them out. I am using a water manometer hooked to the strainer side
of each tank and a hose with a valve on the vent line. I blow in the hose
and when I see about 19" between each water column (equivalent to about 0.68
psi or 170 knots on an ASI) , I shut off the valve. Then I go around and
brush a soapy water mixture over all joints, fittings, seams etc. Initially
I found and fixed a few leaks. For instance I had to tighten the clamps on
the sight gages. On the left tank the manometer drops from 19" to 18" of H2O
in 30 seconds (+/- 5 seconds). On the right tank it's about 10 minutes to
drop from 19" to 18". I am at the point where looking for bubbles with soapy
water is not revealing the location of the leaks.

 

Any ideas?? How are others finding leaks? Should I maybe use a higher
pressure in the tanks? If so, how much pressure is enough and how is this
done?

 

Thanks in advance,

Tom 

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