zz28zz

I was looking for You-tube vids showing the pressure testing of exh manifolds and ran across a method that uses acetone and no press.

Anyone use this method??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D16i68nHmE

Griff

Seems like a waste of acetone to me. I don't know how it would show a leak any better than water. If its a small leak, the acetone will evaporate.
He also probably ruined that hose.

Budman II

iTrader: (1)

Nope, don't really know why acetone would tell you anything more than just filling it up with water, unless it has a smaller molecule and seeps more readily through cracks. I pressure test mine with air, and some cracks still don't show up until they expand when the part gets hot. I would be a little worried about the acetone attacking the inside of the hose.

Also, some of the inane comments on that video from azzhats who have never been near a boat are almost worth the price of admission.

zz28zz

Acetone has almost no surface tension and is abt 1/4 the viscosity of water. Supposedly, the acetone at ambient press will leak thru a crack at the same rate water will at 20 psi.

Yeah, the rubber hose will never be the same.. You would need a "test" hose..

Here's another link discussing the subject.
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engin...olds-for-leaks

BTW, you could save the acetone and re-use it for the next manifold leak test.

indysupra

iTrader: (3)

Almost any solvent will show a leak before water. It's an old school trick. I have used parts washer solvent.

smokin' gun

iTrader: (30)

more commonly used is lacquer thinner ..years ago i had a big block motor that i knew was cracked .couldent be seen anywhere and had it pressure tested at my machine shop nothing found so we assembled motor only to have a water issue ..i dissasembled the motor and filled the block with lacquer thinner took 6 hours for it to show but i found it .actually had it fixed and reassembled it

zz28zz

A quick search turned up this:


Viscosity (cP)
Pentane 0.23
Ethyl Ether 0.24
Methyl t-Butyl Ether 0.27
Hexane 0.31
Acetone 0.36

Triethylamine 0.36 (25°C)
Acetonitrile 0.38 (15°C)
Heptane 0.42
Methyl Ethyl Ketone 0.43
Cyclopentane 0.44

Dichloromethane 0.44
n-Butyl Chloride 0.45
Ethyl Acetate 0.45
Glyme 0.46 (25°C)
Iso-Octane 0.50

Methyl n-Propyl Ketone 0.51
Tetrahydrofuran 0.55
Chloroform 0.57
Methyl Isobutyl Ketone 0.58
Methanol 0.59

Toluene 0.59
1,1,2-Trichlorotrifluoroethane 0.71
n-Butyl Acetate 0.74
Ethylene Dichloride 0.79
Chlorobenzene 0.80

Methyl Isoamyl Ketone 0.8
o-Xylene 0.81
N,N-Dimethylformamide 0.92
Trifluoroacetic Acid 0.93
Pyridine 0.95

Cyclohexane 1.0
Water 1.0
Ethyl Alcohol 1.1 (25°C)
o-Dichlorobenzene 1.32 (25°C)
1,4-Dioxane 1.37

N-Methylpyrrolidone 1.67 (25°C)
2-Methoxyethanol 1.72
Dimethyl Acetamide 2.14
Dimethyl Sulfoxide 2.24
n-Propyl Alcohol 2.3

Isopropyl Alcohol 2.4
n-Butyl Alcohol 2.98




Surface Tension (dyn/cm):
Trifluoroacetic Acid 13.63 (24°C)
Pentane 15.48 (25°C)
Ethyl Ether 17.06
Hexane 17.91 (25°C)
Iso-Octane 18.77

Acetonitrile 19.10
Methyl t-Butyl Ether 19.4 (24°C)
Heptane 20.30
Triethylamine 20.66
Isopropyl Alcohol 21.79 (15°C)

Ethyl Alcohol 22.32
Cyclopentane 22.42
Methanol 22.55
Isobutyl Alcohol 22.98
Acetone 23.32

Methyl Isobutyl Ketone 23.64
n-Propyl Alcohol 23.70
n-Butyl Chloride 23.75
Ethyl Acetate 23.75
Methyl Ethyl Ketone 24.0 (25°C)

n-Butyl Alcohol 24.57
Cyclohexane 24.98
n-Butyl Acetate 25.09
Methyl n-Propyl Ketone 25.09
Tetrahydrofuran 26.4 (25°C)

o-Dichlorobenzene 26.84
Chloroform 27.16
Dichloromethane 28.12
Toluene 28.53

o-Xylene 30.03
2-Methoxyethanol 31.8 (15°C)
Ethylene Dichloride 32.23
Dimethyl Acetamide 32.43 (30°C)
Chlorobenzene 33.28


1,4-Dioxane 34.45 (15°C)

N,N-Dimethylformamide 36.76

Pyridine 36.88

Propylene Carbonate 41.93
Water 72.8


Looks like I was a little off on the viscosity of acetone (vs water), but acetone is still looking pretty good...Plus you can get it abt anywhere.

mike tkach

iTrader: (3)

a old timer tought me a trick years ago,he would mix acetone&atf in a 50/50 mix for checking his welds on things like oil pans,the dam stuf would go right threw if the weld was bad.maybe thats why some use acetone for a leakchecker,idk.

stlliberator

iTrader: (1)

Don't the new improved design of the emi's block those ports with the gasket?

BUP

iTrader: (9)

The deal is thickness or thinness of the checking fluid. Water has a specific gravity of 1.0 so your thinner fluids will have less specific gravity like ATF is .85 so its thinner than water in which is easier to pass thru cracks. Like MT said that is an old machinist trick also to use acetone / ATF mix. That mix also works good for rusted stuck bolts & nuts to help loosen.

Also it is wise to use fluids that do not evaporate quickly especially if you are watching the level of that fluid to see if it goes down because of a crack as its seeps thru. Fluid that evaporates quickly will give you a false level.

Also we try to heat the parts up that are being checked with a paint stripper gun or hair dryer to expand and contract the metal to simulate running conditions (heating & cooling) to see if the crack will show up then. If you do this method non flammable fluids must be used. We also use a hand held temp gun to see how hot the part actually is while heating up.