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 Post subject: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 7:25 pm 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
Posts: 1701
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Have you ever had any issues with the circular hatches sticking? I can't remember ever seeing a tread about the O ring seals sticking or becoming so tacky that the catch handle could perhaps break. It may be just me that has the issue ??
It got the better of me so after trailing multiple household lubes I have found that the best by far is car Tyre Shine ( or translation for our US members, Tire Shine ). Slippery as hell, cheap as chips, compatible with rubber and plastic and still seals perfectly without any excess residue.

Give it a go !

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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 12:50 am 
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Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 11:46 pm
Posts: 42
Location: Hornsby, NSW, Australia
Slaughter wrote:
Have you ever had any issues with the circular hatches sticking? I can't remember ever seeing a tread about the O ring seals sticking or becoming so tacky that the catch handle could perhaps break. It may be just me that has the issue ??


Thanks for the tip Russ.
I had the same problem on my front seat TI hatch. Got to the point where I was reluctant to put anything in that hatch.
Mentioned it to James at HWS and he swapped it out and greased the others with silicon grease. Only used the TI twice since but so far so good.
If the problem comes back I'll try your solution.


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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 12:55 am 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
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Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
No problems paranoid. Do you come up to Lake Mac very often ?

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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 2:44 am 
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Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 11:46 pm
Posts: 42
Location: Hornsby, NSW, Australia
We've only managed one day on Lake Mac so far but intend to do more.
Would be great to meet up with you there sometime.


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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 6:31 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2014 9:11 pm
Posts: 96
Been dealing with this for a couple of years on my ‘14 TI. I have the O-rings out right now to clean them. Sand and saltwater hasn’t helped. After doing some reading I settled on a few silicone based lubricants. Tire shine sounds brilliant - I will give that a try. Thanks!


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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 2:51 pm 
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Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
Slaughter wrote:
Have you ever had any issues with the circular hatches sticking?...
It got the better of me so after trailing multiple household lubes I have found that the best by far is car Tyre Shine ( or translation for our US members, Tire Shine ).

Great hearing from you again mate and thanks for the heads up.
Getting the right silicon lube that doesn’t wreck the O-rings (I understand the propellant is the problem) can be tricky.

If, after cleaning and lubing, the hatches are still tight then the O-ring has probably stretched. You can buy a new one for AUD$10 or get some quality instant super glue like Loctite 406 and cut a small section out of the O-Ring then rejoin it.


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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:31 pm 
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am
Posts: 1701
Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Paranoid - Yep mate, keep in touch when you are next planning a trip this way and would certainly be up for an outing.

Totch - The penny dropped for me when I was walking around the garage and slipped on a mat. My son had tyre shined his car on top of the mat. It's incredibly slippery stuff. Still don't know how long it will stay on though.

Stringy - Yeah mate, back on deck. You know how it is. I think my O rings have stretched so if I have any further issues I give the 'cut and paste' method a go. Cheers.

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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:36 am 
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 8:17 pm
Posts: 426
Location: Austin Texas
Some household products may cause the O-Ring to swell and make the sticking problem worse.

I have tried using plumbers silicone lube. It works well but I abandoned it because of the tendency of any grease to pick up dirt, sand etc. in a dirty environment.

WD-40 has a new water resistant silicone lube in a spray can I have tried on other things around the house like outdoor padlocks. It works so well I'm tempted to try it on the hatch O-rings this summer.

Currently I'm using 303 aerospace protectant on both the O-Ring and the hatch inner surface and It seems to work well. It's probably similar to Tyre,Tyre,Rounds protectants like ArmorAll.

Another issue I've had with these O-rings it rolling or twisting them during install. I seem to remember they are a little elliptical and if not installed correctly they cause difficult closing and leaks.

Chris


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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:07 am 
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Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2018 6:46 am
Posts: 2
These o-rings are certainly an issue. My Oasis is 5 years old and for the last year you couldn't actually close the hatches without pounding on them. I have tried petroleum jelly (no good) and other water-proof greases (no good). Finally cut out two inches, super-glued them together andsprayed them with silicon--working fine so far!


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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 11:23 am 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15026
Location: Oceanside, California
Petroleum lubes will ruin the O-Rings. It makes the rubber expand and get tacky.

A dry silicone is what we recommend. A spray around the o-ring ring and into the seal cylinder makes for smooth / easy hatch closing.

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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Thu Jan 02, 2020 8:06 am 
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Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 6:36 am
Posts: 59
Location: CT
FYI..... I cover my 2012 TI but leave all of my hatches wide open so
there is zero pressure on the O Rings. I lube all around hatch seal
To prevent friction fr ripping or twisting O Rings.

Seems to work....


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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 2020 2:37 am 
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Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 8:06 pm
Posts: 44
Location: Laem Sing, Chanthaburi, Thailand
FraznDaf wrote:
FYI..... I cover my 2012 TI but leave all of my hatches wide open so
there is zero pressure on the O Rings. I lube all around hatch seal
To prevent friction fr ripping or twisting O Rings.

Seems to work....


I agree, taking off the pressure is a good idea. Unfortunately leaving open the hatches where I reside is just an invitation to mice, rats, snakes and assorted family members :)

John


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 Post subject: Re: Hatch O Rings
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 11:39 pm 
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Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 12:38 pm
Posts: 32
Thanks for this post. This gasket issue is a never ending headache for me; silicone grease works if one uses it very sparingly to avoid grit pick up, but then it doesn't last but a couple of fishing trips and needs to be redone...again. The ring has kind of a pentagonal cross-section, similar to the very familiar and simple symbol of house with a simple peaked roof. As far as I can surmise, the pointy "roof" part is what is supposed to stick out and engage the hatch cylinder, but no matter which orientation I use, the closing action invariably twists the seal ring and that of course makes it very resistant to closing/sealing. Total pain in the ass, that shouldn't be a problem; I am left wondering if something like Barge Cement would work to glue the gasket in place.

The Tyre Shine is a great suggestion. Here in the US it can be found under the name "Tire Black" and is a thick liquid silicone, not grease, so it is safe for rubber use and is slippery as all get out.


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