Outdoor Adventure USA

Our net this week will be of particular interest to those who travel to remote locations where your usual repair service is not available. It is in these locations where the prepared traveler needs to be self sufficient and ready to make his own repairs. But, make no mistake about it, anyone who works in his garage, works on his own vehicle, or is just handy around the house, will benefit from this net.

Kevin Paulson, KK6DGL, will be our guest this week and will be discussing various adhesives, thread lockers, repair compounds, silicones, and other products which should be in everyone's gear bag. These same products will come in handy for all your home repairs as well. Kevin's expertise in this area is impressive and the net will offer valuable information for just about everyone.

Pictures, product descriptions and uses to follow.

ARB Air Line Service Kit
$26-$29 (google ARB Blue line Repair Kit - it is available from many sources)

Makes a quick and easy way to fix a broken or melted blue airline on the trail. Clean up the two ends so they are square and push them into the end of the barrel connector. It is self-locking. The kit has two of the connectors and a length of extra blue line in case you need to make a longer run. The blue line is just a hair larger than copper tubing. It is very difficult to repair the blue line using brass fittings designed for copper tubing.

If you have ARB locking differentials, do not do the Rubicon without this spares kit!

Parts Included:
2 - Quick connect push on butt end connectors
2 - Ferules
2 - Posts
1 - O-ring
1 - Section of replacement air line

CAMP LIGHTING ADDENDUM

About a year ago, we did a net on Camp Lighting and Flashlights. One of the areas that we covered was lanterns, and in particular, lighting by "old fashioned" kerosene lanterns. Before the advent of new fangled electric lights, just about everyone depended on the light from kerosene lanterns, primarily made by the Dietz Company.

Dietz began making lanterns about 1842 and has been making them ever since. Dietz began life as a New York Company, as this was the home of Robert Edwin Dietz, its founder. The history of the Dietz Company is fascinating and for those interested, the best resource is W.T. Kirkman Lanterns, Inc. at http://www.lanternnet.com/history.htm. Dietz Lanterns became the most popular source of light in the world due to an ingenuous design, high (relative) light output, excellent quality, excellent reliability, excellent durability and a price that just about anyone could afford. This post is a testament to the quality and durability of these lanterns.

Just a slight digression into the Dietz history. Long before the recent trend of sending production facilities to China, the Dietz Company decided in 1956, to relocate its production facilities from New York to Hong Kong. Prior to that date, all production took place in the USA. Dietz still manufacturers these same lanterns today, but imports them to the USA and all over the world.

Recently, I came into possession of a Dietz Lantern, quite by accident (and for free.) My first reaction was that it wasn't worth keeping, but I looked deeper and was thrilled that I did. In a fashion similar to Coleman Lanterns, Dietz date stamped their lanterns, at least up to a certain point in time. More on this a little later.

The restoration of this lantern will be a long term project, but I wanted to point out some fascinating discoveries I made when I looked beyond the rust on my new toy. Here is the lantern full view:
The closer examination began when I discovered some writing on the fuel cap, which was obscured by rust and age. A little clean-up revealed the following:
Knowing that the lantern was "Made in The United States of America," I knew that the lantern was made prior to 1956, making it at least 61 years old.

Next, discovering the name of the lantern, was easy as it was in raised letters on the fount (fuel tank.) In this case the lantern was called, "The Little Giant." Directly below the name is a designation reading, "70 Hour Fount Capacity," meaning that with a full tank, the lantern would last 70 hours.
Next, I removed the lens, which was loaded with dust and dirt to the point where it was impossible to see though from one sie to the other. Amazingly, it cleaned up and looked almost new, revealing the Dietz name, its location of manufacture and one other very interesting feature. The first two pictures that follow, show this information, in raised letters. The third picture shows a molded-in bump, in the glass, that was meant to hold the lens in place as it was tilted back. Interestingly, the glass includes the name, "Little Wizard," which is oddly, another lantern style. A replacement glass???? More research is needed.
I added some kerosene, waited for the old wick to soak it up, and lit it. Shazammm! This is quite a testament to a lantern that is at least 61 years old and which has been pretty badly neglected.

More to follow as the restoration continues, including discovering the actual date of manufacture.

The purpose of this Net is to help you understand how various adhesives, sealants and repair compounds can be used to improve the reliability, safety and longevity of not only a vehicles mechanical assemblies, but also Ham radio equipment, outdoor and camping gear.

Products covered will include:
Safety gear and surface preparation items you should have on hand.
Solvent based adhesives
Threadlockers vs traditional locking devices
Epoxy glues and putties
Cyanoacrylates(super glues)
Liquid gaskets and sealants
Reactive repair tapes

Safety should be the number one consideration when working on a vehicle, preparing a surface for repair and selecting and using the correct adhesive to complete the repair.

I consider the following items to be essential in your vehicle repair kit to handle most repairs:

Eye protection
Gloves, both leather and latex/nitryl
N95 mask
Ear plugs
Long sleeve shirt
Alcohol wipes
Sand paper
Canned air is nice to have

Solvent based adhesives
1. Ideal for flexible substrates. Neoprene or fabric seat covers, rubber bumpers and safety stops on vehicles, tents and ground sheets, air mattresses, fishing waders, pop up tents can all be repaired with great success.
2. Work well on shoe soles. May need to be clamped or taped in place.
3. Surfaces must be clean and dry.
4. These products dry through evaporation of various solvents. Best applied in thin layers. May be built up in successive layers.
5. Use in well ventilated areas. Many are flammable and give off strong fumes.

The versatility of solvent based adhesives is unsurpassed and one should be included in your kit.

Threadlockers and Sealers
1. Anaerobic chemistry cures with lack of air and the presence of metal ions. They never dry.
2. Can stress crack some plastics. Nylon insert lock nuts are compatible.
3. Lubricate during assembly, fill are space between threads to prevent rust or corrosion. Prevent galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals.
4. Increase friction by filling air space with hard plastic.
5. Allow for predictable disassembly with proper strength selection.
6. Fasteners may be reused after new application of threadlocker.

Key points of fasteners
1. A standard threaded assembly has about 15% metal to metal contact between the threads. By filling the void with a hard plastic, you increase the friction to prevent vibrational loosening with the added benefit of sealing the threads.
2. No traditional locking device works in this way or offers the added benefits of a liquid threadlocker.
3. It takes as little as 100 vibrations cycles to start a fastener failure.
4. Fastener failure means loss of clamp load. It is the air space between imperfectly fitted parts along with the loss of clamp load that causes squeaks, rattles, and wear on mechanisms and fittings.
5. Fill the air space, remove the gap and you will reduce failure.
6. 2-3 free falling drops on a fasteners is enough to fill the air space.

Strengths and colors of threadlockers
Purple- low strength, small fasteners under 1/4".
Blue- medium strength, removable with the same tool you put it on with. This is your go-to strength.
Red- high strength, remove with heat(500* F for 5 minutes). The right choice for high vibration, high shockload components such as drive train or suspension. Also for tamper or theft resistance.
Green- wicking grade or post assembly, apply after assembly to ensure proper line up of component parts.

Epoxy glues
1. Usually two part.
2. Must mix in the correct ratio. Must mix thoroughly. Reaction produces heat which cures product.
3. Epoxies prefer a thicker bond line. Don't squeeze parts too tight.
4. Tend to be rigid although tougher, flexible version are available.
5. Bond many substrates.
6. Special putty formulations can seal fuel and other fluid tanks.
7. Specialized fillers can match the properties of the parent substrates. Titanium, aluminum, etc.
8. Most can be sanded, drilled or tapped depending on their physical properties.
9. Gloves should be worn as epoxies can cause skin reactions.