This probably is of no interest to many Barth Owners, but for those with air horns supplied by a 12V compressor which charges an accumulator tank then shuts off (as opposed to the "instant-on" compressors of some brands), this may be of some interest.

The prior owner of my Breakaway moved the noisy reciprocating compressor from the front to the small vented compartment on the right rear. That quieted it considerably. Air was routed to the accumulator by way of 1/8" ID polyethylene tubing.

But the horns rarely worked, or sometimes sounded like an elk in considerable distress. I found that a leak was the culprit, and invariably, the leak would be right at the discharge fitting on the compressor. After redoing the connection several times, I finally decided to "fix" it again and see what was causing these leaks to emerge.

What I discovered is that the compressor's displacement is so small, it takes it 15-18 minutes to pump the accumulator to cutoff (135psi). Near the end of a cycle, the compressor head would be so hot, it would soften and weaken the tubing, and it would split.

So being a marine engineer, and pledged to Never Make Simple That Which Can Be Made Complex. I got 5' of 1/4" copper tubing, some compression fittings, 35' of polyethylene tubing, a tee, and a pressure gage (as none had been fitted).

I made a cooling coil from the copper tubing, teed the pressure switch and gage to the cyinder head, and fired it up. Pressure never would go about 20 psi. The compression fittings leaked. So I sweat soldered the beads to the tube, and the leaks stopped.

Here's a photo of the finished installation, where I triumphantly turned a 5 minute project (of redoing the old poly tubing connection each time it failed) into a four-hour one...better yet, while running the new poly tubing, I discovered a pinhole leak in one of the heater hoses...

The PE tubing that failed....was it the milky white stuff?

I plumbed mine with black Nylon DOT air brake line. Not sure on what the glass point is. Way up there, I think. Takes heat pretty well, though.

It was slightly milky - the new is also slightly translucent - definitely not clear.

quote:

better yet, while running the new poly tubing, I discovered a pinhole leak in one of the heater hoses...

Sometimes things work out...while running the new tubing for the air horns (on Saturday), I noticed water on the frame girder, and tracked its source down to one of the two 1" polysleeves on the heater lines. I had just had the oil changed the prior day, so the coach had been driven about 40 miles.

Yesterday all I did was get the heater hose for the repair; today (Monday), I replaced the hose - but the water had all evaporated. The leak was a true "pinhole" - to small to see visually except when a tiny bit of coolant bloomed when I pressurized it.

Had the air compressor and lines not given me fits, it probably would've taken hours to locate the leak, given that it lost about a quart in 1,700 miles since I topped off the surge tank...

And, BTW, the leak wasn't in any of the places I'd have looked first - it was in a straight run, with no local stress, and 3' from the nearest fitting.

The most fun was that the "25'" of 5/8" heater hose (all they had left) at my usual NAPA store was actually only 15' - so I had to return it for a refund and get a full 50' roll at another...

It's always SOMETHING!!!" - Rosanna Rosannadanna (Gilda Radner, SNL)

"It's always SOMETHING!!!" - Rosanna Rosannadanna (Gilda Radner, SNL)

I learned that just the heat from the engine compartment is enough to soften the polyetylene tubing. I located another blowout in the engine compartment. Even though the tubing ran along the frame rail, 18" from the exhaust manifolds, it apparently still got too hot. So I replaced that section with 20' of 1/4" copper to a joint with the remaining poly tubing.