Am I stupid or what?

DON'T ANSWER THAT! The seal on our Dometic commode has been leaking for a while, & as we were gate guarding in Texas, and there was no where to get parts I waited until we got home to replace it. Got it done today & can't understand Dometic. There have been several posts on here about water leaking out of the bowl of the commode because of the seal. Numerous options have been given some wrong (according to the book that came with ours), some correct. I've been pouring hot water in ours when it starts leaking & will clean off the seal & valve and while the seal is still warm bend it down to reform it, as is the directions given in the book as one of the options, and it's always worked. In the book it says not to use "Lubricants, and cleaners containing alcohol or petroleum distillates, Pine Sol cleaner, WD40, etc.

In the directions for the new seal (it's a Dometic seal), it says "Press flush pedal to open flush ball, and spread a thin layer of silicone grease or petroleum jelly under the seal...." I may not be the brightest light in the parking lot, but I'm still putting out light. But isn't petroleum jelly a petroleum jelly a petroleum distillate?

Here's more than I ever wanted to know about Petroleum Jelly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_jelly
It looks like it's a hydrocarbon but not a petroleum distallate.
Let's let the Chem Engineers explain it to us cause I'm scratching my head a little too!

If it's made from oil from Utah, Wyoming,, them places that had all the animals that died, that ate all the vegetation, you know them big dinosaurs , then it ain't petroleum,, it's vegetable oil... Now if it's from Texas,, Now that's petroleum.

Hey - I thought WD40 was fish oil not petroleum but we use Vaseline jelly.

Both are produced from refining petroleum products.

Petroleum distillates are the lighter (lower boiling point) fraction - and can dissolve/break down the molecular bonds of rubber compounds - very evident if you have ever washed up paint brushes/car parts with gasoline using rubber gloves on your hands - the rubber gloves swell up to twice the size.

Petroleum jelly (waxes from petroleum feed stock) are the heavier ends and do not dissolve molecular bonds of rubber compounds.

I am that Chemical Engineer .

Brian

Well, my inquiring mind has been satisfied! Thanks Brian, I was beginning to think Dometic's right hand didn't know what the left one was doing! I knew that if I posted this question here I'd get an answer. I guess Vaseline is something else to put in the tool kit!

olcoon said:

Well, my inquiring mind has been satisfied! Thanks Brian, I was beginning to think Dometic's right hand didn't know what the left one was doing! I knew that if I posted this question here I'd get an answer. I guess Vaseline is something else to put in the tool kit!

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Vaseline has always been my suggested temporary fix. It lasts about a month until it needs another application with an extra special toothbrush.

Ray LeTourneau said:

Vaseline has always been my suggested temporary fix. It lasts about a month until it needs another application with an extra special toothbrush.

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I have to hide those extra special toothbrushes or DH will find them....and I start laughing to tears when he says the toothpastes tastes funny

Not sure if its right but I've always used a heavier viscosity olive oil for flanges in or around the sink, garbage disposal and in the BC including the throne. At least it smells better and seems to last longer, would be interesting if the chemist could weigh in on that.

Olive oil does not contain petroleum distillates or solvents since it's a pure vegetable oil. It will probably wear off faster than petroleum jelly, but that's about it.

I sometimes spray ours with cooking spray oil--it works great and when it get sticky again, I just spray a little on the white part---easier than a toothbrush.
al
currently in Kenai, AK