My ehiem 2220 is leaking...

Not much you can do when one of those O-rings goes south... I have heard that if you regularly apply silicone vaseline to the O-rings, they'll last longer. Seems the rings in my Eheim Professionals don't last as long as those in the Classics...

Jim
 
Would any kind of silicone based lube work?

I have something called silicon paste, made by 3M. Contains poly(dimethylsiloxane) 63148-62-9.

"A non-melting, water resistant, 100% solids compound designed to protect surfaces from oxidation. Also used as a general purpose lubricant for brake and ignition systems; lubricates rubber and plastic parts including "O" rings and weatherstripping."

So I guess it would work for the o ring, but how would I know if it's harmful to my fish?
 
i wonder the same thing too. it's hard to trust industrial stuff in the aquarium, but there are ppl who say they are safe. i use the "silicone lubricant" sold in online fish sites, just to save the piece of mnd and the hunt to look for it locally.
 
Just for future considerations insted of waiting for the o-ring to come by mail from the LFS or the manufacturer. Take your old o-ring to a gasket or Bearing store ( up here we have Commercial Bearing or BC Bearing they are industral stores) and they will have the size you need on the shelf, and if not they can make you one up at a fraction of the cost....(if not for free)
 
O-rings and lubricants

While I don't have much experience with what gasket lubricants (vaseline, silicone, veggie oil) to use in a fish tank, I deal with many different kinds of o-rings and "rubber" sealing materials at work. I'm a truck/construction equipment mechanic by trade, and I do a lot of hydraulic equipment work where I encounter many many many o-rings and rubber seals. O-rings are made of many different things, and each kind is meant to stand up to different things. All of them will wear out after a while.

Latex, like used in most condoms, is attacked by petroleum based lubricants. (vaseline, for example) Some other o-ring and sealing materials (silicone rubber, natural rubber, buna-N, nitrile, teflon.. ect.. the list goes on and on) are attacked by different things. I would go with what the manufacturer recomended for that reason. I know that *some* kinds of silicone based lubricants are used on water faucet o-rings, so at least some of em are safe (ish) for consumption, so I would assume that those same lubricants are ok for fish. I know that doesn't help much, but you might ask a plumber for recommendations there.
 
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