Hi, I am trying to diagnose an issue I have been experiencing with my Leakshield.
I have the Leakshield mounted on an Ultitube 200 which I've had for about two years. The Ultitube is mounted on an external MORA which is run by two D5's. This keeps coolant temperatures around 25°C-28°C max depending on what I am running.The system is running clear DP Ultra.
Over the course of the past two years, I've had to replace the membrane a number of times from getting it wet.
The first time I accidentally over filled the reservoir and when the Leakshield would engage, it would suck water high enough into it. Not an issue. Cleaning didn't work but the membrane replacement did. Leakshield worked well for about a month. Eventually I had to do a second replacement. This time it appeared to me that during startup, splashing of the pump through the reservoir base was still getting fluid up onto the Leakshield. I drained more liquid (filled about 45-50%, unsure exactly, Leakshield has never adequately detected the proper level). After this second replacement the unit worked fine for 6-8 months, no issues.
Suddenly, the Leakshield started struggling to pull pressure one day and failed the health test. After I pulled it off and inspected, water was yet again all over the surface as well as the membrane which was surprising. A third replacement fixed it for a time but failed again with the same issue within a month or so. During this month the Leakshield behaved oddly. Struggling to get to pressure, sometimes oscillating and setting off alarms as it did so but once at pressure would be fine. Eventually this happened again, with fluid again on the Leakshield surface and membrane. A fourth replacement did not fix any thing and the unit seemed to never be able to reach pressure again.
I thought it may just be the Leakshield had worn out and maybe had gotten wet too often. Also, since I run two D5's at 50%, the pressure needed to be a bit high (390 mbar) for my system which may have contributed. Not an issue, I just ordered a second Leakshield and left the old in place, disconnected for a few weeks but ran the system normally. When the new Leakshield arrived, I pulled the old one off and saw yet again that the Leakshield surface was wet.
To avoid risking my new Leakshield I just replaced the old Leakshield with the normal reservoir cap. After using the system for a few hours, I can see this surface get wet as well (although the layer is much thinner after just a few hours and not in large droplets).
I am having trouble trying to diagnose what is causing this and do not want to risk damaging the new Leakshield in the same way. At first I was thinking this might be condensation but I can't see how that would happen. My system temperatures are rather low on average. I've fixed any splashing issues with the reservoir fill level. I cannot determine how the top surfaces still continue to get wet. And if this continues this way, I don't see how the new Leakshield won't fail in the same way. Is there something wrong with way I have been operating the Leakshield?
TLDR: Leakshield membrane/inner surface build up liquid/condensate causing the Leakshield to fail or need constant membrane replacements. Has anyone dealt with this before and knows how to fix this before I install a new Leakshield?