# Skylight leak



## NikSam (Dec 4, 2014)

New to this motorhome stuff, have an old Hymer B534. Just had a heavy rain storm and water collected on the roof at the back of the sky light and a small drip is coming inside. The only place i can see it can come in is the external seal of the skylight. When it stops raining I'm gonna go up and try to re seal. Do i just use silicon for this or is there something better? 
While i´m here, the transformer that charges your leisure batterie when hooked up, can i leave this on continuously when hooked up for a month or am i best off turning it off once in a while. Thanks in advance, there will be many more questions i´m sure.


----------



## Baron1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Hi,
You will need to remove the skylight, clean off all the old sealer with alcohol and then resell with sikaflex which is a non hardening sealant.
This is better done in warmer weather so you may want to wait a couple of months, in the meantime to stop water pooling on the roof try putting the van up on wedges so the water runs off.
As far as leaving the van on hook up. I have had five Hymers and they have been left on hook up continuously when parked up at home, the electroblok monitors the state of the leisure battery and puts it on a trickle charge when needed. I have had no problems and have never had to buy a battery.
Mel


----------



## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

Hi,
I do the same as Mel with the battery charging. You should be aware though that old batteries put a lot more loading on the charger and can cause premature charger failure.
The use of new technology Bosch/Varta batteries will, apparently, reduce the load and give extended battery life.


----------



## Baron1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Thanks for the info Bill, any info on these new batteries ??
Rgds Mel.


----------



## NikSam (Dec 4, 2014)

Many thanks guys. You know when you post something and someone gives you a solution like tilt ya van, and i think to myself, how stupid was i not to think of that!! 
Sure there will be many more questions soon.


----------



## daffodil (Aug 7, 2014)

NikSam said:


> Many thanks guys. You know when you post something and someone gives you a solution like tilt ya van, and i think to myself, how stupid was i not to think of that!!
> Sure there will be many more questions soon.


As has been said on here many many times there is no such thing as a stupid Question  :lol: :lol:


----------



## HarryTheHymer (May 1, 2005)

daffodil said:


> NikSam said:
> 
> 
> > Many thanks guys. You know when you post something and someone gives you a solution like tilt ya van, and i think to myself, how stupid was i not to think of that!!
> ...


***********************************************************
Welcome to MHF. Think how many more good tips you might receive if you became a subscriber to MHF.

My tip of the day is to run a bead of silicone around the roof light as a temporary measure until the weather improves to do a proper job (I know this is what you were thinking of in the first place, but only use it as a temporary measure).

Also, if you have a high level brake light, this can sometimes leak and produce drips within the van. I solved this (temporarily) with a bead of silicone over the top of the unit. Silicone tends to degrade over time so you need to reapply or do a proper job.


----------



## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

Baron1 said:


> Thanks for the info Bill, any info on these new batteries ??
> Rgds Mel.


http://www.atlanticmotorhomeservices.co.uk/battery-technology.php

Needless to say I bought some.


----------



## Baron1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Thanks for the link Bill, very interesting article and a bit of an eye opener!
What did you end up fitting? Are you pleased with the performance so far or have you not had them long enough to judge yet?
I have never changed a Hymer gel battery yet as they seem to go on forever (famous last words) but I would like to fit more amperage for off grid camping and these sound ideal.
I take it you read the last line of the article and switched the electroblok from gel to wet?

Rgds Mel.


----------



## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

I bought 2 x Varta Silver dynamic 110 (F18) as they were a nice compact size to fit under the seats.
I think anything bigger and you have to think of supplementing the charger on something like an 18amp ELB99.There is a formula somewhere ( I think Peter quoted it recently) for calculating what size charger you require for a given battery stack.
Yes I did switch from gel to "wet" but I think the damage is only done if you charge gel on the wet setting.

I bough from these.... http://www.justcarbatteries.co.uk/c...eries/varta-silver-dynamic-car-batteries.html


----------



## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Batteries . . If you're are the kind that need periodic checking - make sure the distilled water level is ok. I'm guessing your charger unit is an 'electrobloc' make ? 
I've left mine on permanent hook up for months at a time when away in Spain so there shouldn't be any reason why yours can't too.


----------

