Cabin Door Seals

[tls pilot]

I know there are door seals from Knots2U and GeeBee

Anyone have pireps on either please?

I have ordered from Guy Geebee on other products since 1990s but sent an email about the door seal and he was

Very negative about Mooney owners. Not sure why…. But makes one wonder

[Oscar Avalle]

I installed knots2u inflatable door seals about 6 years ago. The difference is amazing. Installation is easy and durable. I had no issues since I installed the system. About 3 years ago I upgraded it to an electrical pump. So far so good no issues whatsoever. It is nice to be able to activare the seal and forget


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[Rwsavory]

Trust your instinct.

[Slick Nick]

10 minutes ago, tls pilot said:

I know there are door seals from Knots2U and GeeBee

Anyone have pireps on either please?

I have ordered from Guy Geebee on other products since 1990s but sent an email about the door seal and he was

Very negative about Mooney owners. Not sure why…. But makes one wonder

Ive got his latest iteration of the silicone door seals for baggage and entry door. A bit tricky to install but once you get the hang of it, not bad. Very pleased with them. The old brown T-9088 OEM foam one I had barely lasted a year. 

I won’t say much about the guy, the only interaction I had with him was a little strange indeed, but the product was good which is all that really mattered. 

[sleeper-319]

I have an inflatable door seal. I think it's the Bob Fields, but not 100% sure. (I can look in the logbook later if you want). It's nice. I measured at cruise and it's a 6db reduction in interior noise. I know the number doesn't big, but it's quite a noticeable improvement.

The plane's previous owner had installed it many years ago, and when I bought the plane it was not holding air, so I installed a new one when I bought the plane about ~4 years ago. Installation was easy. Getting the old adhesive off was a chore. 

[Marc_B]

I installed he GeeBee door seals and when I was done I wasn't sure why I was so intimidated previously.  Took elbow grease to remove the old seals and properly clean the area.  DON'T use gorilla snot adhesive on silicone seals...use the stuff that GeeBee includes with the seals.  It's so much better anyways and it's clear.  Comes out looking very professional and easy to apply.

Handful of pictures and pireps if you look for them...

My recommendations and process here:

More information about seals and tidbits here.

 

 

 

 

[Marc_B]

1 hour ago, tls pilot said:

Very negative about Mooney owners. Not sure why…. But makes one wonder

This wasn't my experience and I've reached out to Guy for several things including baffle seals and both doors.  But every Mooney door has it's own profile and quirks.  There is no "universal" way to place the seal so there is a lot of looking to see how the seal fits properly and a little trial and error.  There's also been two iterations of the GeeBee door seal and I think the early one was stiffer and made the door harder to close.

 

Take a look at my pirep and recommendations in the thread I linked.  I'm in the camp that no seal is 100% due to the fit of the Mooney door and lack of a bottom pin or latch...but the newer GeeBee profile is much better than my old one and really wasn't bad...just took a couple days.  Ideally this is a summer project so that he heat allows the seal to cure quickly.

[Ragsf15e]

He can be eccentric, but I asked him about a couple gaskets and he just sent me two. No questions, no bill, sent fast.  If I needed a door seal or baffles, I’d use his.  Even the gaskets are better quality than the TCM “paper” ones.

[Schllc]

2 hours ago, sleeper-319 said:

I have an inflatable door seal. I think it's the Bob Fields, but not 100% sure. (I can look in the logbook later if you want). It's nice. I measured at cruise and it's a 6db reduction in interior noise. I know the number doesn't big, but it's quite a noticeable improvement.

The plane's previous owner had installed it many years ago, and when I bought the plane it was not holding air, so I installed a new one when I bought the plane about ~4 years ago. Installation was easy. Getting the old adhesive off was a chore. 

There is no better product for this purpose than the bob fields inflatable seal. It is easy to install and works flawlessly. I will never install anything else on a Mooney. 
there is a thread here somewhere with pictures and install instruction. 

[Greg Ellis]

3 hours ago, Schllc said:

There is no better product for this purpose than the bob fields inflatable seal. It is easy to install and works flawlessly. I will never install anything else on a Mooney. 
there is a thread here somewhere with pictures and install instruction. 

Other than how they get inflated, is there any difference in the performance between the economy model, deluxe model, or electric model?

[Schllc]

I don’t believe so, I’m pretty sure the seal is the same.  It’s been a while but I didn’t want the hassle and expense of the electric. The bulb is easily reachable and takes less than 10 pumps. 

[Schllc]

9 hours ago, tls pilot said:

I know there are door seals from Knots2U and GeeBee

Anyone have pireps on either please?

I have ordered from Guy Geebee on other products since 1990s but sent an email about the door seal and he was

Very negative about Mooney owners. Not sure why…. But makes one wonder

 

[Fly Boomer]

10 hours ago, Schllc said:

there is a thread here somewhere with pictures and install instruction. 

In your topic from February of last year, you say "After removing the old seal, clean the door with acetone, and then grease and wax
remover".

I would have guessed that the acetone would remove any residual grease and wax.  What would/did you use for a grease and wax remover?

 

[Slick Nick]

The brown T-9088 seal that I had earlier did a great job of sealing when it was new. We did a trip to Arizona last summer where I left the plane outside in 43*C weather for a couple days. The seals couldn’t take it, and had now permanently deformed and compressed, rendering them useless. I do not seem to have this issue with the GeeBee silicone seals. They return to their original shape every single time. The aircraft is super quiet. Removing headsets in cruise and using the speaker / boom mike in cruise is not an issue. 

The only thing I didn’t like about an inflatable seal was that it didn’t seal unless you were in the aircraft to inflate it. Full disclosure, I park in a heated hangar at home base, but sometimes when we travel, the plane spends the odd night or two outside. That was enough for me to not want to risk it with rainwater getting inside when the seal is deflated. 

Perhaps the worry is unfounded, I’m not sure how well it still seals even while deflated. A properly installed silicone seal will seal up just as well without the worry of it leaking when deflated. 

I am very happy with my GeeBee silicone seal. 

[Schllc]

2 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

In your topic from February of last year, you say "After removing the old seal, clean the door with acetone, and then grease and wax
remover".

I would have guessed that the acetone would remove any residual grease and wax.  What would/did you use for a grease and wax remover?

 

I don’t recall, it was called grease and wax remover.  I was doing the seal at Brian Kendrick’s shop, and he suggested. I feel like it’s more of a belt and suspenders approach..

[Will.iam]

Plain bob door seal. Bulb is by the door itself, the deluxe version has the bulb relocated by the pilot ao you do not have to lean over the passenger to inflate it and it has a toggle switch to deflate insteD of using the bulb knob. A little but more convenient then tgere is the electric version for ultimate convenience but i feared if tgere was ever a slow leak it would be runnibg the electric motor more often. I went with the deluxe and live it. For parking out side just inflate it with 2-3 pumps you will know because the door will be slightly hard to close. Thus no leaks or just use a cabin cover that way no sunshine damage or leaks if your window seals are old as well as not leaking in the door with the seal deflated.