repair poly tank

[timbers]

we have a 2 inch cut in the side of our poly pick-up tank. any suggestions on the best way to fix it. thanks ian

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

A lot of body shops have a plastic welding tool that should do the trick. :)

[cheesegenie]

A friend of mine repairs everything plastic with a glue gun, from the
inside. Even patched an oil drum.

[maplehound]

I think I would get a valve fitting and drill the area out and put in the fitting. Or you can drill the center of the craked are out big enough for a bolt and then sandwich 2 metal washers and 2 rubber washers to seal the hole. I did that for a metal tank with a bullet hole in it.

[swierczt]

Has anyone ever tried fiberglass resin to repair a poly tank? Such as a kit you could get in an autobody supply store? I have a crack in one of my tanks that has spidered pretty badly. I only use it to store cold sap. I was thinking of drilling at the end of the cracks and using the fiberglass on the outside and using a food grade silicone sealer on the inside. Any suggestions?

[jrthe3]

i have tried fiber glass it don't hold up real well get cold and britle and flakes off i used a epoxy the brand is fusor the type i use was 100ez it is heat set in 5min and flexable

[Dave Y]

Timbers,
Check out the norwesco web site. They sell welding kits for tank repair.
If that doesnt help you send me a pm and I will give you my number and I will walk you through the repair.

[Dave Y]

Poly tanks can be repair! Not with fiberglass! you must use plastic to repair it. the same kind of plastic can be used to weld the damage.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Is it a cut or a break? if it split on its own due to age then it will do it again over time. How old is the tank. On crosslink poly tanks heating the area with a heat gun will relax the stress that is causing it to crack and spread. Is it on a flat area or curved corners? Then fix as suggested in other threads

[sapman]

I would probably try like what maplehound suggested. I'd get a bulkhead fitting (1" is probably big enough when you figure the outside diameter), drill it out with a holesaw, install and plug. Otherwise, sounds like Dave Y has the perfect solution.

Tim

[Haynes Forest Products]

just put a 2x4s on either side of the cut and deck screw them together and let the sap swell them tight. $0.50 no charge............git er done

[Haynes Forest Products]

just put a 2x4s on either side of the cut and deck screw them together and let the sap swell them tight. $0.50 no charge............git er done use food grade maplewood

[Brian Ryther]

"DEVCON" makes a plastic tank repair kit. Expensive but the correct fix. I think I have even seen it at Bascoms. You can find it cheaper on line.

[3rdgen.maple]

Like Haynes says but I would probably drill a small hole at each end of the cracks to stop further splitting. Then cut a peice of rubber inner tube and sandwich that between his 2x4 fix. Simple, quick ,no chemicals.

[Dave Y]

Obviously you guys aren't paying attention! If you take a piece of plastic the same type as that of you tank, lay it on you damaged area, then take your torch and heat the plastic until it melts in to the damaged area. the area around the damage should be shinny. be careful not you get flame. this will permanently fix your damage. Also norwesco sell a welding kit for their tank.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Now Now DaveY we are paying attention. I asked if it was a cut or a crack? Big differance. If it was cut and I dought that because its **** near impossible to just cut a poly tank. Now if it cracked did it crack because it was cold and was hit with something. Tanks dont just crack unless something is happening to cause it. I was given 5 blue water barrels that were spider webbed and I would only use them as trash barrels because they are going to crack. Now for the big finish............If the tank is all spider webed and sun damaged the trying to weld new material onto it wont last and is a waste of time.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Best thing you can do to extend the life of the clear poly tanks is to keep then inside the sugarhouse when not in use. The sun and weather is the hardest thing on them and causes them to breakdown and get brittle and they crack very easily.

[Homestead Maple]

Brandon have you had any experience with the plastic totes/poly totes as far as how they handle the sun light? Are they UV resistant? Or will they get brittle in time? I'm going to use a tote to store liquid for my liquid ring vacuum pump and had planned on leaving the tank out year round.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I keep everything in a completely dark and dry sugarhouse 10.5 months out of the year, so I don't have any experience. If you are referring to the large Rubbermaid totes, I would think they would hold up for at least 2 or 3 years fine if not longer and good thing about them is that they are cheap to replace.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Anything thats made for the inside wont last on the out side. My 18 year old poly tank looks like new because its only outside for 3 weeks a year. If I find a bucket that I left in the woods and use it the bottom falls apart from the weather.

[KenWP]

I bought a greenhouse this last year and they had stored a lot of new hanging pots in it. These pots are all brittle like cheap plastic and the pots stored in the dark in the store room are fine. I spent all summer grabbing plastic pots and pails and haveing them crumble in my hands.