How to repair rubbermaid stock tank?

Sand it lightly then heat it mildly as mentioned above.

Use RTV. Just let it cure so there is no odor. Once the odor is gone so are the harmful chemicals.

I am leaning toward trying the second method but will look in to the cost of the first method.

Well, take heart that you are not the only one who has had that happen but ours was out of warranty. Called Rubbermaid and they suggested JB Weld. It worked, at least so far so good.

__________________
I'm so busy I don't know if I found a rope or lost my horse.
coming soon - www.MyCountryCrafts.com

Don, I am a bit perplexed...I did a google search for polyethylene glue, and several products showed up.

What am I missing?

Clove

My mare did the same thing to her Rubbermaid tank. I just got an epoxy from the hardware store that is used for plumbing and plastic, sandpapered the area after I thoroughly dried it off, slathered it all over the area. 7 or 8 years later it is just fine- no biggie at all. Even with the little bored creatures playing football with it periodically.

It is kind of funny that you mention the Olde Town canoes. One of the links that I checked out after searching for polyethylene glue was a guy that shows how to repair a damaged Old Town plastic canoe.

He also says that you must flame treat the surface, but tells how to do it much better than I did.

I think the web site is westsystem.com or something like that.

clove

Have used a product called SUPERMEND. It will set up even under water or in the cold. Hard to find, well worth the hunt.

__________________
:cool: :angel: TRUTH & MERCY
www.dixieflowersoap.com
www.mollyjogger.com
Big D Farm Blog

I used shoe goo. On the outside. It looks like clear rubber on there and it's been about 4 yrs. now.

A few years back one of our tanks cracked from the top down to about 1/3 of the way. My Dh used a heavy duty stapler to keep the cracked area in place and filled the crack with silicone. We still use it and the only place it leakes is at the very top. Worth a try, these things are too expensive to replace all the time. BTW, mine is a rubbermaid too.

__________________
Trish

Seriously, I am COMPLETELY dressed!

Just keep moving...just keep moving!

Clovis
I do not doubt that they may have come up with a solvent for PE or HDPE but if they have I have yet to find a source.
the PE glues Ive tried were at best temp fixes that were too brittle to deal with the expansion and contraction .
It should be noted that too much heat can also cause PE to become brittle its self . Before attempting a repair on an expensive stock tank Id suggest practicing on an old PE container such as an oil jug or gas can (if a gas can fill with water and avoid open flames )
I own two old town canoes that get pretty rough treatment so learning to repair them is a must . the instructions are explained far better than any I could write as well . The advantage of the canoes is that the out shell is actually Polyvinyl
PE and HDPE present the problem of being resistant to nearly any solvent where as ABS or PVC tend to have a wide number of solvents readily on the market.
The way plastics change constantly Im open to any advances or information . I only offered my limited knowledge and welcome any who have more info to please share

One thing that I should have noted about flame treating: When using open flame on the surface, we are talking about seconds, and not enough to make the plastic brittle.

I am glad you brought that up.

Interesting about the glues....thanks for the info!!!

Clove

get some silicone caulk, some metal flashing, sheet metal screws. cut the flashing larger than the crack put caulk around then attach flashing with be sure the caulk seals around the screws. let dry then test. i've repaired several tanks this way.

One of the biggest tank is not Rubbermaid. I am not sure the other two are either.

One tank about 24 inches deep and eight foot round is actually a lick feeder. so there is a botton tank and a lid with two lick wheels. t I just want to store water in down at the barn. It's a flexiable material, the crack is a long the bottow corner.

The other two are 100 gallon hard plastic type, maybe Rubbermaid can't see from here. The cracks on those two is in the bottom corner area as well.

If I can't get them to hold water, I can still use them for holding grain to keep mice/rats out. BUt I really need the bulk water containers. Right now I use 45 gallon soda concentrate drums (white drums that look like 55 gallon drums but the label says 45 gals). They are not big enough and the water does freeze in them as well.


Time to go shoot the deer in my back yard......

I agree with PyroDon... We bought a plastic welder on ebay, and used it on a RV water tank. Worked great...

the big tank is five feet across...DW says she didn't put any water in it. I inspected tonight, no cracks, will be filling it tomorrow for sure. Poor heifers need a better water source than they currently have.

The second tank, YES Rubbermaid 150 Gallon with 8 inch crack across the base just below the drain hole. Two inch plastic pipe with cap sticking out drain hole is the lever that got stepped on... wire brushed the crack on both sides....found JB MarineWeld in the tool box. .....also have a freshly opened tube of silicone caulk....leaning toward using the caulk....JB Weld did not list any types of plastics but is good for just about every other material.

Plastic welding can work great. That said, I can't do it worth a darn. At least not yet. Oh, I can melt the plastic, I just can't create anything that resembles a weld.

Most patches are rigid, so when the plastic flexes, the patch pops off. I tend not to use them because of this. Though on very rigid applications, patches can work ok. They need a mechanical bond to the plastic, so you need to rough up the plastic to the extreme.

On flexible plastics I've had reasonably good results using stitch and glue techniques. Poke a bunch of holes along the fracture and use wire or such to sew the crack up. Then goop it with something like the goop product already mentioned.