Gluing Polyethylene .........................

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Ralph Johnstone

Ralph Johnstone

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Jan 4, 2006
7,150
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
I am looking at trying to attach a small 1/2" thick plate to the top of a 3/16" polyethylene potable water tank. The 1/2" plate and tank top will then be drilled and tapped to 3/8" NPT thread. With the tank top being so thin, screws are not advisable as this thing should be well sealed.

With any reading I have done on poly, it just can't be glued. Period. :naughty: It's unaffected by most chemicals. That's why it's used to make containers which will hold almost anything and everything. :D

I managed to locate an adhesive product on the web called Mr. Sticky's Poly Bonder :redface: (honest, I didn't make this up) and it looks good for gluing poly, really good, in fact, almost too good to be true. And we all know what that means. :Liar:

Two links to this product are as follows:

http://www.mrstickys.com/products/Mr.-Sticky's-Poly%2dBonder-Glue-30g.html


http://www.metacafe.com/watch/933254/how_to_repair_and_glue_polyethylene_and_seaboard/

According to the manufacturer, this stuff is better than sliced bread. Hot air and frictional welding of poly is a thing of the past, etc. etc. etc. My real worry here is that I don't want to use this stuff on the water tank top and find out a few years down the road that it's caused the poly to disintegrate. :eek:

So ..................... the question stands, has anyone ever tried gluing polyethylene and had success ? Has anyone ever heard of Mr. Sticky before ?

Thanks for your feedback.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
I would investigate the 3M line of double stick adhesives.
 
R

Ray Bowles

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Oct 6, 2008
857
Hunter, Island Packet, Catalina, San Juan 26,38,22,23 Kettle Falls, Washington
I don't know if this is reasonable for your problem but we recently had to repair a tank where a bonded or chemical repair wasn't feasible. We decided to try an O-ring repair. We then enlarged the hole enough to allow a non-flexable split ring base to be installed. The split ring was metal and had small bolts welded to it with the center bolts being much longer. These splits with bolts allowed the top repair to be tightened. Above the new hole we installed a round disc that flattened a semi-soft O-ring. The longer threaded bolts allowed the lower split-ring to be held while the top disc was applied.
The long bolt was then cut short. It could be left long if it doesn't interfere with anything. This allows you to come back later and gain access. Your cracked area must be flat to do this.
That is a lot of work but it was important enough to us to do this.
Ray
 
cat38skip

cat38skip

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Jun 6, 2004
173
Catalina 38 San Francisco Bay
HDPE cannot be glued for structural purposes. There are no solvents that will effect the plastic enough to cause a bond as it is SO inert. There are heat-activated epoxies that will bond slightly to the HDPE but I would not trust it to actually make a seal. I spoke with an engineer at RONCO about repairing my water tank and the only thing that will work is a plastic welder that uses heat to melt the work and also feeds a rod of material to fill in the same way a wire-feed welder works. A mechanical attachment is the best way to go.
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Grab your soldering iron and "weld" it on. I know this works for fixing small holes and cracks. You cannot fill gaps unless you use a "welding rod" of poly with the soldiering iron. Since it is just a tank and is not getting loaded up dynamically you should be ok if you can support the hose properly to releave the strain on the nipple.
You can also buy poly nipples and weld/thread them also.
good luck
 
Peggie Hall HeadMistress

Peggie Hall HeadMistress

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Dec 2, 1997
8,913
- - LIttle Rock
Only one way to do it that makes any sense

Make a rubber gasket (you'll find gasket material at any hardware store) to go under it and secure the pate with small screws. That's how inspection port flanges are installed in waste and water tanks, many of which are only 1/4" thick, so the tank is not too thin...the gasket will seal it.

However, if the purpose for the plate is to install a fitting, you're doing it the hard way. A Uniseal will make the job much easier and you won't need any reinforcing plate (you don't anyway, but....) : UNISEAL Scroll through all the pages to see how it works and to get to the price list. A piece of PVC becomes the hose fitting...and it's done.
 
dqb24

dqb24

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Nov 4, 2011
49
Quintessence Hunter 34 Annapolis, MD
OK - here's an idea for a better mousetrap. Instead of trying to glue, mechanical means seems better and a given/known.
Use an inspection plate with a backing ring that fits inside the tank that you can screw into or throughbolt to, - essentially clamping over your newly cut hole.
If you need bigger, fit a bigger plate with an inspection porthole in it somewhere - your inspection port hole allows you to get a hand inside to fit any backing hardware inside the tank.
Availalble from any Vetus distributor - part number WTIKIT - comes with an inspection plate (white), foam gasket (light gray with a center punchout), and specially notched backing ring (dark gray) to allow you to sneak it through a smaller hole. Clever Dutch...
Here's some pics that explain better...
Hope this helps.
Dave
 

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Ralph Johnstone

Ralph Johnstone

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Jan 4, 2006
7,150
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
My Thanks to All of You ...........................

.............. who contributed your ideas and experiences. I certainly can't say you've made it easy but somewhere in there is the information I need to install this plate on the water tank.

On the one hand we have mechanical attachments which we can envision how they will attach to the tank, albeit not too easily in some cases.

Next, we have thermal welding which has been the industry standard for years but will require considerable skills for this single job.

Finally, we have chemical means of attachment. However, we also have numerous contributors along with authoritative reports which say that polyethylene cannot be glued. :naughty: However, when 3M says that they have the means to glue poly to poly, one has got to sit up and take notice. 3M has a reputation to uphold and is not (I don't believe) given to reckless boasts. At least I'm a little more inclined to believe 3M rather than Mr. Sticky. Hell, I don't even want my kids sitting next to someone called Mr. Sticky ...... and they're both grown men. :eek:

I have to proceed with this winter attachment project by one means or another as it is needed to "completely" drain the water tank and its attached hose. I will post here again (for those who are interested) as to what kind of success I had with whatever seems to work well. For those who are uninterested, you're welcome to use the post as a sleeping aid.
 
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pogo2

pogo2

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Sep 26, 2008
97
Newport 30 Mklll North Tonawanda, NY
G -flex from west marine $ 19.00 I've used it to make rain barrels, fix dockboxes, lawn furniture, kyacks. great stuff try it. you can mix it with a filler and fill in holes or make a paste out of it.
 
Peggie Hall HeadMistress

Peggie Hall HeadMistress

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Dec 2, 1997
8,913
- - LIttle Rock
I have to proceed with this winter attachment project by one means or another as it is needed to "completely" drain the water tank and its attached hose.

In that case, why not just install a Beckson 4" inspection port? Google "Beckson Inspection Plates" to see a whole bunch of sources and prices. Do NOT let the name "DECK plate" mislead you into thinking that's the only use for 'em...if you go to the Beckson website you'll see that they're also used for tank inspection ports. The Ronco Plastics catalog shows a full selection of 'em http://www.ronco-plastics.com/newRonco/categories.php?catID=6 but you can find 'em elsewhere for less.

And once again, your tank IS thick enough!
 
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