Repairing a poly water tank on a 2002 hunter passage
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Because there is no sealant that will bond permanently to PE, there's only one way to mend a PE tanK: heat welding, which isn't as simple as just squirting melted PE into the crack or hole, requires some skill, and depending on the location of a crack, still may not be successful in permanently sealing a crack , though it should seal a hole if done correctly.
There are almost certain to be plastics fabricators in your area who could do it for a very reasonable price if you can remove the tank and take it to them...I recommend you find one instead of trying to do this yourself.
Fwiw, Hunter's OEM supplier was/is Duraweld in FL...their standard wall thickness in only 1/4", which needs to be supported on all sides to support the 8 lbs/gal that water and weigh.
--Peggie
There are almost certain to be plastics fabricators in your area who could do it for a very reasonable price if you can remove the tank and take it to them...I recommend you find one instead of trying to do this yourself.
Fwiw, Hunter's OEM supplier was/is Duraweld in FL...their standard wall thickness in only 1/4", which needs to be supported on all sides to support the 8 lbs/gal that water and weigh.
--Peggie
I tried welding a tank on my previous H34.
Held about a year or two. Of course I did it as a temporary fix with a soldering iron which I'm sure is not right. A professional with the right equiptment and experience will be the better way to go as Peggy mentioned.
Held about a year or two. Of course I did it as a temporary fix with a soldering iron which I'm sure is not right. A professional with the right equiptment and experience will be the better way to go as Peggy mentioned.
You might try G/flex epoxy. I’ve bonded pieces of polyethylene with it and it seems pretty strong.
epoxycraft.com
Using WEST SYSTEM G/flex to bond plastics securely
WEST SYSTEM G/flex Epoxy can help to create strong and resilient bonds between plastics.
epoxycraft.com
"Plastics" is a generic term that covers a whole bunch of man-made materials, including nylon, marelon, PVC, polypropylene and two types of polyethylene, among others. What works to bond one type of plastic or even one type to another type, will not necessarily work permanently on others. PE is the only one I know of to which NO sealant will bond permanently because it's a very oily plastic. It'll keep two pieces together for a while, but how long depends on what's being mended and how much stress is being applied to the bond. Water and waste weigh 8.333 lbs/gal, putting an increasing amount of stress on any sealant in a crack in a wall of a PE water or waste tank, as it tries to reopen it.
Heat sealing is the only permanent fix because both sides of the crack are melted--quite a bit in fact-- and new melted PE is mixed with them, creating a new single mass. (This is an over-simplification of the process, btw) The skill in doing it is in knowing how much of the old PE to melt and how much new to blend with it. The process is necessary to install install female tank fittings in a PE tank...except that this is done using a "spin welder" that heats the edges of the hole the right amount and injects new PE at the same time.
To repeat my advice: call a pro. And count your blessings that it's a water tank, not a waste holding tank few if any shops will touch a used waste tank.
--Peggie
Heat sealing is the only permanent fix because both sides of the crack are melted--quite a bit in fact-- and new melted PE is mixed with them, creating a new single mass. (This is an over-simplification of the process, btw) The skill in doing it is in knowing how much of the old PE to melt and how much new to blend with it. The process is necessary to install install female tank fittings in a PE tank...except that this is done using a "spin welder" that heats the edges of the hole the right amount and injects new PE at the same time.
To repeat my advice: call a pro. And count your blessings that it's a water tank, not a waste holding tank few if any shops will touch a used waste tank.
--Peggie
Thanks..as it turned out I got the tank out and inspected it no leaks..leak was in the pex line from tank to manifold..running under floorboards