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Fixing poly tank

F

fixerupper

Well-known Member
I have a 1500 gallon horizontal poly tank that has a 4" crack in a rounded lower corner from an impact of some sort. Got it from a neighbor and plan to put it in a barge wagon and pull it around to water trees. Looked in the YT archives and fiberglass patch seems to be the favorite remedy.

I mentioned this to a body shop man yesterday and he suggested using a 3M product called 8115. It's a two part epoxy that comes in a double barrel container and is put in a special gun that he will lend to me. He said he uses fiberglass window screen for re-inforcement instead of fiberglass cloth and it works well on plastic bumpers.

Has anyone here used this stuff? I got the 8115 at the local auto parts store and it cost somewhere around $36 if memory serves me right. The guy at the parts store claims it's stronger than fiberglass. Looks like either way it won't cost me a whole lot of money. Thanks. Jim
 
We have a guy from around Omaha Neb. come out and plastic weld our cracked tanks. You might check with a local co op and see if they know of anybody in case the 8115 doesn't work. He vees out the crack just like you would weld metal. Never seen it myself but its probably 8115. chris
 
Plastic welding is the best way to fix it. It melts everything together and adds reinforcement material. Anything else is just a patch that may or may not last.
 
"May or may not last" are the words going through my mind too. From previous experience it's hard to get anything to stick to polly.

Just finished sanding with the DA and 80 grit to get the tank ground down to clean material, then hand sanded with 80 to rough it up. While I was inside the tank I found a second crack in about the same spot. Looks like someone backed the tank into something. I could see the cracks much better when I was inside the dark tank with the light shining through from the outside. Almost like looking at a magnafluxed engine part. The rest of the tank looks good.

Body man gave me a spray can of bonding enhancer to spray on and wipe off right before application on 8115. The gun is a double barreled caulking gun. Haven't paid for this tank yet, and when I do it won't be much. A new one is $1600. Jim
 
I'd see if someone that sells the tanks does welding repairs to them. I bought a 2000 gallon tank and the place also does welding repairs. They said some tanks are a lot better than others but as far as fixing them, welding is the way to go.
 
fiberglass or epoxy will not stick for long. Really, nothing will stick to poly. The only true way to fix it is to plastic weld it. Once you fill it and it flexes slightly when moving your patch will pop loose.
 
Plastic welding is an option if the plastic was not crosslinked. It it was crosslinked plastic welding is not an option.

Can you bend a piece of ss sheetmetal drill and through bolt a splice on both sides? Some non-hardening sealer and you would be all set.

Epoxy will not be a permanent repair. A last ditch shot would be to take a dremal tool and route through the crack and use an epoxy bridge. Any flexing and I am afraid it would loosen.

Another thought would be to stitch reinforce with bolts and washers on both sides with a non hardening guppy of some sort, Silkaflex product maybe.

Be extremely careful with fumes and vapors inside the tank. Rig up a fan rent or borrow (Fire Dept) an air meter.
 
Well I did the epoxy patch and it's sitting there curing. It's just gotta hold for this summer. I started narrow and feathered the patch out to about 6" wide with the third layer of fiberglass screen, both inside and out. If it does pop off, that means it will be easy to remove so I can have it fixed the proper way IF I plan to keep this thing. It's only going to hold water, no chemicals so if the patch fails I won't have a disaster on my hands. Thanks for the suggestions. Jim
 
Harbor freight has plastic welding hot air guns for under 30.00. That will be a perminate repair. Just don't get the plastic too hot. The guns are good for repairing batteries, which I am going to do as I cracked a battert today. stan
 
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