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Anthony Whitesell
12-21-2011, 7:39 PM
I have a plastic tank. I believe it is HDPE, but I'm not sure (it feels like a heavy weight milk jug to me). The tank has a crack and I need to repair it. It holds only water, nothing solvent-like. I've tried 2-part epoxy, magnum steel weld, and JB weld. Each only stuck to the tank for a few months before peeling off in a single sheet.
Any suggestions or methods are appreciated.

Anthony
Dan Friedrichs
12-21-2011, 8:09 PM
Very little will bond to HDPE. Your best choice might be to plastic weld it. In the past, I've been able to make very strong joints in HDPE material using hot glue. The glue gets hot enough to slightly melt the HDPE, creating a pseudo-weld.
Joe Pelonio
12-21-2011, 9:43 PM
Very little will bond to HDPE. Your best choice might be to plastic weld it. In the past, I've been able to make very strong joints in HDPE material using hot glue. The glue gets hot enough to slightly melt the HDPE, creating a pseudo-weld.
That's a good solution. It's formulated so as not to have things stick to it (including glues). A soldering gun works but you can easily overdo it quickly and end up with a big hole instead of fixing it.
Matt Meiser
12-21-2011, 10:28 PM
It might be worth trying a plastic gas tank repair kit.
http://www.amazon.com/CarGo-6522K-QuikSteel-Plastic-Repair/dp/B0002JMCJG
Bryan Morgan
12-22-2011, 1:28 AM
Did you try the baking soda and CA glue trick?
Anthony Whitesell
12-22-2011, 8:02 AM
Did you try the baking soda and CA glue trick?

Nope. Never heard of it. What's the trick?
Bryan Morgan
12-23-2011, 2:01 AM
Nope. Never heard of it. What's the trick?

Its something I learned from my motorcycle riding friends. They use it to repair the plastic parts on their bikes when they crash. Make a little line of CA glue along the crack or whatever you need to repair and apply baking soda all over it. It pretty much hardens instantly. It gets kind of hot so be careful. You can sand or file it once the crack is repaired. Works great for mending all kinds of plastic stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnqG-fihKyQ
Rick Potter
12-23-2011, 2:56 AM
A 2X4 was kicked up by the wheels on my travel trailer years ago, and put a crack that looked just like the end of a 2X4 in my holding tank. About a 1/4" gap. I fixed it alongside the road with some silicone I had in a tube. I want to say it was shoe goo, but it's been a long time. It was still there when I sold the trailer several years later. I don't know what kind of plastic the tank was made of.

Rick Potter