bondic on poly tank

[mark kosse]

Anyone use it? Not just on a poly tank, but anywhere. I know nothing about it.

I have a polyethylene tank with a few cracks I need to repair and was wondering if this would work. The cracks are high on the tank and my options as I see them are bondic, 3M 5200 or heat weld. I'm thinking heat weld has a learning curve I don't want to try on this tank. 3M 5200, well, is there anything it wont work on?

Opinions?

[Tom M King]

I have used 3M DP100 with great success on plastic tanks. The fuel tank on a generator has been holding for a number of years now. I can't even remember how many. Also, the nose cap on the John Deere, and a 40 gallon sprayer tank. I've never had it fail on anything. It comes in the little duo tubes, and uses a disposable mixing nozzle. You can squeeze out a very controllable little bead, but it takes a special gun. My gun came from Golfworks. It's not exactly cheap, but if you want to save a tank, that's my first choice.

Wedge the crack open, and get some inside the crack.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Scotch-Weld-Epoxy-Adhesive-DP100/dp/B0074N8HS8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=3m+dp100&qid=1564683102&s=gateway&sr=8-1

[mark kosse]

thanks Tom, This is on a 60 gallon boom but like I said, the cracks are high. Doing research I'll probably get some of this.

I's still like to know if any has any experience with bondic. Everyone at work gets sent to me for repairs. I'm wondering if it might be something good to have.

[Tom M King]

I had to look it up, since I'd never heard of it before. It looks promising. UV cured adhesives in dentistry do amazing things. Still, since I have something that I know works, and works well, I'll be sticking with it.

One of the rear fenders on my dually has been stuck together with iDP100, for over 10 years. The rear fenders are plastic. I backed into a wheelbarrow handle, and it made a tear about 3 feet long. I glued it back together with a tiny bead of DP100, and no one has ever said anything about noticing it.

[Tom M King]

Here's the gun I use. I see it has a two star review now, but I've had mine for over a decade, and it still works just fine. I bought it because it was the cheapest one I could find, and see no reason to pay $60 for something used so rarely. I have good confidence in 3M products, and use several types of the DP duo cartridges.
https://www.golfworks.com/the-golfworks-epoxy-cartridge-gun/p/esg2/

[mark kosse]

I backed into a wheelbarrow handle, and it made a tear about 3 feet long. I glued it back together with a tiny bead of DP100, and no one has ever said anything about noticing it.

I imagine we'd get along just fine. :rolleyes:

[Steve Eure]

As a retired farmer I would never risk welding a poly tank. I had a 2500 gal. tank with a small crack in it. I had a "professional" weld it for me. When I started to fill it up, and the liquid nitrogen got to the full mark, the tank started to leak like 5 fingers spraying out where he had welded. I tried to connect my siphon rig to it to suck out what I could and relieve the pressure. Too late. It exploded over me, soaking me in liquid nitrogen. Lost a lot of money that day. I swore I'd never have that done again. Those tanks have UV inhibitors in the plastic, but aren't made to last forever.

[Tom M King]

I fixed a small leak in this tank so long ago, with DP100, that I can't even remember where the repair is. It's only 40 gallons though.

[Jeff Body]

I've tried Bondic a few times and haven't been very impressed.
Last thing I used it on was the tab of the TV remote. My son decided he didn't like it and broke it off. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to use it.
It didn't hold
I personally wouldn't trust it on a tank filled with liquid.

[Frank Pratt]

The only consistently reliable way to mend polyethylene tanks is by plastic welding and if done properly will be as strong as the tank itself. Other adhesives can work if there is proper surface prep with lots of tooth for the glue to hang on to.

[Kev Williams]

Problem is nothing sticks to poly. UV cured stuff is great, but not if it won't stick! ;)

So- about 10 years ago the roof on our houseboat starts leaking, the roof is plywood capped with a thin layer of fiberglass, which developed some cracks...after repairing the wood beneath I picked a 10'x12' piece of black EPDM rubber which was a perfect fit for the 12' wide roof. I asked the roofing guy what to glue it down with, he had no idea. Stabbing in the dark I bought some of this PL 3X--
413601
--and ran a bead of it under and around the edge of the rubber and squished it into a seam. This part of the roof is always exposed to the weather, and the adhesive still bonded to both the floor and rubber, hasn't cracked, and is still fairly flexible. And the roof still doesn't leak!

Around the same time I found the poly RV water tank in the basement of the houseboat was leaking at the bottom pipe fitting, the weld had broken away. I gooped some PL 3X around the fitting, and it's never leaked. I'm sure I could easily pry it off if I wanted to, but it is stuck well enough that it works...

[Marc Jeske]

"Those tanks have UV inhibitors in the plastic, but aren't made to last forever."

Why are there cracks ?

Physical damage, or is the plastic degrading?

If so, anything short of replacement will literally be a band aid fix and potentially continue a dangerous situation.

Side note - AFAIK polyethylene needs to have pigment to be UV resistant.

The common "Clear" milky ones AFAIK last much shorter life in sun exposure than pigmented, especially black.

Marc

[Marc Jeske]

Before any "fixing" I would test the tank by hammer beating on the cracks to see if they grow.

Any decent condition poly will totally allow that.

If the cracks grow, get rid of it obviously.

Marc

[Tom M King]

I wonder why mine are still holding. I do park that one on the mower deck in shed, out of direct sunlight. I decided I'd try the DP100, and get replacements when they played out. That was enough years ago that I don't remember exactly how many.

The black fuel tank on the generator started leaking around one of the bolt holes, which are low on the tank. I needed it for use after a hurricane-Isabel. There was not time to order a replacement tank. I did set it well away from the house. After that use, I built a stand so I could slide it in, and out of my truck by myself. I used to run it in the back of a pickup, but decided, with the fix, that I didn't want it running in the truck with a possibility of gas leaking down on the running generator. It's been several years since I used it, but we're using it now on a job saving a falling 1798 Chimney.