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13-01-2013, 05:54
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#16
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: New Orleans
Boat: Bruce Roberts 44 Ofshore
Posts: 2,841
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane.Joy
Thanks to everyone for your ideas. We haven't found anyplace here in Cartagena that sells 5 or 6 gallon jerry jugs, but when we get to Panama we will definitely buy a couple new ones, along with the magic stuff that MarkJ suggests, which is sure to come in handy down the line. In the meantime, we did try the fishing line idea. here is our advice, based on our experience. First of all. Try not to drop hot melted fishing line on your leg. And if you do, don't panic and use a bare finger to GET IT OFF GET IT OFF! Then, DON'T get into a blazing row with the love-of-your-life about appropriate first aid procedures for second-degree burns. That's the preliminary stuff. Now. We heated the corner of the jug just a bit too long, so we actually made the hairline crack a bit wider, before we started sealing it with the melted fishing line - which is really hot stuff, just so you know. We thought we sealed it pretty well, and then after it was set we covered it with duct tape, because duct tape should be part of ANY repair, don't you think? But alas, the jerry jug is still dripping, although it is a slower drip than it was before. I suspect that if we did another round with the fishing line we COULD actually stop the leak, but for the sake of marital harmony, we're going to call it "good enough." We will keep using it to haul water until we get to Panama.
The other thing is: it's clear that the crack was due to the constant wear of hauling to jerry jug in and out of the dinghy, so now we're wondering if we should cover the corners to prevent chafing - like with DUCT TAPE, maybe? Or if anyone has any idea about how to prevent the corners from getting excessive wear, we would appreciate it.
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Yeah I forgot to mention it would probably be uncomfortable, the melted nylon, on bare skin. First aid would be a very cold beer. Quickly apply the cold unopened beer to the burn. Then drink the beer.
Got fiberglass? A layer of matt all around would give it some protection. A patch won't work. The resin won't bond securely to the plastic. It will peel off. So an all-over fiberglassing would be necessary. If you fiberglass it, you could make "feet" out of red-hand.
You could try making corner bumpers with that spray in place polyurethane foam in a can stuff. Or the liquid electrical tape vinyl stuff.
Duct tape? That would look pretty nautical. How are you at basketweaving or macrame?
I am betting another round of molten monofilament will gitter done. You can always slap on a piece of duct tape when you are finished.
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13-01-2013, 06:30
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#17
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 406
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheechako
This always works: go to the store, buy a new one the same color. Carefully remove the old one you have from the boat, being careful not to damage anything. Now take the new one and put it exactly where the old one was. Mix a big batch of Rum and Cokes and drink throughout the evening admiring your work. The next day you wont remember you had a bad jug!
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X2....I have done plastic welding trust me replace it.
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13-01-2013, 07:32
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#18
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Catskill Mountains when not cruising
Boat: 31' homebuilt Michalak-designed Cormorant "Sea Fever"
Posts: 2,114
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane.Joy
...here is our advice, based on our experience. First of all. Try not to drop hot melted fishing line on your leg. And if you do, don't panic and use a bare finger to GET IT OFF GET IT OFF! Then, DON'T get into a blazing row with the love-of-your-life about appropriate first aid procedures for second-degree burns. That's the preliminary stuff.
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This made me laugh out loud. Reminds me of one of my favorite P.G. Wodehouse moments:
"Every young man starting life should know how to cope with an angry swan, so I will briefly relate the proper procedure. You begin by picking up the raincoat which somebody has dropped; and then, judging the distance to a nicety, you simply shove the raincoat over the bird's head; and, taking the boat-hook which you have prudently brought with you, you insert it under the swan and heave. [...] That was Jeeves's method, and I cannot see how it could be improved upon."
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13-01-2013, 07:34
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#19
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: New Orleans
Boat: Bruce Roberts 44 Ofshore
Posts: 2,841
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
BTW I see there is a Carrefour in Cartagena Spain and also in Cartagena Colombia and I assume you are in one or the other. I bet Carrefour has something you can use. They are basically the French Walmart but they are all over the world. I have been in Carrefours in Dubai, Bahrain, Brazil, China, and Argentina. They are everywhere. Even Tahiti has a Carrefour. I would be surprised if your nearby Carrefour doesn't have something you can use for a water jug.
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13-01-2013, 09:53
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#20
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Vancouver, BC
Boat: Alberg 30
Posts: 358
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane.Joy
The other thing is: it's clear that the crack was due to the constant wear of hauling to jerry jug in and out of the dinghy, so now we're wondering if we should cover the corners to prevent chafing - like with DUCT TAPE, maybe? Or if anyone has any idea about how to prevent the corners from getting excessive wear, we would appreciate it.
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A bag a bit bigger than the jug might help, or plastic strips. Nothing fun about layer upon layer of duct tape. There'd be the tape's glue stuck to everything eventually.
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19-01-2013, 19:17
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#21
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2008
Location: daytona beach florida
Boat: csy 37
Posts: 2,976
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
i have three 6 gallon water jugs made by rubbermaid. real high quality stuff and probably not available anymore. must be 15+ years old.
they have raised 'legs' on the four corners of the bottom. two of them began developing leaks on the 'legs', probably from years of scuffing on deck.
i tried the burning plastic route but never got it to work. when i got back to the states i came across this stuff in a home depot.
J-B WaterWeld | Specially Formulated Epoxy Putty
it works. plain and simple. leaves a hard epoxy like surface over the leak. i'm going to put this stuff on all four legs of each jug to act as a sort of scuff pad.
looking at the jb website, i notice they now show a plastic weld. i have zero experience with it but may give it a try to see what it can fix...
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19-01-2013, 20:12
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#22
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 95
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane.Joy
it's at a corner!
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Ever considered storing it ( laying it on its side or top) with that corner to the top?
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19-01-2013, 20:25
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#23
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Punta De Mita
Boat: Vagabond 39 Hull # 1
Posts: 1,842
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Now I'm not too big on rules and I test the limits of pretty much everything. I don't wear safety glasses when grinding. I'll smoke around gasoline. I've gone off of the race track at over 100 MPH so many times I'll never know how many, but I'm quite sure that I'd never put a butane flame on a fuel can.
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19-01-2013, 21:19
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#24
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2008
Location: daytona beach florida
Boat: csy 37
Posts: 2,976
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
sww914 -
not to worry. we're talking water jugs here....
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20-01-2013, 06:56
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#25
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Punta De Mita
Boat: Vagabond 39 Hull # 1
Posts: 1,842
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Well, I made quite an assumption there, didn't I?
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20-01-2013, 12:43
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#26
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Panama
Boat: 42' Fountaine Pajot Venezia
Posts: 293
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgbrown
Nothing fun about layer upon layer of duct tape. There'd be the tape's glue stuck to everything eventually.
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Aaahhh. The DARK side of duct tape - you're right.
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20-01-2013, 12:48
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#27
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Panama
Boat: 42' Fountaine Pajot Venezia
Posts: 293
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Outwest34au
Ever considered storing it ( laying it on its side or top) with that corner to the top?
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Well, it's the bottom corner, so upside down or on its side would mean that the cap... oh wait, didn't I mention that the cap leaks like crazy? Seriously, we're getting new jerry jugs, as so many of you recommended. This is just a temporary fix - not to store water during a passage but to get it from nasty Club Nautico to our boat via dinghy.
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20-01-2013, 12:54
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#28
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Panama
Boat: 42' Fountaine Pajot Venezia
Posts: 293
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tamicatana
well, you could sew covers of Sunbrella or the like for the jugs, because I'd bet that part of the problem may be UV degradation... and the covers would look oh-so-salty ;-)
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Well, SOMEONE could sew covers - we actually have some left over sunbrella from a recent bimini project so when we get the new jugs I think this is what we'll do - maybe make a "bag" instead of just a cover, to protect the corners from wear as well as UV? But I suppose the bottom of the bag would get nasty... maybe make the bottom out of something that cushions but drains....
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20-01-2013, 13:27
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#29
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Yuma Island
Posts: 1,579
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane.Joy
maybe make the bottom out of something that cushions but drains....
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Yeah, you can make drawstring bags with bottoms of Phifertex, oughta work
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20-01-2013, 14:57
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#30
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Panama
Boat: 42' Fountaine Pajot Venezia
Posts: 293
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Re: How can I patch a leaking jerry jug?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tamicatana
Yeah, you can make drawstring bags with bottoms of Phifertex, oughta work
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What the hell is Phifertex???? Wait ....
[Google Phifertex] - thank you !
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