Plastic Water Tank Cracked! How do I fix it?

[HopCar]

Buy a new tank from here: https://ronco-plastics.com/product-category/boat-tanks/
Or
Buy a tank liner from here: http://www.atlinc.com/

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by jen1722terry

Coincidentally, Practical Sailor had an article on repairing plastic water tanks some years ago. Sadly, the issue is at our other home in New Hampshire and we're now in Maine. You should be able to call them and ask for the back issue or maybe they'll just email the article for a small fee.

Here's the article. That's the lovely thing about Practical Sailor; their articles are accessible!

Repairing Plastic Water Tanks
https://www.practical-sailor.com/blo...ic-water-tanks

(If it were me, though, I'd replace it. I'm in the same camp as Jammer, gonesail and flyingfin - and, of course, Peggie who-is-the-Queen!)

LittleWing77

[dreuge]

Originally Posted by Rickdowe2

I called the manufacturer of the tank and it was determined it was LDPE. I Bought the rod from Grainger. I also bought a wire sieve,make sure it is stainless, from the local grocery store.

You can also get 316SS wire mesh/sieve from Grainger too. I include the Grainger number on my repair post as noted in the link I gave above.

[mikebikeboy]

I got the tank out of the boat and inspected it again. There's a 2-foot long hairline fracture along the bottom that has not yet sprung a leak but it is surely going to fail someday. I'm now thinking along the lines of buying a new tank.

I spoke to Ronco Plastics and they don't do custom tank sizes, then I visited my local stainless steel welder and he said it would cost $1,500 to make a SS tank replica (one third the cost of my boat)

I found a manufacturer called Tek-Tanks but unfortunately for me, they are in the UK

Anyone know of a reasonable tank builder in the USA who will do custom fits / sizes for a fair price? Seems like this oughta be easier.

[Rickdowe2]

Try,Triple 'M' Plastics, they are located in Maine. One person on the Morgan website had one made and was impressed.

Still I would think someone in your state would repair a tank.

[mikebikeboy]

Originally Posted by Rickdowe2

Try,Triple 'M' Plastics, they are located in Maine. One person on the Morgan website had one made and was impressed.

Still I would think someone in your state would repair a tank.

Thanks, I think that's exactly the kind of company I want to work with. They say to send in the old tank and they replicate it. Perfect.

[JPA Cate]

.....Maybe they'll give you a little discount if you let them do both tanks? [Often, when one is ready to go, the other, the same age, also is... true of lots of things.]

Ann

[mikebikeboy]

Triple "M" Plastics just quoted me $5,200 to make the small 24 gallon tank. Thats more than my entire boat costed.

Is this rocket science or is there really nobody out there that can make a plastic water tank for a reasonable price. Wow.

[mikebikeboy]

Ok I think I understand the high cost is because in order to replicate my tank they have to spend a bunch of time building a mold.

So, I believe I'll return to Ronco Plastics, try and find one of their tanks that almost fits my space, and just make it work.

[mikebikeboy]

I apologize, it was Tank Mart who quoted the above $5,200. I'm still waiting on the quote from Triple "M"

[Pete7]

If no one can come up with better quote for you, how about having a GRP one made? Don't go down the marine path but try someone who makes fishponds or storage tanks. After all you already have the perfect mould for them to work from.

Pete

[mikebikeboy]

Pete7 that is a great idea. Actually it got me thinking, what if I made my own tank with fiberglass. I could lay glass on the outside of my existing tank, maybe just 1 or 2 layers, to get the shape. Then remove the old tank and thicken up the mold on the inside with more layers of glass.

What I'm wondering is how to coat the inside of the tank so it's safe to hold drinking water?

[mikebikeboy]

As this thread progresses, and I've explored different avenues, I stumbled upon some people who've made integral tanks directly into the hull. I am now thinking this is my best option, both financially and will end up increasing my water storage capacity rather than decreasing it, which would happen if I bought a commercial tank and forced it to fit the space. I'm looking at Atom Voyages page about it here, it doesn't seem that hard to accomplish:

https://atomvoyages.com/integral-wat...-construction/

It also makes sense to do this, as the liner in my boat that cradled the old tank created much wasted space, many empty voids doing nothing back there. Following this route I'll also get a new large storage locker in the area directly aft of the chain locker.