What to use to repair a cracked water butt

[dim]

gorilla glue works well

[wbmkk]

A long shot ... but as a kid my father would repair plastic footballs, by sticking a knife / flat screwdriver on the stove until it was red hot, then putting it on the plastic. The plastic would melt and fuse together.

If it was higher up the butt () the pressure would be less, but at the bottom the water pressure when full will be quite a bit.

Worth a shot anyway

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

^ My mate kinda did this with a split butt. It had a large crack. He got a square of similar type plastic and melted a patch over and into the crack - if you get my drift. Worked out very well.

[Bigmallly]

A long shot ... but as a kid my father would repair plastic footballs, by sticking a knife / flat screwdriver on the stove until it was red hot, then putting it on the plastic. The plastic would melt and fuse together.

If it was higher up the butt () the pressure would be less, but at the bottom the water pressure when full will be quite a bit.

Worth a shot anyway

See #12..............

[Compo72]

I got a cheapie butt from Aldi last year
It seemed to leak where the tap was positioned

You can get like plumbers putty . It's messy but did the job for me


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum mobile app

[wbmkk]

See #12..............

Very sorry .... I never saw that one, although I do normally read most replies before adding my own comments

[Bill HH]

I am none to hopeful when it comes to repairing plastic, the reason it cracked in the first place is probably because the plastic has become brittle and it will crack again. Melting plastic is none to successful either plus the fumes are extreemley toxic, any repair is best done from the inside and leaning in a butt whilst melting plastic could kill you. Probaly the best way would be to sandwitch the crack with bolted on metal plates and silicone sealant between them. My advice would be to grow spuds in it and buy a new one.

[Samurailord]

Are you anywhere near hamsterhead Andy ? see ... http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...els_75364.html HTH

Unfortunately not, BB.

Andy

[Samurailord]

Hi all

Thanks for all the advice, I think that I will check out the costs of some sealant, but if it will be more than the cost of a new blue barrel I may just swap the tap over to the good barrel and use the split one for long parsnips this year.

After making a few more holes in the bottom for drainage, of course

Andy

[Kerans]

Replying to this old thread since it's the top result on Google for 'cracked water butt' etc.

I used the plastic welding method to fix a cracked/split HDPE Harcostar 300L water butt, which I split at the bottom in two separate places by climbing on it.

I just used a cheap low powered 15W soldering iron - it could be easier with a better iron. Here's what you can try:

1. Empty and clean the barrel both inside and out, and scrub the splits clean.
2. Push the splits back together if you can and then leave the butt to dry in the sun for an hour.
3. Drill small holes at the ends of each of the cracks to stop them spreading (make sure you drill from both inside and out as the split may be longer on one side or the other).
4. Cut some strips of plastic about 1/4 cm wide from the top rim of the barrel to use as welding rods.
5. Cut one of the strips into plugs to fill the drill holes, with a little bit protruding.
6. Get your soldering iron hot and then melt the plugs from both sides until the drill holes are filled.
7. You'll have the climb into the butt with a head torch to do the inside - I used a length of hosepipe as a breathing tube so I didn't have to breathe in any 'orrible smoke. Regardless, take regular breaks.
8. Now solder the strips along/over the cracks, melting them and trying to heat/melt both sides of the crack as well to weld properly. I went over each side of each crack twice. You only want to do this once so take your time and do a proper job.
9. Smooth down any rough areas inside and out with the flat of the iron so you don't miss any bits.

Leave the butt for 24h before re-filling a little way waiting to check you've not left any obvious holes. Make sure the butt is on a good base with no sharp bits of wood/brick/stone etc which could re-puncture it, then allow to refill.

If all is good then your repair should hold when the water butt is full. At 300L mine is obviously very heavy when full but has had zero leaks for 6 months now.

[roitelet]

I find that a hot glue gun, and I do mean hot not one of those low temp ones, works fine. Just clean the crack and pump the hot plastic into it. I only ever do it on the outside ‘cos my arms aren’t long enough to reach inside!

[nickdub]

I've also use the melt/welding technique for repairing some plastics - in my case a chunky old screwdriver blade heated up with a blow-torch.

For those who either don't fancy this or who have a butt with a tricky to reach hole then another cheapo method I've used is a) drain the butt, b) mix up a couple of shovel fulls of cement at about 3 parts sand to 1 - c) wodge this in the bottom of the butt and leave for a few days d) warm up some bitumen and pour that in - then leave for a couple of days. This has worked fine for me on plastic and metal - I used it a few times on old metal watering cans for example.

[bario1]

For those who have a butt with a tricky to reach hole

I hope no-one stoops to making juvenile jokes about this.

[nickdub]

Hence the expression " he was the butt of the joke" I suppose :-)

[Jay-ell]

....which I split at the bottom in two separate places by climbing on it.

You weren't trying to jump over it dressed as a plumber after it was thrown from the top of a step ladder by a mate dressed in a gorilla suit?