How to make a plastic barrel watertight?

[teakdesk]

They had small drainage holes in the bottom originally.

So - can anyone recommend a permanent way of blocking these little holes up?

How small?

If reasonably small you can just screw a screw into them from the bottom. OR a small bolt.

The plastic will allow a thread to be cut easily and will self-seal.

[bario1]

Genius! I would say the holes are about 5mm though, they would have to be big screws.

[teakdesk]

A bag of short M6 machine screws will be spot on if holes are about 5mm!


Like this http://www.screwfix.com/p/rawlplug-b...ck-of-25/72139

[starloc]

You can get adhesives that would do it such as Universal glue bond adhesive repair pack metal all plastics ptfe polyethylene polypropylene silicone , it has a primer to maie it bond plastics such as HDPE , but also a filler to fill gaps

But for something like this.....

I would use bolts in the holes, if they still leak, use washers on them and a bit of rubber sheet on one side , so the rubber washer gets squashed and will never leak

[Noosner]

Bario, I had a similar problem earlier in the summer and put two plastic bin bags, the strong green sort, one inside the other inside my butt (ooh missus!) It has worked just fine and only cost a matter of pence. But my water butt is really a dustbin and that's why the bin bags fit. If yours is a proper one it might not work.

[Potstubsdustbins]

With Teakdesk and Starloc on this one. Short M6 nuts and bolts but add a 1/2" rubber tap washer and metal washer on the inside to form a seal and a metal washer on the outside to stop the bolt pulling through the plastic.

Working from the bolt head inside the butt metal washer first, then rubber washer, then through the butt, next metal washer, finally nut. Its a repair we use on plastic cold water storage tanks.