leaks in caravan water tanks

mariner · Member

leaks in caravan water tanks

deadlyprincess · Veteran Member

If you have an electric soldering iron you can carefully melt the two edges together. Most tanks are around 2mm thick and greater at the seams so wont melt away. if you need filler and you have a spare blank spout then you can cut it into 3mm strips and use like sloder.

Hopes this helps

kiwijims · Guru

Hi Mariner,

As a Caravan Repairer ( Now Retired ) I have repaired many water tanks in my time,

In so doing, there are a few things to watch out for,

1/ use a good Soldering Iron that will retain heat for some time,

2/ as a hole filler I used strips of Black Poly reticulation pipe, this being very compatible to the poly used in the Tanks.

3/ when melting the area to be filled, be careful you don't over heat the poly, a good inducation of the tempature is,... a gloss will appear on the poly when it reaches workable temp.

As soon as the gloss appears place a strip of poly piping on the Solder Iron and work it into the leaking section of the tank,

as the poly melts, work in a cicular motion from the out-side to the middle of the hole.

wait for the tank to cool then add some water checking for any further leaks

Lastly, be very careful of the Toxic fumes given off when the poly is heated, I suggest you do the repairs in a well ventilated area.

Hope this is of some use to you.

kiwijim biggrin

aussietraveller · Guru

Hi Mariner

An alternative to soldering is a product that i used on a previous van which is a two part putty that you work together that I got from Repco and i think it is designed for leaking radiators and fuel tanks it worked and was still on the van some years later when i sold it.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

The best repair is by hot air welding.
Most plastics fabricators can do this.

Cheers,
Peter

ozi2 · Guru

mariner wrote:
does anyone know of a sealer that will fix a very small leak on a join on a pvc water tank?Thanks

Hi Mariner, check out Selley's Knead It multi purpose sealer........safe to use for drinking water.

selleys.com.au

cheers

ozi2

Two Strays · Senior Member

Hello all

I had a small seam leek on our van's tank while out in the sticks. I drilled a small hole in the center of the leaking seam and using a small flat rubber washer underneath a same size metal washer and together with a generous dob of Selley's sealant, using a stainless steel or aluminum pop rivet, pop riveted the washers to the tank through the drilled hole. The pop rivet also helps to seal the leak as it expands.

It has been two years since I fixed it. No further leaks so far. touch wood. I have also fixed a car radiator using the same method.

Happy caravanning

mariner · Member

smile many thanks to all that sent advice on this subject.I followed Kiwijims advice re soldering iron & poly pipe filler & now i am a happy camper.

neilnruth · Guru

And now my hubby can take inall that advice and try and fix the leak in our tank. Thanks.