Portable tote tank crack repair?

[chriscowles]

My Rhino 28 gallon has a crack right below the top 4" connection. The cap definitely is not leaking. What can I use to repair the crack?

[Bob K4TAX]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

My Rhino 28 gallon has a crack right below the top 4" connection. The cap definitely is not leaking. What can I use to repair the crack?Attachment 291851

Credit card at Camping World or e-trailer or such.

Bob

[Trobec]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

My Rhino 28 gallon has a crack right below the top 4" connection. The cap definitely is not leaking. What can I use to repair the crack?Attachment 291851

You can give this a try

Blue Magic 16502 QuikSteel Plastic Repair Blister Card - 2 oz. https://a.co/d/3uuoQL9

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by Trobec

You can give this a try

Blue Magic 16502 QuikSteel Plastic Repair Blister Card - 2 oz. https://a.co/d/3uuoQL9

I'll try that. Although I'd rather not in, I can do the repair from inside the tank, since the crack is so close to the 4" drain.

Should I drill small holes at each end of the crack to inhibit extension?

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

Credit card at Camping World or e-trailer or such.



Bob

Never thought of that.

[18LT]

You can try drilling stop holes. We’ve done it forever on aircraft, although I always installed a doubler under the crack.
My worry on repairing your tote is the amount of flex they endure. I’d suggest doing the repair and trying it by filling it with fresh water. Maybe pull it behind your vehicle to simulate the slow trip to the dump station.
I’ve been looking at a larger one to replace our old (2009) 15 gallon tote. Has your 28 worked pretty good for the size of your tanks?

[Q-Tip]

Jb weld has a new 2 part epoxy out. It's good stuff. MarineTex is the old standby.

[Aussieguy]

send the picture to Rhino looks like a thin weak point manufacturing defect.
can't hurt to try and be nice!

tote is not meant for storage and is not pressurized
so some of that gorilla or gutter tape .... on top of any glue type repairs may be good insurance.

[JimM2109S]

Just came across this post and hope this information helps. I always store my 28 gallon tote tank under the camper to keep it out of the suns damaging UV rays. On my last camping trip in a hurry to pull the camper out for loading, I forgot the tank was under the camper and dragged the suspension across the top of it. The result besides damaging the ridge on a cap and a keeper button on one of the vents was a slice that just barely made it into the tank body.

I considered the JB Weld product, but did not think it would be a permanent fix. The credit card idea was considered an expensive last resort. I purchased on Amazon a plastic welding kit, basically a fancy soldering / wood burning pencil with a shoe type tip. The kit included some plastic welding rods.

I was able to effect the repair shown in the picture below. It may not be pretty, but the repair is holding. It was tested with fresh water in the tank being sloshed around as well as a full fill.

With an attitude that I could always replace it, I took on the project and think the repairs went well. (And my tote tank is not something I show when I am proudly showing people my camper.). There are several videos on YouTube that can provide guidance.

[2dogs]

Repaired one with Eternabond on both sides of the crack.

[chriscowles]

References to Eternabond and Gorilla tape made me think about that approach. Because I can reach the crack from the inside and because there is little or no structural gap, I think I can just seal it from the inside with a wide margin around the crack. That's the least invasive/least effort approach and I have the materials on hand. I'll try that first and report the results.

[Srockey]

I would say that material is pretty close to kayak material. I have repaired kayas with this method. Works great, and is very strong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T8SPaZxRrk&t=100s

[Larry-NC]

It's just HDPE. Folks have reported repairing HDPE by cleaning the surface and melting a scrap from something else (storage tub, garbage can, etc.) onto it. You could use a heat gun or the hot tool described above.

Easy to tell that you have the right material. Both the sewage tote and the patch material should have recycling symbol 2 ("2" inside a triangle with arrows at the edges).

[tugboat369]

I have repaired my kayak with a plastic weld kit from Harbor Freight. Have used it in coolers and other stuff also.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by tugboat369

I have repaired my kayak with a plastic weld kit from Harbor Freight. Have used it in coolers and other stuff also.

Pretty sure that's a hot air nozzle with sticks of HDPE. IIRC they offer sticks of different types and you buy the ones you need.

[NJKris]

Watching outcome of this with interest. I have the same Rhino cart which has been great, no cracks yet. The only problem I've had with this cart is all the crappy retaining straps on the caps have all broke.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

send the picture to Rhino looks like a thin weak point manufacturing defect. can't hurt to try and be nice! ...

I'll try that approach but am traveling until mid-September, making that impractical. Because I may need to use it in the meantime, I'll pass on anything that changes it permanently like heat guns or drilling stop holes until I find out if Camco will do anything for me. If not, and if my tape repair isn't satisfactory, I'll try more aggresive approaches.

Although the crack is near the drain opening, I'll have to repair it from the outside if using taking the weld/melted plastic approach. I think a simple seal using tape on the inside should be sufficient. I'll have to clean the surface well before adhering the tape. While that may be unpleasant, it shouldn't be difficult.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by 18LT

... I’ve been looking at a larger one to replace our old (2009) 15 gallon tote. Has your 28 worked pretty good for the size of your tanks?

Sorry I didn't respond earlier. Yes.

My gray and black tanks are 30 gallons each. I usually don't drain the black tank because we don't stay long enough in one place that it becomes necessary. Not wanting to test the inaccuracy of the tank level indicators by flooding the shower, I'm able to drain the gray tank completely when I empty it into the tote tank.

I bought a 28 gallon tank specifically because it's the smallest one that has a side valve. Where necessary or helpful, I load the tank in the bed of the truck, just inside the tailgate, with the valve facing out. I use a macerator pump to drain the trailer tank into the tote tank, then drive to the dump station.

That approach also avoids having to haul a 250# tank up a slope or around obstructions to hitch it to the truck for the trip to the dump station. Also, depending on where I'm camping, that may be 0.1 miles at idle speed or 10 miles at highway speeds.

Credit to @TitanMike for describing this approach.

Edit: I dump the tank using the side valve without moving it out of the bed. If I'm dumping at home, I use the macerator to pump it into my sewer cleanout.

[NJKris]

Macerator Mike!

[gw1800]

Very few adhesives or epoxies will stick long term to HDPE. I mix epoxy on pieces of milk bottles, HDPE, and it easily comes off when cured. A plastic welder with HDPE sticks is about the only thing to make permanent repair. Eternabond will work but has no structural integrity.