Have a great invention to help with gardening? Are you the self-reliant type that prefers Building It Yourself vs. buying it? Share and discuss your ideas and projects with other members.
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March 27, 2013 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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[leaks]
I would not try to patch one of these totes. For one thing, it would be difficult to find a patching material that will stick to it: http://www.epoxywarehouse.com/marine...ddy-epoxy.html (I would not worry about the epoxy leaching, as it becomes a hard material like glass when it sets up. Think of fiberglass on the side of a fiberglass boat.) For another thing, the plastic that the tote is made from and the patching material will expand and contract at different rates with heating and cooling. So even if it seems to seal at first, it may not stay that way. If you can completely empty and dry it first, you might be able to patch it from the inside with uncured rubber (if you can find it; web searches turned up empty the last time I looked, but a general construction supply will sometimes have it.) The water pressure will press the rubber into the crack, so it stays sealed even as the plastic expands and contracts. I have had a SWC made out of a tote leak. I cut the bottom off and converted it to a conventional container. edit: Elastomeric paint (swimming pool paint) on the inside might work, but I question how well it will adhere to the plastic. You would need a special primer. By the time you buy all of the necessary repair materials, you could have bought a new one to make a new Earthtainer from and kept the other one for a conventionally watered bottomless container.
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-- alias Last edited by dice; March 27, 2013 at 12:18 PM. Reason: Elastomeric paint info |
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