Grey Tank Leak

[Hooligan]

Charles; The holding tanks were made by ELKHART PLASTICS, Model #306-HAB for both grey and black. Rotomolded Plastic Tanks and other Products by Indiana Rotomolding

Don't know which location, Middlebury, South Bend or Elkhart Indiana, but they should be able to help. The 306 tank is not shown on their RV tanks list. Looks like the tanks are poly but they show several compounds of polyethylene on their materials page. (Brochure shows 46 gallon for both)

Hope this helps....

BTW- I have a list that GeorgieBoy mounted inside the bedroom closet door showing all installed equipment/appliances by manufacturer/ model & serial#. Hopefully yours has not been removed..

[chasfm11]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

Charles; The holding tanks were made by ELKHART PLASTICS, Model #306-HAB for both grey and black. Rotomolded Plastic Tanks and other Products by Indiana Rotomolding

Don't know which location, Middlebury, South Bend or Elkhart Indiana, but they should be able to help. The 306 tank is not shown on their RV tanks list. Looks like the tanks are poly but they show several compounds of polyethylene on their materials page. (Brochure shows 46 gallon for both)

Hope this helps....

BTW- I have a list that GeorgieBoy mounted inside the bedroom closet door showing all installed equipment/appliances by manufacturer/ model & serial#. Hopefully yours has not been removed..

Thanks, Hooligan. As always, you have the right information. It so happened that I was already on the phone with Indiana Rotomolding when I read your note. I never had the list inside the closet door and assume it was removed by the previous owner. As an aside, I'd be interested in the make and model of the slide. I've never had problems with that yet but it is an area that has always concerned me.

The good news:
- they still have the mold for this tank.
- turnaround time for a new tank is about 5 days.

The bad news
- the tank is made from polyethylene and NOTHING sticks to it. If a crack is over 5" long, they replace the tank
- the mold information that they have does not include the connections. So if I order the tank, I'm going to VERY CAREFULLY measure the exact locations or the new tank will not fit up to the existing pipes. Before I attempted this, I'd pull the tank.
- the connections from the plumbing are made with clamps and butyl caulk
- they will not sell a new tank to me directly. I have to go through RV Surplus. Together, Indiana Rotomold and RV Surplus will give me a price. There is a freight charge. Considering the size of the tank, that is going to be ugly.

They make repairs with a thermal welder. It looks like a big soldering iron. Putting on layers of milk carton using the thermal welder "may" work.

My plan:
1. Wait until the professional plastics guy gets back from vacation on 7/17 and let him look at it. If he can do anything for me, even if he thinks it won't hold for a long time, I'm going to go with him.
2. If he can't or won't (because he wants the tank out of the RV first), I'm going to attempt the repair myself. If I'm careful, can probably help the leak, even if I cannot stop it completely If I go this route, we'll just have to manage the tank carefully until I can work through the replacement. Staying with full hook ups in parks and leaving the gray tank drain open all the time will help. I have a sprayer for the black tank. It will just make dumping harder and more time consuming.

If I have to go the tank replacement route, I'll do it with in the next month. I just need to get through one more trip until then. Maybe I'll be lucky and not have to replace the tank. I'm going to play like I do until I'm sure that I don't. I'm on hold with RV Surplus now.

Thanks again, Hooligan. I owe you a lot of adult beverages.

Charlie

[chasfm11]

I've looked at the tank again. I'm not at all sure that I can get the tank out of the RV because there are electric lines, etc covering the passenger side area of the RV where the tank would have to exit. The other side of the RV is under the slide and getting the tank out that way is impossible without removing the slide.

Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Charlie

[Hooligan]

Charles: Slide out is not listed, but I believe it is constructed by GeorgieBoy using RBW parts. RBW has replacement parts for a number of RV manufacturers. It is part of AL-Ko Kober Corp of (where else) Elkhart.

This is a list of repair parts and motors. Georgie Boy

Our units are gear driven but some use a cable system.

I sure hope your plastic welder can make the repair and reinforce with the mesh...

[chasfm11]

Update:

A new tank would cost $220 but the shipping for it is $160.

I see no way that I can provide the specs for the drain inlet locations without pulling the tank, which I'd have to do anyway if I'm going to do a replacement. They have the tank mold but not those drain inlet specs They tell me it is a 5 day build process and probably at least that in shipment time. All in all, a 10-12 turnaround for something like this doesn't seem that bad.

I won't know until 7/17 about possible repairs. I'll probably not have any other new information until then.

Charlie

[Dave78Chief]

My old Winnebago uses polyethylene tanks. Polyethylene is a standard food grade material. The polyethylene tank surface will be very slick to the touch almost slimmy in texture. I had some radial cracks develop around the mounting bolt holes from age and vibration after 30 years. I used the plastic welding technique to repair them. The 80 Watt solder iron tip supplied with the Harbor Freight kit is very flimsy. Ok for a one time job but bends due to heat then breaks off after much use. I just used a standard 80 watt soldering iron used for stained glass. Polyethylene welding rod can be expensive and you really do not need much of it for this type of repair. So, I just went to the local hardware store and found a roll of polyethylene tubing used to hook up a fridge ice maker. A 15ft roll goes a long way.
Use Google to see how to make a repair bead.
Best to use stainless steel mesh for reinforcement.
Tank has to be dry in the area to be repaired both inside and out otherwise the water will boil and produce air bubbles (steam) in the melted plastic that are difficult (almost impossible) to remove. Water leaks right though the bubbles if present.
Fiberglass may stick for a while but will start lifting after a few years (that slick almost slimmy polyethylene surface is the culprit)

Dave

[chasfm11]

Great input, Dave. I'm going to try the professional first but he won't work on it as is, I'll use your information. I've seen the Harbor Frieght iron. They have another for around $60 that looks a bit stronger but needs an air compressor. I have one of those so that isn't an issue.

I like the idea of the polyethylene tube. The tank maker's rep told me to use milk cartons and lay it up layer upon layer. If I have any doubts about my repair (assuming that I do it myself) I may lay up some fiberglass over it, understanding that it is a very temporary fix at best. If I can get through the next trip, I may have to order the new tank.

Thanks again for your help.

Charlie

[Hooligan]

Charles, Saw this article on AlumiBond. May be a good last resort before removing the tank... or as a covering after the repairs are completed. . Even worth while to try on a non damaged part of tank to see how it holds. It's available in 6 inch wide rolls..
Roof Leak Repair Products & Sealing Tape | EternaBond®

"EternaBond AlumiBond is extremely tough and hard, perfect for holding back pressure in holding and gravity tanks. AlumiBond requires no UV protection, and can be painted to match the repair"

[chasfm11]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

Charles, Saw this article on AlumiBond. May be a good last resort before removing the tank... or as a covering after the repairs are completed. . Even worth while to try on a non damaged part of tank to see how it holds. It's available in 6 inch wide rolls..
Roof Leak Repair Products & Sealing Tape | EternaBond®

"EternaBond AlumiBond is extremely tough and hard, perfect for holding back pressure in holding and gravity tanks. AlumiBond requires no UV protection, and can be painted to match the repair"

WOW! Thanks, Hooligan. The spec sheet
http://www.eternabond.com/v/vspfiles...ch-30-2012.pdf
definitely says that it will stick to polyethylene,. That is really the crux of this problem. A lot of stuff will stick to ABS. Almost nothing sticks to PE.

The Eternabond Website shows Grainger as a distributor. I called them and they have have a 4" roll to me tomorrow...for $100. I'm going to shop around a little and see if I can get a better price.

This stuff looks good for a lot more than the gray tank repair.

Thanks again.

Charlie

[Hooligan]

Try here: EternaBond AlumiBond Roof Repair Tape, 6 in. x 50 ft. Roll

I got regular eternabond from them quite a while ago.

[Hooligan]

Charles: GeorgieBoy Slide out manual. I think this is as close as we can get.
http://www.myrvpartsplacestore.com/a...O-12024ins.pdf

I noticed in this pub, to manually retract the slide they indicate the electric brake should be removed from the motor....The GBM instructions are to hold Auto/Manual switch to MANUAL and the slide out switch to RETRACT while manually cranking the slide. Only if 12 volt is not available do you need to actually remove the brake.
BTW I can e-mail that instruction sheet- "Slide-out Room operation Pursuit and Landau" if you need it.

Take care...

[chasfm11]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

Charles: GeorgieBoy Slide out manual. I think this is as close as we can get.
http://www.myrvpartsplacestore.com/a...O-12024ins.pdf

I noticed in this pub, to manually retract the slide they indicate the electric brake should be removed from the motor....The GBM instructions are to hold Auto/Manual switch to MANUAL and the slide out switch to RETRACT while manually cranking the slide. Only if 12 volt is not available do you need to actually remove the brake.
BTW I can e-mail that instruction sheet- "Slide-out Room operation Pursuit and Landau" if you need it.

Take care...

Thank you very much...again.

I've saved a copy of the manual. The mechanics don't look as complicated as I was afraid that they might be. I'm thinking about having the carpet replaced this year and figured that I might end up messing with the slide as part of that. It doesn't look easy to get the carpet under the edge of the slide but I won't be able to tell much until we actually dive into that project, I suspect. Since I have the barn, I figured that I could build a support structure to set it on and physically remove the slide if that was necessary. Having this manual would help with that process, I'm sure.

I'm still on a path to take the MH to the professional plastics guy on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'll report back just as soon as I have an answer from him. I really, really want him to do it rather than me but....... we have to do what we have to do.

Thanks again,

Charlie

[chasfm11]

I have an appointment with the professional plastic tank repair guy tomorrow at 9:30am. Unfortunately, he is in South Ft. Worth, about a 37 mile drive from my house through the teeth of a construction area at the tail end of rush hour. As I said, I would prefer him to try to fix it if he can. If he cannot repair it and has to have the tank out, I'm going probably order a new one.

We have a trip in the next few weeks and I will use all of knowledge that I've gained on this thread to attempt to patch the tank at least temporarily myself. I would pull the tank after that trip, take the measurements and place the new tank order.

I'll post the results of tomorrow's appointment as soon as I have them.

Charlie

[Perry White]

Call the guy does window replacement and get a tube of that black plastic glue they use to put the windows back in with. I fixed a broken motor mount with it. That will do the trick.