Click here for a soldering iron---- amzn.to/2Uinwxg Click here for my website--- www.stevessmallenginesaloon.com/ Click here for my Parts and Tools Store---- www.amazon.com/shop/stevessmallenginesaloon
Steve great video by the way about soldering fuel plastic tanks..would you also recommend using a bit of epoxy resin for fiberglass after a plastic weld been done on it..for some one that doesn't do it very often..
Thank you Steve for your common sense approach after trying many different repair methods and seeing what works and lasts for plastic type gas fuel tanks! Try carb cleaner or acetone to draw the contamination out of the crack/defect to get it cleaner. One tip I read about was to preheat the repair area with hot-air gun. This I think will help in sweating out the defect/crack contaminants and also as in metal welding make the plastic more acceptable to the concentrated heat zone. The cleaner the better your repair! I cut up clean milk jugs into strips to use as raw filler and the red caps for use on gas jugs. There is a symbol and usually a recycle code that will tell you what your plastic source is made from. HDPE is pretty common, look on your different products stored in plastic to understand more of the chemicals and solvents it has a safe use with. Use similar materials, I have the neck of my mower gas tank shear off from being too thin. I will be laying in milk jug material and metal mesh screen layers to build the neck back thicker to support the cap twisting. It is over a hundred bucks to replace the gas tank, which I have done before, so that for now is going to be my path forward in repair. I bought an inexpensive electric plastic welding kit from HF. HDPE Polyethylene Semi-flexible, melts & smears when grinding, usually semi-translucent, waxy or greasy feel. Overflow tanks, inner fender panels, water storage tanks, gas tanks, kayaks, canoes, playground equipment. Method AW-1 or N2-1 with high density polyethylene rod (R12 series). Link to plastics information and how to tips and videos: www.polyvance.com/identify.php
If you check out the videos on you tube of people repairing cracks on plastic kayaks/canoes, you'll find they all use hot air guns. This method stops the plastic burning and producing the black scab that Steve had here but Steve's method shown in this video does work and it does produce a permanent fix. Thumbs up!!!
A couple of tips. Make sure you sand the repair area fully and make sure the soldering iron tip is clean before melting the plastic as you will transfer the black bits and into the plastic. A large flat head tip is easier to use on the soldering iron. I bought a cheap soldering iron just for doing plastic repairs. I normally take the fuel tank off, empty the fuel out, remove the tank and flush it out with water and leave to dry before starting the plastic welding. The tanks I have repaired have been made with ptfe, white plastic milk cartons are made out of the same material and create a solid repair that does not leak and looks like the original white tank. You can cut them into strips and melt them easily as a filler material to build up the thickness.😀
I was just wondering what whitish clear plastic will I find that will match my paramotor fuel tank and BOOM you answered my question. Gonna try this. Gracias senior
Thanks Steve . I used your method to repair my fuel tank . It worked a honey . Steve over there you have 2 stroke Suzuki motors on Toro machines . Have you made any video's on repair and tuning of these motors . Thanks Steve Wayne from Australia .
I did exactly what Steve said on a Toro petrol tank costing £220 to replace new. The repair was so easy to do with stunning results. Milk carton worked like dream. Thanks Steve .
Piece of plastic bucket in toaster oven on tin foil at °450, heat gun on gas tank till about 450 (shiny). Lay the patch on gas tank, will never leak. Love your videos!
I used to work at a winery/brewery and the owner used to have me "weld" up the cracks in the 300 gallon fermentation tanks in a similar fashion. Worked perfectly on most of the tanks. Thanks for the quality infotainment again my friend.
Just a little extra for strength. Cut a piece of wire screen or mesh, like from a kitchen strainer or spark arrestor, slightly larger than the crack. Place that on the melted plastic then work it on all around. I do this for repairs on plastic kayaks. Works great and is strong as hell.
Good job Steve.. Love that you had a beer with you.. Im an engineer an work a lot with PE-welding, mostly with electrofittings.. After every welding there is a cooling-off period before you can manipulate/stress the place you have welded.. I strongly suggest that you allow yourself, to finish your beer and maybe even have another one, before you move on further with your checks and refilling the tank😀👍🏻
Just some very positive feedback from Australia Steve. I was at a complete loss on how to repair my plastic fuel tank, and being of Chinese make I couldnt get a replacement . I'd heard all sorts of ways of melting other types of plastic into the crack etc but unless it is the same type of plastic as the tank, it will not last . SO, tried your method of just carefully melting the tank plastic back into the crack and BINGO !!!! It worked perfectly !!!! Well done Steve !!!!
Always gold Steve!! I did the same thing on a Grillo ride-on tank a few years back but I cut excess plastic from the tank to use as filler material. That was about 6 years ago now. Not a single leak since.
Thanks a million. I live in Central America and have no source for parts for my very old weed eater. It worked like a charm. I didn't have a soldering iron so I used a nail and a Sterno. Us gals can fix stuff too!! with a beer :)
another good trick, watch for the surplus of hand sanitizer being thrown out, i got 2 gals. free and have made alcohol lamps out of the jelly canning jars with a hole in the lid and a small amount of medical gauze as a wick, diy sterno
Just did this on my generator fuel tank today and saved $160! Only took me about 30 min to repair the crack. Going to work on a pump sprayer next weekend. Thanks for the video, Steve!
If you had an old tank you could cut small strips of the plastic and use that as filler. It also looked like the temperature of the iron was too high which contributed to the black burned plastic. But it worked and I believe you’re correct that it is permanent. Great video always interesting.
Thank you for your video. my 12 year old lawn tractor had a crack in it and i was able to fix it with your method. it saved me $120 for a new tank (including tax and delivery charge). i had a wood burning craft tool that had a soldering bit so it worked out. again thank you for help[ing this 50 yr old lady fix this issue. i did not have a beer but i may have a sip of wine later tonight after the day is through. only took me 10 minutes total, if that!
This actually worked. I found that my tank was discontinued so I had no other option than repairing it. Worked perfectly and saved me from discarding an otherwise operational weed eater. Cheers
Good work Steve . I have done auto body work for over 30 yr. and used to repair damaged battery with the same tools but I used a paddle blade on the heat gun to v out the crack then smooth over the top. Works great and keep up the good work.
Good fix Steve. That technique also will work on handheld pump sprayers too. Like the ones you use to spray weed killer or insecticides. The plastic on those are pretty thick also, and will take well to this technique.
@@StevesSmallEngineSaloon i have 5 tanks because all my pumps give out due to bleach. I'd like to know how to fix that, Tractor Supply won't just sell me the pump. Anyone want to buy a 1.3 gallon tank for shipping, aka free?
I have a long crack in my Weedeater gas tank. I will try this. One thing I would suggest is to clean the tip of your soldering iron. It would make your weld cleaner. Thanks for posting.
Well ... your instructions were so good that I forgot to open my beer and it was still cold when I finished fixing the tank. Guess I'll just sip on that beer and admire my handy work, Right?
Great fix Steve. The tank for my mower is discontinued, I will be doing these shortly. My dad “fixed” it last year with rocker panel spray, and well.... we all know how that turned out!! Thank you, reminds me of a stir welding technique.
It worked! I hadn't noticed the large crack on my old Ryobi 875r, which was stored in my brothers shed for about 10 years (apartment life). Just bought a house and of course the fuel tank is cracked and discontinued. This fix did the trick. Thank you!!
Hey, I'm looking for a lawnmower tank repair... The hole is dime sized, and thankfully on the top corner of the plastic gas tank, (it's an old cheap mower) Any extra advice?
thanks Steve im facing that very problems right now with a Husqvarna mudd mower im building and didn't want to really spend the v$35 for another thank ty luv your show's you have helped me a lot
I discovered that preheating the area with a heat gun on low makes it repair so much easier. I tried it on an old Tecumseh tank today and found that a couple of the smaller cracks pretty much repaired themselves when the heat gun got everything nice and mushy.
Steve, you are bang on about the Seal-All. Used it on my cracked weed eater tank and it lasted for a good while, then started leaking again. It’s a Tanaka and the tank is no longer available. I know what I will be doing this spring... beer in hand of course! 🍺
Hi Steve. What I would do is shave a very small sliver from the filler hole and do what you did to the tank using that little strip to fill in the trough. Plastics will weld together if they are the same plastic. I think that is polyethylene so strips from a milk jug should work as well. Try it and let me know if it works. That way you are not thinning the wall but simply filling in the trough.
What you're doing is called plastic welding. It's become a commonly used way of repairing plastic. Harbor Freight makes a kit that recently cost me about $16. It's not a high quality tool but works. I used it to repair a hole in an RV water tank the I created to get at something inside the tank. The opening was at least a half inch wide. The kit comes with the welding plastic "rods" and stainless steel matting (screen) to reinforce repair areas. Worked fine. After trying silicone, goop, etc. - all of which peeled off. Like J Morrow (below) says it's best to use identical plastic for the repair if you need to add material. Most plastics are labeled. Perhaps as important is to melt enough material to thoroughly mix the melted material together. It's not really simply laying one material on another it's combining the two materials.
Fuel tank is probably polyethylene, most likely high density polyethylene (HDPE). Cable ties are nylon. You are correct, the dissimilar plastics don't bond well. Many things are made of polyethylene - milk jugs come to mind. You might be able to find a compatible plastic from common materials. You can also buy plastic welding rods that would probably work.
Great Job used 4 of your videos to repair 6 of my chainsaw and 2 gasoline augers . Carb repair and ignition coil repair . Thanks very much . Also this is a tip . I had a chainsaw that ran for 10 seconds and stopped . Could not figure out why . A friend told me to clean the spark arrestor screen . Yep that was is . Blocked exhaust. Thanks again Dr. John
Hey Steve, been fixing cracks in petrol tanks for 40 plus years and never had a failure even as the fuel is dripping out. All I use is clear finger nail polish.
I have a Craftsman mower 42" rider that has a crack in the tank. I used to work building service stations, and when a tank needed to be pulled we had to remove the fumes before transporting we used a lot of dry ice because when "melted" the fumes were heavier than air so it pushed all of the fumes out of the tank making it less of a bomb. Thanks for the tip on the tank. They don't make the tank any longer so my old mower will give me a couple more years of use.👍
Good video, but I recommend using soldering station instead of just iron, so you can lower the temperature, so you don't burn that plastic to become black, because burnt plastic becomes more brittle.
Hi Steve,I was told many years ago by a Welder that repaired a metal bike tank for me. Start your car and hold the tank at the end of the exhaust and get the fumes in to the tank and that kills the petrol fumes. It works as I have used this method a few times now. Hope that may be useful for you Sir. Sorry obviously empty the fuel first.
Hi there, thanks great info. I wanted to add if people are working on a gas tank like a huge tractor one, what I did is put some soapy water in tank after I removed from tractor and rinsed the tank well, I then plugged in a air pump trough the supply line and pumped air which made bubbles come out trough cracks I would shut of pump dry and the small little bubbles still told me where cracks were. It worked awesome . Thanks, I enjoy your videos.
I had the same problem plastic welding with two different types of plastic , I came to the same conclusion of using the same plastic that is cracked and it works. You can plastic weld other plastics also . Good video.
Good video , also I've used pieces of an old tank to use as filler. We always seem to have a few tanks laying around not in use anymore !!!!! :-) Cheers!
@@schlomoshekelstein908 Not the same type of plastic, I've actually tried to store veggie oil in milk containers, the oil attacks the plastic and they will leak within a few months. I'd imagine petrol with oil in it would be worse.
Genius, gotta be the best repair video yet, not only a very cheap repair but a permanent, keep up the good work, thanks time to go fix my leaky leaf blower
Most fuel tanks are HPDE plastic the same as milk jugs. So milk jugs are a good source of plastic for plastic welding. Though match the recycling numbers if at all possible.
Aahhhh! Good ol milk jugs are more useful than the nippled kind. When cut to potato chip size wafers and heated in toaster oven, they can be molded to make mallets, bike chain guides, reinforce stuff, dildos etc. Still prefer nippled tho.
HDPE is high density polyethylene, zip ties and line trimmer cord are nylon - no way they will fuse together. The milk jug idea should work, i am going to find an old fuel tank and try it. By the way, hdpe doesn't break down with fuel so hence they make fuel containers out of it.
makes sense to use same plastic type and these tanks are plenty thick i have husqvarna trimmer small leak around mounting ear i will give this a go you saved me making the mistakes love your repair saloon cheers
This Is a great video. Genius fix! Love this. It is a technique I’ll remember forever. Have you ever tried brake cleaner, or polymer safe firearm blaster on the oily part first. It cleans firearms very well and removes all the old oil. I’d bet it would work very quickly and well here. It might even eliminate the sanding step. This is a video I’m sharing and I’ll recommend your channel to everyone I know!!!
Thank you very much. I have a portable dump station I'm going to try that on. I paid over $300 and had to buy a cheaper one to get me by for my 4th of July camping trip. I would hate to get rid of it because of a small hole. Thanks again can't wait to try it!
As usual, great video and legit fix. I'm surprised you didn't clean the soldering iron tip though. Also, that's at least a 2 beer fix at normal consumption rates. Cheers!
Ive tryed JB Weld, as others have suggested in the past, but it doesnt last. It will delaminate! Tried zip ties, doesnt stick! The thing i have found that seems to work if you need filler, is the plastic from windshield washer fluid jug. It melts in and really bonds well! It was the only way i fixed my tank last summer...
@Oops Oops I bought the JB Weld quick setting. And within a week or so, it literally peeled off! I cleaned the area really well and sanded the plastic first. I tried again, and it did the same thing...was thinking maybe the 2 stroke oil breaks it down? Cause i used it to repair a bad sending unit on a car years back, and it never had an issue.
It doesn't if you do it right.You didn't do it right that's why it came off. Back in '94 or '95 all there was regular JB Weld... Gotta open up a hole large enough JB can be push through to the other side. Then sand around the area to scuff it up but try to keep it small.Apply the JB and make sure to push it through the hole also,let it set a couple min till a slight skin forms then apply it to the inside and make sure to smear it around again staying small. Done right you'll never have another problem.....been 24-25 yrs now bouncing around in truck beds,on skidders and dropped a lot of times and my 2077's tank hasn't leaked again. The long crack like he had in the vid I would have made a hole at each end of that crack.That also helps from the crack wanting to expand further.
Nice fix, Steve. I like the old White-plastic Stihl tanks, because you could fix those with JB-Weld. These semi-clear nylon tanks are more difficult to repair. Your method works great.
You can buy a "plastic" welder at Harbor Freight. Only same type of plastic will stick to each other. More than likely that gas tank is Type 2 HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene). Most milk jugs are HDPE so just cut and use a piece of it.
Steve, You have save me so much money. I have all Stihl equipment I just would like to thank you. I thought it's about time for me to subscriber You helped me I am help you. Thanks
Great video! I tried using the soldering gun method at first, and it seemed to work initially. However, there were still some tiny imperfections that caused the tank to leak still. So I followed up with using a heat gun to the affected area, and smoothed the plastic together. Then I followed up with a later of black rtv silicone. No leaks now and saved me from having to buy a new tank. 😉
Good video Steve. You're right about how different plastics won't work for the patch. Those tanks are made from HDPE plastic and if you need more, it's easy to find. It's branded with the recycle 2 symbol. Like you, I've used a plastic welder to achieve the same result and the key is to get the new hdpe hot enough to bind with the substrate. If you use the same white opaque hdpe, you can tell it's good when it turns clear and translucent. You can also groove out the crack with a pointed dremel grinding tip.
I use Yamabond # 4. Love that stuff. I mostly use it to seal up 2 cycle engine cylinders, but I have successfully used it to seal up cracked fuel tanks. One repair was on a 5,000 watt generator plastic gas tank; the black ones that sit on top of the frame. The crack was a foot long! I drained all the gas out, did very little prep, applied it, let it dry, and it worked out great. I now use this stuff for all my gas tank repairs. It doesn't come out pretty, but if they want pretty, they can buy a new gas tank. I have never had one leak after doing this repair.
GREAT REPAIR‼ Its a good day when I start it out by learning something new 🛠..... P.S. I just did the research and found plastic gas tanks are made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) so are detergent bottles, i.r. filler material. Skoal 🍺
Hi steve i repaire small engines and when i have a problem i all ways go to your channel thanks for all your help iam still learning every time i go to your channell thank you steve val smith in the middle of ireland 👍👍👍👍👍
Yep, looks good. That's how I do it but I lower the temperature of that soldering iron a little so that you don't create so much black carbon in the plastic. You just want to melt the plastic, not burn it. Overall thumbs up, way to be.
I use a variac to lower the voltage to 75 - 85 VAC for the iron, i.e., just below the plastic's charring temperature. With a little experimentation you'll find the right settings for your project. For 1/16" or thicker plastics during the welding process you can also add short lengths of bare fine wire (#26 to #30, etc.), imbedded across the crack at the surface. This is a highly effective technique especially for repairing acrylics. For example a ¼" thick, 6-inch broken off corner was reattached, in addition to solvent welding, using fine wires on both sides of the cracks, staggered so they weren't opposite each other. The project has been in service for several years without breaking again. If you don't like the aesthetics then there's always the scrap bin and buying a replacement.
My first choice is to replace the tank but it's no longer available Second choice is to fix the tank, in the past none of the fixes lasted I tried your suggestion for a crack repair which in my case is at the seam of the original plastic weld of the tank and it indeed did work... Let's see how long it lasts! Thanks for the tip.
If you knew the plastic composition of the Sthil gas tank you can find plastic welding rod kits that come with an assortment of different kinds of plastic. They are usually color coded and with some experimentation you can find the right one for the type of plastic Sthil uses for their tank. But I agree that just melting what is already there is an easier fix.
Great vid. Have done same repair using a heat gun with smallest round tip and a tea spoon. Start working the spoon when plastic begins to shine. Same as you.. trench.. with spoon edge.. then smooth with bottom of spoon bowl. Adding just enough heat to keep plastic shiny as you go. Best to you and yours.
Had a fuel cap that cracked & eventually the whole top of cap separated from main part.Have tried glues/epoxy, no luck.Clamped both parts together & did the plastic weld with soldering iron around the whole circumference of the top part of cap..all good.👌Cheers, from The Hunter Valley Australia...👍
Probably for another video but.....if you have a cracked plastic piece that doesn't hold any fluids, you can fix it with stainless steel mesh and a soldering GUN with a flat tip.
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Click here for a soldering iron---- amzn.to/2Uinwxg
Click here for my website--- www.stevessmallenginesaloon.com/
Click here for my Parts and Tools Store---- www.amazon.com/shop/stevessmallenginesaloon
Steve great video by the way about soldering fuel plastic tanks..would you also recommend using a bit of epoxy resin for fiberglass after a plastic weld been done on it..for some one that doesn't do it very often..
Thank you Steve for your common sense approach after trying many different repair methods and seeing what works and lasts for plastic type gas fuel tanks!
Try carb cleaner or acetone to draw the contamination out of the crack/defect to get it cleaner.
One tip I read about was to preheat the repair area with hot-air gun. This I think will help in sweating out the defect/crack contaminants and also as in metal welding make the plastic more acceptable to the concentrated heat zone. The cleaner the better your repair!
I cut up clean milk jugs into strips to use as raw filler and the red caps for use on gas jugs. There is a symbol and usually a recycle code that will tell you what your plastic source is made from. HDPE is pretty common, look on your different products stored in plastic to understand more of the chemicals and solvents it has a safe use with.
Use similar materials, I have the neck of my mower gas tank shear off from being too thin. I will be laying in milk jug material and metal mesh screen layers to build the neck back thicker to support the cap twisting. It is over a hundred bucks to replace the gas tank, which I have done before, so that for now is going to be my path forward in repair. I bought an inexpensive electric plastic welding kit from HF.
HDPE Polyethylene
Semi-flexible, melts & smears when grinding, usually semi-translucent, waxy or greasy feel. Overflow tanks, inner fender panels, water storage tanks, gas tanks, kayaks, canoes, playground equipment.
Method AW-1 or N2-1 with high density polyethylene rod (R12 series).
Link to plastics information and how to tips and videos:
www.polyvance.com/identify.php
Just get a new tank . Forget about this. Its a fire hazard waiting to happen 💣⏰️💥
If you check out the videos on you tube of people repairing cracks on plastic kayaks/canoes, you'll find they all use hot air guns. This method stops the plastic burning and producing the black scab that Steve had here but Steve's method shown in this video does work and it does produce a permanent fix. Thumbs up!!!
Thank You...
A couple of tips. Make sure you sand the repair area fully and make sure the soldering iron tip is clean before melting the plastic as you will transfer the black bits and into the plastic. A large flat head tip is easier to use on the soldering iron. I bought a cheap soldering iron just for doing plastic repairs.
I normally take the fuel tank off, empty the fuel out, remove the tank and flush it out with water and leave to dry before starting the plastic welding. The tanks I have repaired have been made with ptfe, white plastic milk cartons are made out of the same material and create a solid repair that does not leak and looks like the original white tank. You can cut them into strips and melt them easily as a filler material to build up the thickness.😀
I was just wondering what whitish clear plastic will I find that will match my paramotor fuel tank and BOOM you answered my question. Gonna try this. Gracias senior
PTFE is Teflon and milk jugs are made of HDPE (High-Density PolyEthylene) and most plastic fuel tanks are made from HDPE.
Good suggestion on the flat-tipped soldering iron!
Thanks!
@@JOESOLDROCK No problem mate, glad to help.😀
This is one of my favorite corners of the internet, I swear...
Thanks, Steve and company!
You're Welcome...
Thanks Steve . I used your method to repair my fuel tank . It worked a honey . Steve over there you have 2 stroke Suzuki motors on Toro machines . Have you made any video's on repair and tuning of these motors . Thanks Steve Wayne from Australia .
Those machines are very old! I haven't even seen one for years....
I did exactly what Steve said on a Toro petrol tank costing £220 to replace new. The repair was so easy to do with stunning results. Milk carton worked like dream. Thanks Steve .
Nice one!
Piece of plastic bucket in toaster oven on tin foil at °450, heat gun on gas tank till about 450 (shiny). Lay the patch on gas tank, will never leak. Love your videos!
Right on Buddy...
I used to work at a winery/brewery and the owner used to have me "weld" up the cracks in the 300 gallon fermentation tanks in a similar fashion. Worked perfectly on most of the tanks. Thanks for the quality infotainment again my friend.
You're Welcome...
Just a little extra for strength. Cut a piece of wire screen or mesh, like from a kitchen strainer or spark arrestor, slightly larger than the crack. Place that on the melted plastic then work it on all around. I do this for repairs on plastic kayaks. Works great and is strong as hell.
Good job Steve.. Love that you had a beer with you.. Im an engineer an work a lot with PE-welding, mostly with electrofittings.. After every welding there is a cooling-off period before you can manipulate/stress the place you have welded.. I strongly suggest that you allow yourself, to finish your beer and maybe even have another one, before you move on further with your checks and refilling the tank😀👍🏻
Agreed. And type of beer can make all the difference, but as long as it's cold, might not make as much difference. If one is good, two even better. 🍺🍻
Just some very positive feedback from Australia Steve. I was at a complete loss on how to repair my plastic fuel tank, and being of Chinese make I couldnt get a replacement . I'd heard all sorts of ways of melting other types of plastic into the crack etc but unless it is the same type of plastic as the tank, it will not last . SO, tried your method of just carefully melting the tank plastic back into the crack and BINGO !!!! It worked perfectly !!!! Well done Steve !!!!
Glad it worked out for you!
Always gold Steve!! I did the same thing on a Grillo ride-on tank a few years back but I cut excess plastic from the tank to use as filler material. That was about 6 years ago now. Not a single leak since.
Right on Buddy....
This worked perfect for my punctured Cub Cadey Zero Turn tank.! It took 2-3 minutes and saved me $120.00 for a replacement! Thanks!
Right on! You're Welcome...
Thanks a million. I live in Central America and have no source for parts for my very old weed eater. It worked like a charm. I didn't have a soldering iron so I used a nail and a Sterno. Us gals can fix stuff too!! with a beer :)
Propane torch and an old screwdriver will work too, nice flat tool to even it out with.
another good trick, watch for the surplus of hand sanitizer being thrown out, i got 2 gals. free and have made alcohol lamps out of the jelly canning jars with a hole in the lid and a small amount of medical gauze as a wick, diy sterno
And if you run out of beer, you can filter the Sterno through a rag and drink it! Desperate times demand desperate measures! Ha!
Oh Steve .I have 4 ! FOUR ! donated 2str strimmers fixed , in use , saved from landfill .. thanks to your Brewski n Can Do channel .
Thank you ! 👍👍
That is awesome!
I Just want to say one thing to you Steve! Your awesome, thanks for helping us blokes out.
Thank You...and You're Welcome...
Just did this on my generator fuel tank today and saved $160! Only took me about 30 min to repair the crack. Going to work on a pump sprayer next weekend. Thanks for the video, Steve!
Great job!
If you had an old tank you could cut small strips of the plastic and use that as filler. It also looked like the temperature of the iron was too high which contributed to the black burned plastic.
But it worked and I believe you’re correct that it is permanent.
Great video always interesting.
Right on Andy...
Thank you for your video. my 12 year old lawn tractor had a crack in it and i was able to fix it with your method. it saved me $120 for a new tank (including tax and delivery charge). i had a wood burning craft tool that had a soldering bit so it worked out. again thank you for help[ing this 50 yr old lady fix this issue. i did not have a beer but i may have a sip of wine later tonight after the day is through. only took me 10 minutes total, if that!
Excellent!
Steve you put it in words that even the most untrained persons can understand and you are my most used information channel thank you keith
Thank You...and You're Welcome...
This actually worked. I found that my tank was discontinued so I had no other option than repairing it. Worked perfectly and saved me from discarding an otherwise operational weed eater. Cheers
Right on ...
Good work Steve . I have done auto body work for over 30 yr. and used to repair damaged battery with the same tools but I used a paddle blade on the heat gun to v out the crack then smooth over the top. Works great and keep up the good work.
Thank You...
Perfect! Saved me $85.00. I tried epoxy and plastic welding. Both methods failed almost instantly. Thank you for this great tip.
Glad it helped!
Good fix Steve. That technique also will work on handheld pump sprayers too. Like the ones you use to spray weed killer or insecticides. The plastic on those are pretty thick also, and will take well to this technique.
Great tip Ralph! Thank You...
@@StevesSmallEngineSaloon i have 5 tanks because all my pumps give out due to bleach. I'd like to know how to fix that, Tractor Supply won't just sell me the pump. Anyone want to buy a 1.3 gallon tank for shipping, aka free?
@@StevesSmallEngineSaloon what is the main problem that's causing a lawnmower engine not to start easily when it becomes hot ? Thanks
1 minute in and he's telling us about the beer he's drinking - love this guy already!
: "Really polish that crack up the best as you can."
Best line ever!
Salad dressing?
Uh huh...
woof woof
I guess we all need to go to Poland for this fix!
He has great lines, he should use them on t-shirts no cap
I have a long crack in my Weedeater gas tank. I will try this. One thing I would suggest is to clean the tip of your soldering iron. It would make your weld cleaner. Thanks for posting.
Thank you for the straight forward easy guidance on this type of repair. Very helpful
You're Welcome...
Well ... your instructions were so good that I forgot to open my beer and it was still cold when I finished fixing the tank.
Guess I'll just sip on that beer and admire my handy work, Right?
Great fix Steve. The tank for my mower is discontinued, I will be doing these shortly. My dad “fixed” it last year with rocker panel spray, and well.... we all know how that turned out!! Thank you, reminds me of a stir welding technique.
Thank you, It took 6 try's and finally got tank to stop leaking. You make it so easy on your video. Watch close on how he does it.
Glad it helped
When I was a kid, my Mom would use a hot butter knife, heated up on the range burner, to fix plastic toys we had broken. Great video, Steve!
Awesome Jeff! Thank You...
It worked! I hadn't noticed the large crack on my old Ryobi 875r, which was stored in my brothers shed for about 10 years (apartment life). Just bought a house and of course the fuel tank is cracked and discontinued. This fix did the trick. Thank you!!
Excellent!
Steve, I was looking for the best adhesive for a lawn mower tank and then I saw your video. I'm in! Thanks.
Good luck!
Hey, I'm looking for a lawnmower tank repair... The hole is dime sized, and thankfully on the top corner of the plastic gas tank, (it's an old cheap mower)
Any extra advice?
Thanks Steve. Once again. I thought that my Chinese chainsaw was done but following your instructions it's alive again.
Great to hear!
Yet another great video tutorial, Steve. Long may they continue. From a dedicated Irish fan.
Thank You...
thanks Steve im facing that very problems right now with a Husqvarna mudd mower im building and didn't want to really spend the v$35 for another thank ty luv your show's you have helped me a lot
You're welcome! Hope it works for you!
I discovered that preheating the area with a heat gun on low makes it repair so much easier. I tried it on an old Tecumseh tank today and found that a couple of the smaller cracks pretty much repaired themselves when the heat gun got everything nice and mushy.
Great idea
Thank you!! Just put a small crack in my tank and wondered if it could be repaired. Lucky to see this video. You're a legend.
You're welcome!
Great work Steve, a fix that works and will last. Just be careful as the fumes off the plastic are bad to breathe.
Steve, you are bang on about the Seal-All. Used it on my cracked weed eater tank and it lasted for a good while, then started leaking again. It’s a Tanaka and the tank is no longer available. I know what I will be doing this spring... beer in hand of course! 🍺
Right on
Steve, you are right on, composition of the plastic must be identical or the repair will fail.
Nice job, very nice.
Thank You...
Spot on there Steve, this is the only "Permanent" fix, except for buying a new tank. Trail and error taught me that too. Thanks for the Video!
You're Welcome...
I have also done this with a 10” 3/8 “ Nail Spike. Heat up the spike with a Torch while holding on to the spike with Vise Grips.
Steve you’ve changed my opinion on taking on small engine repairs I’ve saved several products most have been two beer repairs. Thank you!
Good to hear
Hi Steve. What I would do is shave a very small sliver from the filler hole and do what you did to the tank using that little strip to fill in the trough. Plastics will weld together if they are the same plastic. I think that is polyethylene so strips from a milk jug should work as well. Try it and let me know if it works. That way you are not thinning the wall but simply filling in the trough.
What you're doing is called plastic welding. It's become a commonly used way of repairing plastic. Harbor Freight makes a kit that recently cost me about $16. It's not a high quality tool but works. I used it to repair a hole in an RV water tank the I created to get at something inside the tank. The opening was at least a half inch wide. The kit comes with the welding plastic "rods" and stainless steel matting (screen) to reinforce repair areas. Worked fine. After trying silicone, goop, etc. - all of which peeled off. Like J Morrow (below) says it's best to use identical plastic for the repair if you need to add material. Most plastics are labeled. Perhaps as important is to melt enough material to thoroughly mix the melted material together. It's not really simply laying one material on another it's combining the two materials.
Fuel tank is probably polyethylene, most likely high density polyethylene (HDPE). Cable ties are nylon. You are correct, the dissimilar plastics don't bond well. Many things are made of polyethylene - milk jugs come to mind. You might be able to find a compatible plastic from common materials. You can also buy plastic welding rods that would probably work.
Great Job used 4 of your videos to repair 6 of my chainsaw and 2 gasoline augers . Carb repair and ignition coil repair . Thanks very much . Also this is a tip . I had a chainsaw that ran for 10 seconds and stopped . Could not figure out why . A friend told me to clean the spark arrestor screen . Yep that was is . Blocked exhaust. Thanks again Dr. John
Great to hear!
Your right, I finished 1 beer while you did that repair Steve. I would most likely started to look for replacement tank, good video.
Thank You...
Hey Steve, been fixing cracks in petrol tanks for 40 plus years and never had a failure even as the fuel is dripping out. All I use is clear finger nail polish.
Brilliant idea! And they make different tips for soldering irons that may even make that task a little simpler. Thanks Steve!
Right on Buddy...
I have a Craftsman mower 42" rider that has a crack in the tank. I used to work building service stations, and when a tank needed to be pulled we had to remove the fumes before transporting we used a lot of dry ice because when "melted" the fumes were heavier than air so it pushed all of the fumes out of the tank making it less of a bomb. Thanks for the tip on the tank. They don't make the tank any longer so my old mower will give me a couple more years of use.👍
Good video, but I recommend using soldering station instead of just iron, so you can lower the temperature, so you don't burn that plastic to become black, because burnt plastic becomes more brittle.
what's that?
@@davidedwards8282 basically soldering iron with temperature setting
@@Gyrxiur Harbor Freight sells a good one
Hi Steve,I was told many years ago by a Welder that repaired a metal bike tank for me. Start your car and hold the tank at the end of the exhaust and get the fumes in to the tank and that kills the petrol fumes. It works as I have used this method a few times now. Hope that may be useful for you Sir. Sorry obviously empty the fuel first.
Saved me 65 bucks on a job can’t thank you enough
You're Welcome...
Hi there, thanks great info. I wanted to add if people are working on a gas tank like a huge tractor one, what I did is put some soapy water in tank after I removed from tractor and rinsed the tank well, I then plugged in a air pump trough the supply line and pumped air which made bubbles come out trough cracks I would shut of pump dry and the small little bubbles still told me where cracks were. It worked awesome . Thanks, I enjoy your videos.
I really like this tip Steve thanks! I wonder if a shot of brake cleaner would be useful to clean out the oil from the crack before melting?
I had the same problem plastic welding with two different types of plastic , I came to the same conclusion of using the same plastic that is cracked and it works. You can plastic weld other plastics also . Good video.
Thank You...
Good video , also I've used pieces of an old tank to use as filler. We always seem to have a few tanks laying around not in use anymore !!!!! :-) Cheers!
Thank You...
what's the pplastic used? maybe old milk jugs are the same plastic i'm thinking?
@@schlomoshekelstein908 Not the same type of plastic, I've actually tried to store veggie oil in milk containers, the oil attacks the plastic and they will leak within a few months. I'd imagine petrol with oil in it would be worse.
Genius, gotta be the best repair video yet, not only a very cheap repair but a permanent, keep up the good work, thanks time to go fix my leaky leaf blower
Good luck!
Most fuel tanks are HPDE plastic the same as milk jugs. So milk jugs are a good source of plastic for plastic welding. Though match the recycling numbers if at all possible.
*hdpe= high density polyethylene. That Google full auto semi word correction struck again ¬.^
Aahhhh! Good ol milk jugs are more useful than the nippled kind. When cut to potato chip size wafers and heated in toaster oven, they can be molded to make mallets, bike chain guides, reinforce stuff, dildos etc. Still prefer nippled tho.
HDPE is high density polyethylene, zip ties and line trimmer cord are nylon - no way they will fuse together. The milk jug idea should work, i am going to find an old fuel tank and try it. By the way, hdpe doesn't break down with fuel so hence they make fuel containers out of it.
Zooknz let me know how that goes. I may be doing that later today.
DANimalicious Dude this comment is A+. Much appreciated.
makes sense to use same plastic type and these tanks are plenty thick i have husqvarna trimmer small leak around mounting ear i will give this a go you saved me making the mistakes love your repair saloon cheers
Go for it!
This Is a great video. Genius fix! Love this. It is a technique I’ll remember forever.
Have you ever tried brake cleaner, or polymer safe firearm blaster on the oily part first. It cleans firearms very well and removes all the old oil. I’d bet it would work very quickly and well here. It might even eliminate the sanding step.
This is a video I’m sharing and I’ll recommend your channel to everyone I know!!!
Great tip! Thank You...and You're Welcome...
Thank you very much. I have a portable dump station I'm going to try that on. I paid over $300 and had to buy a cheaper one to get me by for my 4th of July camping trip. I would hate to get rid of it because of a small hole. Thanks again can't wait to try it!
You're Welcome...
As usual, great video and legit fix. I'm surprised you didn't clean the soldering iron tip though. Also, that's at least a 2 beer fix at normal consumption rates. Cheers!
GREAT TIP, I've fixed my dirt bike tank with this method 2 years ago, and still doesn't leak.
Right on Lee....
Ive tryed JB Weld, as others have suggested in the past, but it doesnt last. It will delaminate!
Tried zip ties, doesnt stick!
The thing i have found that seems to work if you need filler, is the plastic from windshield washer fluid jug. It melts in and really bonds well! It was the only way i fixed my tank last summer...
I have also used JBweld to repair a gas tank, the steel epoxy one not the plastic one. And it worked great and never leaked.
@Oops Oops
I bought the JB Weld quick setting. And within a week or so, it literally peeled off! I cleaned the area really well and sanded the plastic first. I tried again, and it did the same thing...was thinking maybe the 2 stroke oil breaks it down? Cause i used it to repair a bad sending unit on a car years back, and it never had an issue.
It doesn't if you do it right.You didn't do it right that's why it came off.
Back in '94 or '95 all there was regular JB Weld...
Gotta open up a hole large enough JB can be push through to the other side.
Then sand around the area to scuff it up but try to keep it small.Apply the JB and make sure to push it through the hole also,let it set a couple min till a slight skin forms then apply it to the inside and make sure to smear it around again staying small.
Done right you'll never have another problem.....been 24-25 yrs now bouncing around in truck beds,on skidders and dropped a lot of times and my 2077's tank hasn't leaked again.
The long crack like he had in the vid I would have made a hole at each end of that crack.That also helps from the crack wanting to expand further.
Nice fix, Steve. I like the old White-plastic Stihl tanks, because you could fix those with JB-Weld. These semi-clear nylon tanks are more difficult to repair. Your method works great.
Right on Brother...
You can buy a "plastic" welder at Harbor Freight. Only same type of plastic will stick to each other. More than likely that gas tank is Type 2 HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene). Most milk jugs are HDPE so just cut and use a piece of it.
Gonna try this on my snowmobile fuel neck. Previous owner broke it off from over tightening the fuel cap. Great job and video thx!!
Steve, You have save me so much money. I have all Stihl equipment I just would like to thank you. I thought it's about time for me to subscriber You helped me I am help you. Thanks
Thank You...and You're Welcome...
Great video! I tried using the soldering gun method at first, and it seemed to work initially. However, there were still some tiny imperfections that caused the tank to leak still. So I followed up with using a heat gun to the affected area, and smoothed the plastic together. Then I followed up with a later of black rtv silicone. No leaks now and saved me from having to buy a new tank. 😉
Will do this on my RM250 dirtbike tank. Thanks !!
Good luck!
It worked and it is not leaking, thanks again Steve, you are a champion !
Great to hear!
Good video Steve. You're right about how different plastics won't work for the patch. Those tanks are made from HDPE plastic and if you need more, it's easy to find. It's branded with the recycle 2 symbol. Like you, I've used a plastic welder to achieve the same result and the key is to get the new hdpe hot enough to bind with the substrate. If you use the same white opaque hdpe, you can tell it's good when it turns clear and translucent. You can also groove out the crack with a pointed dremel grinding tip.
Right on John...
I use Yamabond # 4. Love that stuff. I mostly use it to seal up 2 cycle engine cylinders, but I have successfully used it to seal up cracked fuel tanks. One repair was on a 5,000 watt generator plastic gas tank; the black ones that sit on top of the frame. The crack was a foot long! I drained all the gas out, did very little prep, applied it, let it dry, and it worked out great. I now use this stuff for all my gas tank repairs. It doesn't come out pretty, but if they want pretty, they can buy a new gas tank. I have never had one leak after doing this repair.
Good job Steve
Thank You...
Very clever idea! I think this is the best sealing technique in this case
Thank You...
GREAT REPAIR‼ Its a good day when I start it out by learning something new 🛠..... P.S. I just did the research and found plastic gas tanks are made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) so are detergent bottles, i.r. filler material. Skoal 🍺
Right on Rich...
Hi steve i repaire small engines and when i have a problem i all ways go to your channel thanks for all your help iam still learning every time i go to your channell thank you steve val smith in the middle of ireland 👍👍👍👍👍
Cool, thanks
Yep, looks good. That's how I do it but I lower the temperature of that soldering iron a little so that you don't create so much black carbon in the plastic. You just want to melt the plastic, not burn it. Overall thumbs up, way to be.
Thank You...
I use a variac to lower the voltage to 75 - 85 VAC for the iron, i.e., just below the plastic's charring temperature. With a little experimentation you'll find the right settings for your project. For 1/16" or thicker plastics during the welding process you can also add short lengths of bare fine wire (#26 to #30, etc.), imbedded across the crack at the surface. This is a highly effective technique especially for repairing acrylics. For example a ¼" thick, 6-inch broken off corner was reattached, in addition to solvent welding, using fine wires on both sides of the cracks, staggered so they weren't opposite each other. The project has been in service for several years without breaking again. If you don't like the aesthetics then there's always the scrap bin and buying a replacement.
I used this fix today and it 100% worked. Thanks, Steve!
You're Welcome...
" if it takes two beers I ain't judging" LOL.
But i drank 2 beers in the same time. Steve, lift your game matey !!. lol.
My first choice is to replace the tank but it's no longer available
Second choice is to fix the tank, in the past none of the fixes lasted
I tried your suggestion for a crack repair which in my case is at the seam of the original plastic weld of the tank and it indeed did work... Let's see how long it lasts!
Thanks for the tip.
You're Welcome...
Exactly what I do when repairing plastic. I purchased a plastic welding kit.
Thanks! I was looking for a way to maybe repair an auger gas tank. I’m going to give it a try.
Good luck!
Thanks Steve! Your channel is very helpful
You're Welcome...and Thank You...
Thank you you saved me $200 on my dirt bike fuel take. Great channel👍👍
Great to hear!
At 4:55 “the next thing we want to do is prepare that crack” 😜😜
You may have just saved me a huge headache. Thanks Steve. Best video yet.
Great to hear!
If you knew the plastic composition of the Sthil gas tank you can find plastic welding rod kits that come with an assortment of different kinds of plastic. They are usually color coded and with some experimentation you can find the right one for the type of plastic Sthil uses for their tank. But I agree that just melting what is already there is an easier fix.
Great vid. Have done same repair using a heat gun with smallest round tip and a tea spoon. Start working the spoon when plastic begins to shine. Same as you.. trench.. with spoon edge.. then smooth with bottom of spoon bowl. Adding just enough heat to keep plastic shiny as you go. Best to you and yours.
Thank You...
Had a fuel cap that cracked & eventually the whole top of cap separated from main part.Have tried glues/epoxy, no luck.Clamped both parts together & did the plastic weld with soldering iron around the whole circumference of the top part of cap..all good.👌Cheers, from The Hunter Valley Australia...👍
Right on
Thank you for this info: it worked for me and kept me from throwing away a perfectly good gas can!
I am borrowing a 660 from a buddy. It has a cracked tank, somewhat common I guess, going yo fix it for him.
Thanks Steve.
Good luck!
Probably for another video but.....if you have a cracked plastic piece that doesn't hold any fluids, you can fix it with stainless steel mesh and a soldering GUN with a flat tip.
Awesome idea it really works I tried it and no leaks, I was about to give up and buy a tank after 2 failed attempts to repair using 5 minute epoxy.
Right on Scott..
I used this idea on my coleman canoe and its been 20 years and no leaks yet
Right on Buddy....
Brilliant ! I use this method a lot on transport water tanks on the trucks. I haven’t had any returned with a leak in the same place. Thanks Steve
Right on Mate..