[VAC] Re: 1965 Black tank

["Gary Quamen" <gquamen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Polyethylene can be welded using hot air with techniques analogous to
> welding steel with a torch.

Hi all:

I was able to weld cracks in my polyethylene 30 gallon fresh water tank
using a plastic welding kit.  The weld is a two part process first using a
soldering gun and a stick of polyethylene about 5/32" dia (two in the kit
about 6" long apiece) followed by use of a heat gun, melting what I think is
glue gun glue (1/2" dia x 6" - also 2  in the kit) over the weld to
reinforce it.

The kit I used was:

Fix It On The Spot
Polyethylene Welding Kit
Kennedy's Enterprises
PO Box 2544
Bakersfield, CA  93380

The kit was outrageously priced at $9.59 at a RV parts place.  Instructions
and a couple of pictures on the back of the package are adequate.  But I'll
have to say, it worked for me.  I'm reasonably sure my cracks were caused by
freezing,  not fatigue or aging.

The trouble is that I've never quite figured out what the black tank is made
of.  Anybody sure it's polyethylene?  My manual specifies polyethylene for
the fresh water tank but the material of the blackwater tanks is only called
"seamless molded plastic".

GQ '67 Safari