[VAC] Re: Tanks for everything

[Alexkensington@xxxxxxx]

Ray -
Well, I and Harvey both did this last year, and it is quite a job. It seem to 
separate the men from the boys if you do it your self. 

At that time we all wondered quite a bit if the material of the black tank 
could be mended at all, as it was polyethylene and reported to resist 
epoxies, and such. I despaired and ordered a tank that would fit, but was far 
from original, which meant it would fit sort of. Having the old tank out I 
experimented with JB weld which was suggested on this list, and bless me, it 
worked amazingly well. I had cracks around the toilet flange (most common 
failure) as well as around the dump valve, and even a big cut I made myself 
as I was removing it with a sawzall. 

I filled all of these with JB weld and waited to see what would happen.  
Well, it stuck, and stuck good. I set the tank on saw horses and filled it 
with water. No leaks after a week. I plumbed together a riser on the vent 
stack (6' tall vertical pipe) plugged the toilet flange, and fill the whole 
business with water for a static pressure test. Still no leaks after another 
week. The new tank still was several weeks away from delivery, so for giggles 
I reinstalled the repaired old tank. And filled it with water "in situ" --no 
leaks. Then I did what I called the Stink Test. I poured 5 gallons of strong 
ammonia solution down the toilet, and shut up the trailer, and came back a 
week later. No leaks and no smell even on my hands and knees by the toilet 
base. This was while the coach was in a heated warehouse last winter, so the 
air was still all around it.

Results? I have a brand new black water tank in my basement as it was special 
order and no refund was available! Its NOT for sale as I am digging into my 
second 1966 coach, and haven't evaluated the situation yet. 

After a year and 30,000 miles and a lot of full timing the tank holds still, 
and seems vapor tight. TRY the JB Weld, first! Then test your work, because 
new tanks are HARD to get a hold of and expensive and the old tanks seem to 
mend easily if structurally intact.  

PS Considering was a blasted nuisance it is to pull said tank, I would try to 
mend it "in situ" first, and testing before removing it, and having to work 
"in vitro"

Hope this helps -
Alex In Indiana
66 Safari & Overlander
8728