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Open Roads Forum  >  General RVing Issues

 > What material is my gray tank made of?

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Rvpapa

Alberta , Can.

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Posted: 08/02/12 07:18pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

"If its black its ABS."
Don't bet on it. The only thing black proves is it is not virgin plastic and cannot be certified food grade, AKA fresh water tank.

The only sure way is to look for the triangle shape label with the material identifier letters. Both my black & grey are HDPE and they are not easy to repair short of welding.

Art.

forty4san

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Posted: 08/02/12 09:22pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I agree, Eternabond does so much more than roof repairs .. and you don't have to worry about what material your tank is made of.


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reasley

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Posted: 08/02/12 10:26pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Monty-Rob wrote:

Have a small pinhole leak in my gray tank and previously got a lot of replys how to repair leak but I need to make sure what the material is before I try anything. A lot of folks thought ABS Plastic....a tech at Lazy Days said USMHW....

Thank you in advance.


I think the tech meant UHMWPE or ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. However that is very unlikely. It's expensive and unnecessary. More likely it's rotomolded LLDPE. You can repair pinholes the same way they do at the molder. Rotomolded tanks frequently come out of the oven with pinholes from outgassing during the molding process. They simply plug the pinhole with hot melt polyethylene glue.

reasley

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Posted: 08/02/12 10:33pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Rvpapa wrote:

"If its black its ABS."
Don't bet on it. The only thing black proves is it is not virgin plastic and cannot be certified food grade, AKA fresh water tank.

The only sure way is to look for the triangle shape label with the material identifier letters. Both my black & grey are HDPE and they are not easy to repair short of welding.

Art.

Black has nothing to do with whether the tank is built from virgin resin. Black is simply the colorant (usually carbon black). The freshwater tank on my offroad trailer is black LLDPE for two reasons. To reduce the growth of algae in the tank and to provide UV stabilization to the poly.

mobeewan

Hampton, Va

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Posted: 08/03/12 02:32am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

More and more tanks are made from polyethelene or similar plastic. The industry has been getting away from ABS plastic black waste tanks. They are hard plastic material and crack easier than poly which is softer and flexible and can take hits that would crack an ABS tank.

beemerphile1

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Posted: 08/03/12 07:30am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I have no idea what your tank is made of but if it truly is a pinhole then just run a stainless steel screw in the hole.


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wa8yxm

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Posted: 08/03/12 10:50am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Bonefish wrote:

Plumbers GOOP from ACE Hardware will stick and repair it no matter what it is made off.

GOOP


YES!!! That is, in fact, what I used on my waste tank

Silicon is all but useless. (Well I have found one good use for it, the aluminum color is good for plugging small holes in screens) it sticks very poorly if it isticks at all and basically does not work as you expect.

GOOP on the other hand.. STICKS. So does Gorilla Glue. GOOP is neeter. I"m down to one tube, Need to re-stock.


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Deb and Ed M

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Posted: 08/03/12 12:32pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Assuming the tank is indeed polyethylene - there's a product called G-Flex found at marine stores that does a great job of repairs. I paddle with a guy who rebuilt his kayak's keel with the stuff and it has held for over a year of abuse.

Hint: almost all kayaks are HDPE - and most kayak shops can do plastic welding.

bill h

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Posted: 08/15/12 11:41pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

If it is ABS, ABS cement is all you need. It it is waxy feeling, it is most likely polyethylene.


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