Well it seems to be an easier fix then i thought. You could do what Dr. Joe says, or what Joe the acrylic and corian guy says, use Marine silicone on that edge, and might as well do it to all of them.
Engineers PLEASE help - acrylic stress
- Thread starter robkob
- Start date
Dominuslive;578871; said:
I wouldn't feel comfortable with just putting silicone to hold it, Once it starts to delaminate (for lack of a better word), I think the problem has to be repaired not justed patched (silicone). Could you it be drilled, solvent injected and then clamped (bar clamp) to bring it back to factory spec? We are talking about alot of water here.
Dr Joe
.
Dr Joe;579018; said:
Well, drilling a hole is pretty much pointless. When welding acrylic you apply the solvent to the seam, it melts the acrylic to form its bond. One could probably drill the hole, but the appropriate bit would be needed for this application. But in all reality If you had a 750 gal glass aquarium it would be held by silicone and nothing else. The guy I work with has 25 years of experience and he said that the silicone would be the easiest fix. If you drill the hole it could lead to further problems, plus defacement. The best way to fix it is to obviously pop the seam clean it and re-weld it. Of course that is the most tie consuming. Also readding solvent by either drilling or just laying the tank on its side does not clean the surface where the seam is popping. So in my personal opinion I would use silicone. It would be easiest, cheapest, and fastest fix. Of course if you want the real clean look, pop the seam clean it, and weld it over. Adding solvent to the already unclean surface is going to be pointless, because that is why it is probably popping. Odds are it was oil that got on the acrylic, either human or mechanical oil and it didn't get wiped good enough. Or they were in too much of a hurry and did not have enough cleaning solution when they were wiping down. Whatever you choose good luck and keep us posted.
Here is a great site that explains and shows how to build one. http://duboisi.com/diy/BNdiytank/bndiytank.htm I hope it helps
Dominuslive;579383; said:
You make good points...I was not considering WHY it didn't weld, just that it did't receive solvent.
Can you 'pop' only one seam? If it's solvent bonded, does it open clean enough for a repair? I ask because any seams I have had (5/8 " and less) are jagged.
I was suggesting a hole size just large enough to get a syringe needle thru..
Point taken on all glass tank w/silicone...but I wouldn't patch a seam that was splitting either.
Well, Thank you for your answers and I appologise to robkob for hijacking his thread.
How's the tank draining going robkob?
Dr Joe
.
Yes, and no. Since it is already popping, then yes. But since it was still holding about 7500 lbs, then no. You can pop it, but special tools will be needed. Joe at work has a vacuum corner clamp that will seperate the seams, and clamps that will hold it together by vacuum. But at the same time, oe would probably just cut thr front off with a router and clean up the edges and re-weld the tank. That would be the fasts way to pop the seam
