We have two water troughs that have slow leaks. One is galvanized metal, the other is a Rubbermaid. I have suggested using the paint on type Flexseal to repair the leaks. Brother disagrees, says it won’t work for very long because the Flexseal doesn’t bond to the trough and will peel off. Does anyone have experience? Would you apply it to the inside or outside of the trough?
J-B Weld WaterWeld has been recommended in this forum to patch troughs. I have some on hand in case my Rubbermaid tank starts to leak.
For the Rubbermaid tank use JB Weld (Marine). I have 10 Rubbermaid tanks of all sizes, and their life expectancy is crap. Within 6-7 years they have all developed cracks - every size. And each size seems to have a preference as to where the crack will develop. Rubbermaid won’t stand behind their product - they would just rather you buy a new tank (which will also crack in a few years time). For the thousands of disgruntled owners of Rubbermaid tanks, the JB Marine Weld is the only product that has ever successfully worked to repair Rubbermaid cracks - just read the online forums and you’ll seek this problem goes back a LONG time.
How to repair: Best to drill a small hole at each end of the crack to prevent the crack from spreading. Also drill a hole on each side of the middle of the crack and thread a piece of wire (preferably electric fence wire) through the holes and twist the ends of the wire together tightly to ensure the center of the crack doesn’t widen when the tank is filled. Use a liberal amount of the JB Marine Weld on the entire crack inside the trough and make sure it completely covers the wire tie. Do both inside and outside of the tank. Allow the weld to fully dry before filling the tank. The weld will hold tightly and the tank will be watertight again.
Also remember: no rough treatment of the tank afterwards. Banging or bumping the tank around will cause the weld bond to weaken to that plastic tank. Treat the tank gently and that bond will hold for years.
For the galvanized tank I would have someone weld it with a torch.
We have some fiberglass tanks that are a good 40 years old and still like new.
When you need to replace some of those leaky tanks, try to find those.
Here livestock supply stores get them directly from the manufacturer.
In a pinch, for galvanized tanks, we use the black tar “cement” they sell to repair roofs.
It is goey and water can’t get by it if you stick it on a crack.
Use a disposable glove to apply it.
Then fix the tank with epoxy glues, as mentioned above, next time it is dry, when you clean it out.
flexseal peels in about three days
flexseal never worked for anything I used it for. Their commercials are very misleading. An important part of fixing these tanks is to make sure they are very clean from dirt, etc. and are very dry.
I have used a Hot Glue gun. Works pretty good, most patches stand the test of time. Have used on both metal and plastic. With metal I used rough grit sand paper to clean up the “hole” area. Squirt some hot glue and press it into the hole before its sets up. Then apply some more on top while the first layer is still hot and not completely set up, hardened. Make sure the tank is at “room temperature”.
With the plastic tanks make sure they are at least at room temperature. I and or use a Heat Gun to get the plastic warm to hot. Then use the Hot Glue gun and press into the area as explained above.
Quick fix that generally last a long time. Sometimes it doesn’t “surface prep” is key. I have also cut “patches” out of an old rubber inner tube squirt some hot glue and press the rubber patch on top. They can peal away with time.
Or try using what Bluey suggested. It’s called Henry Wet patch
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Henry-0-90-Gal-208R-Rubber-Wet-Patch-Roof-Cement-HE208R142/100041225
The Galvanized tanks I have bought from Tractor Supply are garbage. WAY under “galvanized”. They all rusted, developed pin hole leaks in them in less than a year ± when used in my neck of the woods.
We have been using the Rubbermaid tanks for years with no issues. They have been frozen solid a number of times. Been kicked around and played in and have never cracked or developed leaks.
Tried Flex seal on the metal tanks. Like others have said, didn’t work for very long.
I’m with Bluey. I have had my troughs for many decades, and still perfect.
My old fiberglass wheelbarrows are the same - MUCH longer lasting than the new ones.
I tried Flexseal on my muckers where they had cracks. It doesn’t work. It covers flat areas fine, but not any angels. But it is cheap enough, try it.
I just used some silicone in a tube that I found laying around in my dad’s garage when I had a crack in my Rubbermaid tank.
Smeared it over the crack and let it dry, worked like a charm.
I think that was about 4 years ago and it’s holding up great.
There is always one in every crowd, and today that one is me. We used Flexseal on our Rubbermaid tub this past fall (early Sept.) and so far, it’s holding up just fine. We sprayed the inside and the outside of where the tub was cracked. I’m interested now in seeing how long it lasts because based on this thread it shouldn’t have made it the 5 months it has…
Use Tiger Bond. It is fiberglass Bondo. Flexseal sucks. Ask me how I know…Sigh
