rodent chewed hole in fuel tank DK45HST.....death to all rodents

[aczlan]

polyethylene type tanks can be welded. Use welding rod to match tank, heat with heavy duty soldering gun. the tank will be good as new.

I did this with a taillight a few months back and it worked very well.

Aaron Z

 

[MotorSeven]

I've always wanted to try the plastic welding kit at HF. So far I have use JB weld with outstanding success to seal the cracks up on the inside of the DK fuel bowl, so I think it would also work on the fuel tank.

BTW....get a barn cat or three

 

[L355SS]

JB weld works for me. Repaired my 270 gal fuel tank with it also.
Dennis

I have used a JB Weld gas tank repair kit but it was for a metal tank. BlueMagic

 

[Gary Fowler]

I repaired the cracked fuel tank on my LS tractor that had 4 nuts imbedded in the bottom of the tank to attach a skid plate (PP engineering ). I removed the tank, acetone cleaned it, then used a wire wheel on my 4.5" grinder to rough up the areas and applied enough pressure to kind of V groove the cracks. Acetone cleaned it again letting it soak a bit to soften the plastic then applied JB weld generously to cover the cracks, nut and holes and leave about an 1/8" build up. After it dried, I reinstalled the tank and it has been in service for 2 years and still no sign of a leak. LS replace the tank for me under warranty so I still have the new tank in the box it came in just waiting for the old tank to start leaking. SO FAR SO GOOD.
I think the idea of putting in a screw might be good especially if you put the JB Weld over the screw to seal and reinforce it. The screw will give the JB Weld something to hold on to also. Unfortunately to do this, you are going to have to remove the tank as all this has to be done in the flat position.

 

[mj007]

get a couple of barn cats and don't feed 'em :licking:

 

[ArtMech]

Is it a 21st century tractor "feature" - to be able be eaten by rats? One day you may find no fender or no hood, or no harness, because that stuff is simply ... consumed. :shocked::shocked: Hate such a prospect. :laughing:

 

[IslandTractor]

I've always wanted to try the plastic welding kit at HF. So far I have use JB weld with outstanding success to seal the cracks up on the inside of the DK fuel bowl, so I think it would also work on the fuel tank.

BTW....get a barn cat or three

The HF kit works but the heating iron fitting is made of crap steel so if you apply any pressure it will bend and break. Just go slowly and wait for the "shoe" fitting to fully heat up before trying to use it.

 

[grsthegreat]

Is it a 21st century tractor "feature" - to be able be eaten by rats? One day you may find no fender or no hood, or no harness, because that stuff is simply ... consumed. :shocked::shocked: Hate such a prospect. :laughing:

yup....a biodegradable tractor

i like having the plastic tank, as ive had to deal with rusted steel tanks before. but never saw this coming.

im going to try the epoxy paste seal first off....see if it holds. I got a tube of JB Weld 15 min epoxy.

The rat/squirrel already roughened up the surface alot. Ill use some brake cleaner first and try the patch.

Ill probably order a new tank just to have on hand, as i dont want to be down during the winter due to a hole in tank.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

That is a funny story from this angle.

Never would have expected that in a million years.

 

[IslandTractor]

yup....a biodegradable tractor

i like having the plastic tank, as ive had to deal with rusted steel tanks before. but never saw this coming.

im going to try the epoxy paste seal first off....see if it holds. I got a tube of JB Weld 15 min epoxy.

The rat/squirrel already roughened up the surface alot. Ill use some brake cleaner first and try the patch.

Ill probably order a new tank just to have on hand, as i dont want to be down during the winter due to a hole in tank.

You may be shocked at the cost of a new tank. These are not standard or generic tanks.

If it were me, I'd make a JB Weld repair and watch it carefully this summer. Some of those epoxy repairs are essentially life long.