Grey tank is fixed. Links to HOWTO....

[Montana_2785]

It looks like I may have gotten my grey tank fixed. There was an old crack in the bottom that looked like it had been repaired before. However, the active leak was from the joint where the drain outlet connected to the tank itself. It was leaking about halfway up the side of the connector (about 1/3 of the tank capacity.)

I used a hot air plastic welder from Harbor Freight (on sale for $29.99) I put a bead on the old crack then a bead on the connector joint. I thought that I had it but it gave way when I filled the tank. So I drained it again and put about 7 beads on the joint and let it cool for about a half hour before filling the tank again.

It held. I even poked and prodded at the tank and it held. Now I just need to see if it will hold up under road conditions.

I'll take some pictures tonight and post a couple. It looks really ugly but I don't care as long as it will hold.

If anyone is interested in plastic welding, here are a few links to get you started:

http://www.stanmech.com/HowToWeldPlastics.htm
http://www.plasticweldingschool.org/...in-welding.php
http://www.plasticsmag.com/welding.a...pr-01&aid=3212

If you get the Harbor Freight kit, also be sure to get an extra pack of welding plastic rod. The kit only gives you two rods each of ABS, PVC and PP. Beware that you also need an air compressor to use this kit. I have a small 2.3CFM compressor that did the job. You need to be able to supply a continuous 4PSI stream of air while the welder is in operation and 10 minutes after you turn it off to cool down.

Also, you will be advised to get some type of material to practice on before working with your tank. I got a 10 foot PVC pipe. Why so big? I'll chop off the extra two feet and use the rest for a yard carpet holder as talked about before

BTW: According to Keystone, all our holding tanks for all years are made of ABS.

Eric

[richfaa]

Can you tell what the fault was in the first place(if any) that caused it to fail, Design flaw, etc..Our ever faithful terry is 10 years old and no tank ever leaked.

[Montana_2785]

Rich, Our 14 year old Starcraft never had a plumbing leak either.

As far as I can tell for the Monty, this is a manufacturing flaw from the tank manufacturer.

Eric

[richfaa]

Tell you what..If this Terry had a slide out we would keep it.. Never had any problems with it at all..ever..of any kind..Don't think they make them like they used to?????

[Montana_2785]

While our Starcraft never had a plumbing problem, it had other issues.

1) A window was not installed correctly by the factory causing a leak after a few years. I had to replace about 1/3 of the floor for that one...

2) Weak frame. I had stress cracks in the outer skin and both door frames had broken completely through in one corner.

3) I "lost" a number of tires while on the road. I know first hand the kind of damage a tire can cause when it comes apart.

4) The cabinet door/drawer latches were not the best. They were plastic catches and they started breaking with age & use. I had replaced over half of them by the time we got rid of the TT.

5) I had upgraded the shackles on the Starcraft. Same issue as we have with the Montana.

6) Built-in stereo was crap. Replaced with car stereo.


While it looks like I've traded one set of problems for another, I also now have a more robust infrastructure to work with. I'll get its problems resolved then concentrate on "enhancing" to meet our desires. For starters it will be a much nicer boondocking unit than our Starcraft was. There is simply more space and carrying capacity for more water, batteries, etc.

My list of projects is simply longer than my available time & available $$$ can cope with all at once. That gives me something to look forward to for quite a while

Eric