Plastic Bucket Repair

[Ice_Addict]

I have a Clam bait bucket like in the link below. It got too close to the heater and bubbled, causing a hole. Does anyone know of a product that will seal the hole? Something like a plastic weld that is waterproof and will hold up to freezing temps?

http://www.amazon.com/Clam-9024-6-Gallon-Bucket-Bracket/dp/B006T4TY2Q

[3300]

go to mcdonalds or burger king or wendys and ask for a used bucket. cut a patch piece out. glue to the inside of your. if you want to clean yours up first, then cut out what you don't want.
or go to a hardware and buy a bucket for 3$.
scuff the plastic area that will hold the glue so its rough so it can hold onto it better. like 80 grit sandpaper. use epoxy, two part type. glue and use the rest of the repair bucket to push the patch from the inside, so just put the new bucket inside the clam bucket until the glue is set. cut the repair piece a few inches bigger than the hole/cut out so it has more area to hold the glue. silicone might work too.

if you wanted to get fancy, you could cut a square off the old and draw a outline of it onto the repair bucket and cut that out and insert into the clam bucket on top of the where the patch piece will be. add the patch, then the filler square piece to it looks flush. or you get one of those out side jackets that a bucket buddy/rod holder tackle bag to cover it it up on the out side. still needs the inside patch.

[matzilla]

jb weld it

[Ice_Addict]

go to mcdonalds or burger king or wendys and ask for a used bucket. cut a patch piece out. glue to the inside of your. if you want to clean yours up first, then cut out what you don't want.
or go to a hardware and buy a bucket for 3$.
scuff the plastic area that will hold the glue so its rough so it can hold onto it better. like 80 grit sandpaper. use epoxy, two part type. glue and use the rest of the repair bucket to push the patch from the inside, so just put the new bucket inside the clam bucket until the glue is set. cut the repair piece a few inches bigger than the hole/cut out so it has more area to hold the glue. silicone might work too.

if you wanted to get fancy, you could cut a square off the old and draw a outline of it onto the repair bucket and cut that out and insert into the clam bucket on top of the where the patch piece will be. add the patch, then the filler square piece to it looks flush. or you get one of those out side jackets that a bucket buddy/rod holder tackle bag to cover it it up on the out side. still needs the inside patch.

Great idea! Sheesh, why didn't I think of that? Thanks 3300!

[3300]

you would have figured it out i'm sure!
it's just a perspective thing. you are inside looking out (for a fix) and i am outside looking in (not needing a fix)
so you are very welcome friend!

[striperman]

I would use liquid nails to patch using a piece of plastic over the hole.

[IM-POUNDING- R -U]

jb weld it

X2

[esox_xtm]

If the bucket is made from polyethylene, like just about every one, it will be almost impossible to repair. PE is one of those things that no glue on the planet will stick to well. Most of the containers that glues come in are made of PE for that very reason. Yup, I'm a believer in JB, but that or an epoxy likely won't last. They cure very hard but brittle and if they are unsupported, one flex of the bucket plastic and it will pop right off. Sure, roughening the surfaces will make it last only a little longer, but it's only a matter of time IMO.

There's only 2 sure ways I know how to do that.

1.) Have to heat weld or patch the area. I did have success in repairing a messed up poly gas tank once. I melted some scrap plastic in a pan on a hot plate, heated the area to be repaired with a heat gun to the point where the surface of the plastic was starting to get sticky and schlorbed on the plastic out of the pan. Got to work very fast and it's not necessarily pretty but I've made two seasons with it (it was on an auger). Don't plan on being able to use that pan again either...

2.) Quick and dirty. Find some material for a patch and prepare the area as suggested in the previous posts. Find a product called Geocel, it's an "elastomeric polymer". It comes out and works and cures like silicone except for one thing, It sticks to everything in sight. It can even be applied under water. Don't know  how durable it is in the cold so I'd probably pop rivet the patch to the bucket just for security. I have repaired an aluminum boat with this stuff and it was remarkable. I called the boat the "tin-foil boat" because it was so lightweight the even at 14' I could lift it over my head by myself. Lotsa flex in that thing but when I sold it 5 years after the repair it was still dry. Heck, maybe you could get by without the rivets with this stuff but I hate doing the same job over when it can be one and done. Might have to try that experiment for future reference.......

[Jiffyjerk]

That guy using the stuff in the caulking gun on tv repairing the jon boat shot by a cannon, then fixes holes in the bucket.

[Ice_Addict]

That guy using the stuff in the caulking gun on tv repairing the jon boat shot by a cannon, then fixes holes in the bucket.

Haha! Are you talking about the Flex Seal guy?

[esox_xtm]

Haha! Are you talking about the Flex Seal guy?

But wait! There's more! I have waterfront vacation land in Florida..........

[Bob E]

How big is the hole? If it's smaller you could drill it out to a uniform size and cork it. Or use a bolt with a rubber washer.

[Jiffyjerk]

Yes, nice iceaddict, i wasn't trying to be too funny but seriously. that stuff may work.

[Ice_Addict]

How big is the hole? If it's smaller you could drill it out to a uniform size and cork it. Or use a bolt with a rubber washer.

It bubbled, so the whole area is about the size of two quarters. The bubble is technically watertight, but super thin and it sticks out so it's just a matter of time before it gets snagged or punctured on something. When I get time to mess around with it, I think I may try a combination of heat, a piece of plastic from another bucket for a patch and some sort of heavy adhesive. I'm just too stubborn to pay for another bucket. It came with a nice metal ring that bolts onto my flip over shack so the bucket doesn't slide all over. And I found a coffee can foam insert that I got to fit nicely inside the bucket so the water doesn't freeze as quickly when I am out on the ice. Kind of one of those things - I found a product that really works for me so I want to keep using it.

[barrelslime]

flex seal will work