EverRidesurf
Observer
Love it. You have inspired me. I can't weld a tank but the layout and everything else is spot on.
Water Storage solution
- Thread starter xpdishn
- Start date
xpdishn
Adventurer
The welding rod is HDPE so the theory is that you get a single piece of HDPE when welded, just like welding metal. Your second question is still under testing, though if you look on the Hot Air Welding site, it's amazing what companies build with welding.
You seem a little over the top with the kudos.
You haven't seen the tank close up. Many thanks though. Having seen what is built and sold using hot air welding, 40-60 gallons would be no problem. Go to their web site and look around. I used 1/4" HDPE and there's no give to the material after welding. The large sheets bend rather easy though.
Whats great about plastic, wood working tools work just fine with it. I am sure that inside a rig, out of the sun, there should be no cracking or breakdown of the material.
Will it be difficult? That depends on the shape of your tank. A simple cube or rectangle would be a cinch. Something like I did, not so easy. As I said in the post, it took many months to do it. Of course, it was a part time project, week nights at the end and week ends. I didn't let the project take away any trail riding time either.
xpdishn
Adventurer
Not to make light of the job, welding plastic is fundamentally heating two pieces of plastic and drawing some more plastic over the joint. Yes, there's a little more to it, like a lot of practice, but in the end it is really easy. Getting the right temp and speed of laying down the weld is the most difficult. It's a little more easy than metal welding. The real kicker is the price of the welder. The catalog shows many models and there are less expensive models than the one I got.
I am NO expert, rank me as a novice, in my knowledge or the art of plastic welding, just someone that took a chance in seeing if it could be done.
CanuckMariner/Nomad
Love having fun 😊 in the 🌞 by the ⛵ and the ⏳
Nice build thread Gary/Paula and for a novice plastic worker you did very well for your first time out. Would love to see your rig in person now that you have made so many additions/upgrades. Paula has to be keen to use it now that she has a real kitchen! Thanks for the lead to this thread!
I am still using my two Scepter jerrys on the rear left swing-out with a push-button spigot on the side and works well for me and everyone likes the push-button spigots for easy access to the water. With my Helton Hot water system I get about 2 showers per jerry. I have one desert tan jerry from the US military in Arabic for the shower and one in light blue for drinking water. This along with my spring loaded shower changing room with rubber mat floor makes for a nice clean up area.
We have to compare notes once we camp out together in the near future.
BTW: have you ever weighed your rig all outfitted and ready to go, dual tanks full, gear, food, dogs and Paula? I estimate you are getting close to 5500-6000 lbs. Fuel economy is loosing ground for the convenience and glampering! Deb calls my rig my mini RV as well. :costumed-smiley-007
I am still using my two Scepter jerrys on the rear left swing-out with a push-button spigot on the side and works well for me and everyone likes the push-button spigots for easy access to the water. With my Helton Hot water system I get about 2 showers per jerry. I have one desert tan jerry from the US military in Arabic for the shower and one in light blue for drinking water. This along with my spring loaded shower changing room with rubber mat floor makes for a nice clean up area.
We have to compare notes once we camp out together in the near future.
BTW: have you ever weighed your rig all outfitted and ready to go, dual tanks full, gear, food, dogs and Paula? I estimate you are getting close to 5500-6000 lbs. Fuel economy is loosing ground for the convenience and glampering! Deb calls my rig my mini RV as well. :costumed-smiley-007
chasespeed
Explorer
Well, only catch, this needs to fit in my work/service van... SO, I would have to make several SMALL containers to get my capacity, and be out of my way....
Thanks.... I wonder if my company will buy one of these?
Chase
Rocket Ship
Banned
Thanks for sharing all that. I'm not sure if I would go down the same road given I already have metal welding equipment. It would probably be easier for me to make a tank out of aluminum.
But, appreciate the work you put into it and your taking the time to explain it all. I always like to know how things are done and will file it away for potential use later.
But, appreciate the work you put into it and your taking the time to explain it all. I always like to know how things are done and will file it away for potential use later.
fasteddy47
Adventurer
Wow..... thanks for the great read...... Already looking around for a welder
Cheers
Eddy
Cheers
Eddy
EverRidesurf
Observer
Any updates on how the tank works after a trip?
ersatzknarf
lost, but making time
Agreed ! We would love to know how it's working out, Gary and Paula.
Were there any sloshing concerns ?
How well does the HDPE work at dampening sound ?
Was 1/4" thick enough or too thick/thin ?
Any advice on baffles ? Did the access caps come from usplastic.com, too ?
This is looking like a great solution for a lot of us.
Thank you very much for posting all this great information from your experience.
Were there any sloshing concerns ?
How well does the HDPE work at dampening sound ?
Was 1/4" thick enough or too thick/thin ?
Any advice on baffles ? Did the access caps come from usplastic.com, too ?
This is looking like a great solution for a lot of us.
Thank you very much for posting all this great information from your experience.
HillbillyfromAL
Explorer
Awesome stuff man I may have a new project once I get all my other stuff done. I'll have to save a link to that welder thanks for sharing.
xpdishn
Adventurer
Again, thanks all for the props. We have taken this out on the trail several times to have found a couple of small leaks. Took out the tank and fixed all the leaks, so on that front everything is fine. There was another issue that cropped up when demonstrating the system, water only spurting out, not a steady stream, which means air is being sucked in instead of water, or a bad pump. So I removed the bulkhead again, disconnected the pump and tested it outside the rig. It moved water just great so I knew that it was in the piping between the tank and pump. I thought maybe one of the quick disconnects went bad so in putting everything back, I checked each connection one at a time working back toward the pump. Everything was operating just fine until just before closing up the bulkhead again and then I had the same problem. The air leak was right at the slide fitting at the pump. The connecting hose was too short, not giving enough play to maintain a spot on connection. So out came the pump on last time (hopefully). I lengthened the intake hose and zip tied both the intake and outfeed hoses so no movement can occur and put everything back. It's working fine again.
Lesson learned? Don't put any strains on those points and reinforce the connections at the pump. The tank, quick disconnects and faucet has been spot on. Now we have to get back out camping and enjoying the outdoors.
Lesson learned? Don't put any strains on those points and reinforce the connections at the pump. The tank, quick disconnects and faucet has been spot on. Now we have to get back out camping and enjoying the outdoors.
Harbor Fright is my last go-to place when I have any sort of expectations. If I want a tool that might get used once it is reasonable...but save the receipt! They have discount days so things can be bought cheap. Get what we expect, I know.
They have a plastic welding kit:
http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html
On some other forums I've read that it works well enough. From what I gather from this excellent build thread and others is that in the case of plastic welding the operator's skills are more important that the quality of the tools.
I'd NEVER buy a metal welder from HF!
Tom
They have a plastic welding kit:
http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html
On some other forums I've read that it works well enough. From what I gather from this excellent build thread and others is that in the case of plastic welding the operator's skills are more important that the quality of the tools.
I'd NEVER buy a metal welder from HF!
Tom
xpdishn
Adventurer
That's very interesting that they would have something like that. IMHO, if someone wants to get really frustrated trying to weld plastic, that unit would be ideal. Not sayin it wouldn't work, just very complicated.
On what other forums have you read about it? Just curious. Thanks,
xpdishn
Adventurer
Frank, some answers.
I have the tank enclosed in a storage unit behind our seats. On top of that we usually have two dog beds and our 2 mutts so we don't hear any sloshing at all. Even without the dogs we don't hear anything. I have had the storage unit out lately and yes you hear sloshing but nothing extreme.
Really can't say how much the HDPE helps with the sound, but I think the 1/4" is just right for the thickness of the walls. Not sure how a thinner walled unit would stand up under the pounding of being off pavement.
As you can see I have a baffle under each lid. They seems to dampen the movement of water quite well. My advice is to definately have them in a tank. One of the issues you have to deal with is how to maintain the location of the water pick-up line at the bottom of the tank. A notch at the bottom corner of the baffle provides a location to slide the line under and the baffles maintains the location quite nicely.
The lids came from http://www.plastic-mart.com/category.aspx?cat=51 They don't leak and they vent the tank very nicely.
Thanks for your comments, much appreciated. It was a lot of work, but for us it really solved the question: "How do I carry all the water I need on a long trip?"
ersatzknarf
lost, but making time
Hi Gary,
Many thanks for answering all those questions !
(sorry... )
That's very good advice about the baffles and the notch for the pick-up, thanks
I had been struggling with how to fit one of those Valterra tanks to the space we have, but when I saw your thread, it made me realize that we'd be better off trying to make one to fit exactly how we need it for the space available.
Really great thread and super helpful !
Many thanks for answering all those questions !
(sorry...
)That's very good advice about the baffles and the notch for the pick-up, thanks
I had been struggling with how to fit one of those Valterra tanks to the space we have, but when I saw your thread, it made me realize that we'd be better off trying to make one to fit exactly how we need it for the space available.
Really great thread and super helpful !