Esky repairs?

[glennheinzel]

Hi team AHB,

Someone (not me!) was rearranging the garage recently and dropped something heavy on my mash tun's ball valve. This then placed pressure on the inside of the esky and created a crack that radiated out a couple of inches from the pipe nipple. BTW - It's been so long since I've used a 3v system that I hope I've used all the right terminology!

Bottom line being that the esky isn't water tight anymore. Can anyone suggest a way to seal the crack in a food safe manner? Eg, Perhaps there's a food safe glue/sealant that could be used to stick the wall of an icecream container over the top of the crack??

 

[Pogierob]

I just had a little Google and sikaflex-221 is a silicone that is rated for incidental food contact.
It might be worth looking into what "incidental" means but is be hesitant to stick the side of an ice cream container on as that would give germs a lot of extra edges and places to hide.

 

[Pogierob]

http://www.plasweld.com.au/plastic-welding-and-repairs/

Perhaps another option.

 

[Feldon]

KASON SIL Kason Food Grade Silicone

Retail $19.94 inc GST

Food grade silicone. Colour: Aluminium Grey, suitable for use with stainless steel. High temperature formula heat resistant to 200ºC (400ºF). Premium grade. Air cures overnight. Tack-free in 15 minutes. Uses: Waterproof adhesive bonds better than generic sealants. Won't peel. Tube volume: 304ml

http://www.crh.com.au/products/fabrication-supplies/sealants/kason-sil-kason-food-grade-silicone/

 

[glennheinzel]

Thanks guys. I look into these options.

 

[sp0rk]

I'd be looking into plastic welders and if they can do HDPE plastic welding
Might be able to get it done for a couple of longies of your finest

 

[Yob]

I'd go with the silicone too, I plugged up the bung hole in my esky with similar stuff and its dead smooth

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Unfortunatly the plastic used in eskie's makes it difficult to glue as the adhesives wont stick to the plastic. Silicon might work, but you would be better to get it welded if possible.

 

[Yob]

Silicone does work and indeed stick.

Where I've used it on mine, While it's not a crack it shows no signs of loosening at the edges where it's thin.

 

[TidalPete]

BTW - It's been so long since I've used a 3v system that I hope I've used all the right terminology!

Perhaps :icon_offtopic: but glad you've been getting ideas on how to get your problem solved Rukh.
Keen to know what sort of setup you use these days?

Just curious?

 

[glennheinzel]

Thanks again all. Hopefully I'll get a chance to visit my local B&Q in the next couple of weeks (I'm in "sarf eas" London these days).

TidalPete - Perhaps I could've left it as "I haven't done much brewing", however I had just brewed on a mates Braumeister (and what a dream that was). I am working towards opening a 1bbl nano/microbrewery in my garage with a mate so I'd better get cracking on having the pilot/home brewery operational.

 

[Rod]

Rapid fix will work

whether it is food safe I do not know

it is a mixture of super glue and bicarbonate of soda

http://www.rapidfixaustralia.com.au/

The site has the material safety data sheet

 

[DU99]

depending on how big the "esky"wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run to get a new unit

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

depending on how big the "esky"wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run to buy a new one...

Was actually thinking the same

 

[glennheinzel]

Update. I spoke to one manufacturer. Whilst they had a food grade silicon, they asked questions around the viscosity of the liquid and how much silicon would need to be in contact. In the end they confirmed that I could use their food grade silicon for my esky repairs.

In case you can get it in Aus - the product is Siroflex SX food grade silicone.