Plastic welding

[JR]

Anyone have any experience welding on plastic? More specifically a gas tank. My bike took a tumble down a hill I shouldn't have been on and the fill neck took a direct shot. It is cracked all the way around the neck. I've seen set ups that melt a plastic filler rod similar to a TIG rod.

New tanks aren't terribly expensive - less than $300 - but I'm thinking I could potentially have other uses for something like this.

I'd appreciate any experiences good or bad.

 

[DavidC]

I bought one of those and proceeded to make a real mess. My suggestion would be to check in the area for someone to weld it if not to costly. The kit gives you different rods for various plastics, then you need to find the symbol and check online to decipher what it is.

Dave

 

[Bill Lins]

Check with the local body shops- most of them have plastic welders now. Hardest part is to identify the specific plastic your tank is made with- you may need to do some research to find out.

 

[JR]

Check with the local body shops- most of them have plastic welders now. Hardest part is to identify the specific plastic your tank is made with- you may need to do some research to find out.

I hadn't thought about that, I've got a friend that owns a body shop. He may be able to point me in the right direction towards what equipment works.
Compatability is another concern, most gas tanks from what I've found are hdpe, looking at the description on alot of welders that is not listed. Mostly abs, ps, pe, etc.

I definitely don't want to do this twice, the entire bike has to be disassembled to remove the tank. And most of my riding is done far from home so I don't get much of a chance to ride it close to home to see if it will hold up.