Black Waste Tank Mistake

[West]

Hi guys, I recently bought a 1973 Sovereign which I have gutted and plan on rebuilding but I messed up while taking out the flange seal that connects the toilet with the black waste tank.

Since it was glued onto the tank with caulking, I couldn't simply unscrew the flange and from lack of experience with these things, I made two cuts into the flange (and tank) with a hacksaw. I can probably seal the two cuts I made into the tank with some sort of adhesive but I was wondering if this would cause leaking or other problems down the line? Should I just buy a new tank? I would rather not open up the floor.
Thanks in advance!

[68 TWind]

Hard to tell without pics but I would think you could probably seal it. Lots of new and good products out there for that kind of repair. If yours has a rear bath, getting to the black tank would not be a huge issue if your repair was not working and you have to replace it. Also, since the repair is on the top of the tank, is should not be an issue unless the black tank was full to the top which is usually not a great idea anyway. With that said, every early 70's Sovereign I have seen before restoration has had a ton of rust in the rear. If you are doing a lot of work back there then it may be the time to install a new tank.

[West]

Thanks for the help! I went ahead and took a picture but you can barely see the slits I made. It's a center bath model by the way.

[68 TWind]

On my 68 I had to use a nipple screwed into the tank and then the flange threaded onto the nipple. If that is the case for your trailer you will be able to see if the spits open up when you screw the nipple into the top of the tank. If the cuts look like they are going to start a crack that runs, then just stop drill the end of each crack with a small drill bit to keep it from running and then put some sealer on it. Since it is a mid bath I would sure try to go with what I had. Save money and a lot of time.

[Mollysdad]

The tanks are not under pressure and the cuts are not under....er, water. Are the tanks ABS plastic? There's a glue for that.
I'd start with the glue idea.

[West]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

The tanks are not under pressure and the cuts are not under....er, water. Are the tanks ABS plastic? There's a glue for that.
I'd start with the glue idea.

I don't know if it's abs plastic and I'm not really sure how to check. Do you think a two part epoxy would work?

[craftsman]

If you go to the West Marine website,they have a variety of 3M sealants meant for sealing outlets below waterline that I'm sure would work. I used the 5200 3M sealeant when I replaced the very low quality skylight Airstream installs at the factory with a very high quality after market skylight

[lyleapgmc]

If the tanks are ABS epoxy will most certainly not work. It does not adhere to ABS. Google 'determine plastic material' or some such to find a test for the type of plastic you are dealing with.

If it is ABS get the ABS adhesive from the Airstream department at Home Depot, Menard's or Lowe's. They will have many fittings that can be used to create new plumbing for the tanks.

I have removed epoxy from the ABS tupperware on Honda Goldwings. It peels off with great ease. I replaced it with ABS cement from Ace Hardware. Don't get the universal type of cement.

Why do people think that epoxy or super glue are universal adhesives?

Lyle, a motorhome owner wannabe

[HowieE]

I would not use epoxy as it quires hard. I would use a sealant the remains flexible on the 2 saw cuts. Don't over tighten the nipple into the tank but rather coat the treads with toilet bowl wax as a sealant. As noted there is no pressure on the tank and every thing is gravity feed so the cuts are of little problem.

[A W Warn]

Based on what I see in the photo, I would not use any type of adhesive. If you do, you will lose the ability to use the threads that are there. I do not think the cuts you made are deep enough to cause a problem.
I suggest you use a non hardening teflon based pipe thread compound to fill the cuts and coat the threads when you re-install the new threaded flange.

[Picinisco]

If you seal the cuts you made and smooth out the edges of the hole, this flange can be installed. It screws to the wooden floor and it's integral rubber seal compresses into the hole preventing liquid or gas leaks.

[A W Warn]

http://odmrv.com/catalog/index.php?m...roducts_id=662

[paddle whisp]

While at this stage, I'd seriously consider all new plumbing and tanks.
My '71 Overlander didn't have a grey water tank... so I had to add one anyway
And two tanks were just as easy

[ijustlee]

The tanks that I've seen are some type of plastic that not much sticks to so I would only trust a product that was for that specific type of plastic and then you would probably be OK. Test the repair by filling with bleached water above the repair! I bought a new tank for my '73 center bath and when I tried to install it I found that the fittings were in slightly different positions and to make it fit I would have had to cut into things that I didn't want to disturb. Returned that tank and made a tank out of stainless steel.

[HiJoeSilver]

The tank is polyethylene. Not ABS. Not much will stick to them. If the cuts are shallow in the threads I would do the following. Wrap the threads on the new flange well with Teflon tape. Smear a small amount of plumbers putty in the areas of the cuts, then fill the rest of the tank threads with a pipe dope that has Teflon in it. Screw the new flange in. This should seal the tank from future leaks and prevent extra stress from compression boot repair flanges that could crack the flange.

[West]

Hi everyone! Thank you for all your help. I just recently bought a new toilet and a two part epoxy at the Home Depot which I'm going to try out.