Cost to replace=$29.95 plus + $5.05 FOR S&H TOTAL $35.
Cost to repair using a mini-weld model 6 Airless plastic welder. 3 welding rods .12 CENTS EACH, stainless steel mesh .15 CENTS, 3 inches of fiber flex welding rod .13 CENTS TOTAL COST OF REPAIR=.64 CENTS.
WITH A PLASTIC WELDER, I WAS ABLE TO SAVE $34.36.
1) Work area
o Make sure work area is clean and well ventilated.
o Identify plastic- You need to know what kind of plastic it is. So that you can use the right plastic welding rod. In most cases there will be a mark on the part that will tell you what kind of plastic it is, but in this cases there was no mark on part. We will work on this in step 3.
o Turn plastic welder to preheat before going to step 2. This will allow the plastic welder to heat up how you’re cleaning and setting up the plastic planter.
2) Parts to be welded
o Clean parts with soap and water.
o Let dry or towel dry
o Set parts up for welding. If there are broken pieces try to put back together using tape to hold them until ready to weld. Try to make sure that the cracks are flat and even before welding.
3) Set the plastic welder to the correct heat setting for the plastic being welded.
o Since we don’t know what kind of plastic we are working with. We will have to try different welding rods to see which one will hold the best. PP and Fiber-Flex plastic welding rods held the best.
o So these are the rods I used for this repair.
4) Weld the plastic together.
o Using the edge of the welder go along the crack and make a groove.
o Use the PP welding rod fill in the groove. Let the heat do all the work don’t force it. Just melt the filler rod into the groove.
o If you think that you’ll need added strength at the weld you can use stainless steel mesh. Just heat the mesh up and the plastic will form around the mesh where you can’t see it.
o Don’t try to weld the whole piece at once. Just work on about a 1 inch to 2 inch at a time.
o If plastic gets to hot and starts to deform cool it off with water and start welding again.
5) When finished welding
o Turn the welder off and let cool.
o Let the welded part cool. You can use a rag with water to help cool it off faster.
o When part is cool. You can start to finish the weld. I use 60 grit sand paper then go to 180 grit sand paper to make the plastic smooth.
o Now because the plastic does not match this is your option.
A) The part can be painted any color you want. Just get paint for plastic.
B) You will not be able to see the part that is black because you will be adding dirt to the box and this will cover it.
6) Let the paint dry and start using your grow box!
If you would like to see pictures of this repair and many others come to our site and look at our how to pages.
Source by Karal Cass
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