In prepping for a long trip I crawled under the RV and saw some screw that had popped through the thermal cover down there, causing the cover to sag in places. The small washers originally installed at the factory had ripped though and I replaced them with bigger ones. Toward the rear of the RV was the lowest, biggest sag and I saw only one hole where I surmised the washer had also worked its way through but when I felt with my finger there was only a hole in the crossmember, no screw. I slipped a fender washer through a screw and installed it. No more sag but - water!Water rushing out in a few places of the thermal cover. I cut a 5 inch square hole through the cover where I had placed the new screw only to discover with a flashlight that I had screwed through the crossmember and into the fresh water tank.Any idea how to fix this? Is there some sort of plug that will keep my 136 gallons of freshwater in?Draining the tank now ...

Depends on the tank material, you can buy repair kits on Amazon,or you might be able to use an Expanding Plug but you'd have to enlarge the hole. Tank has to be made of moderately heavy plastic for that to work.If you can get to the inside of the tank you could use a fender washer with a piece of rubber underneath, and another like set on the outside, tie together with a machine screw and nut.Or for a quick fix a golf tee can work, sand the outside to remove paint, tap it in and as it absorbs water it will expand and seal the hole. These can last quite awhile, you may want to snip off most of the tee on the outside to keep it from being dislodged.All of this stuff comes from what we did in an industrial setting.

Eternabond tape works for that and is permanent

Click For Full-Size Image.I put the screw back in hoping it may seal itself but no luck. Water is running along the crossmember and dripping down elsewhere.

agesilaus wrote:Or for a quick fix a golf tee can work, sand the outside to remove paint, tap it in and as it absorbs water it will expand and seal the hole. These can last quite awhile, you may want to snip off most of the tee on the outside to keep it from being dislodged.All of this stuff comes from what we did in an industrial setting.That actually sounds doable until I get back from my trip

Kober wrote:agesilaus wrote:Or for a quick fix a golf tee can work, sand the outside to remove paint, tap it in and as it absorbs water it will expand and seal the hole. These can last quite awhile, you may want to snip off most of the tee on the outside to keep it from being dislodged.All of this stuff comes from what we did in an industrial setting.That actually sounds doable until I get back from my tripWe'd use tees in pipe leaks and such until an outage was scheduled when it could be welded. That might be over a year sometimes so they can be durable. 'd carry a few extra tho just in case.

Dumba$$ | Good Sam Community

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
May 21, 2018
You are going to need to pull the tank out for repairs. There are a variety of products (and companies) that can fix the tank but you are not going to be able to screw something in from down there that will have any kind of permanent results.
mobeewan
Explorer
May 21, 2018
Believe it or not the Flex seal tape works pretty well. I watched a video done by a news station with one of their consumer product experts and they tested Flex seal tape and it performed just like shown in the commercials with the water leaking from various repairs.

If you do wind up using Flex seal tape it is only meant to be used until yuo can make a proper repair. Since it is at the corner of the tank and resting on the angle bar I'd probably add a piece of pipe insulation wrapped around the corner to help keep any vibration from rubbing through the Flex seal tape.
MDKMDK
Explorer
May 21, 2018
mobeewan wrote:
Believe it or not the Flex seal tape works pretty well. I watched a video done by a news station with one of their consumer product experts and they tested Flex seal tape and it performed just like shown in the commercials with the water leaking from various repairs.

If you do wind up using Flex seal tape it is only meant to be used until yuo can make a proper repair. Since it is at the corner of the tank and resting on the angle bar I'd probably add a piece of pipe insulation wrapped around the corner to help keep any vibration from rubbing through the Flex seal tape.

Phil Swift to the rescue. :B
It will even hold a boat, sawed in half,:W together.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
May 21, 2018
How, exactly, are you going to get a piece of that Flex Seal on the tank to seal the leak?
Since that's impossible in the current scenario what is your followup suggestion?
For me, Flex Seal spray has turned out to be a complete failure. Long term I would expect the same results from Flex Seal Tape.
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
May 21, 2018
Kober wrote:

Click For Full-Size Image.

I put the screw back in hoping it may seal itself but no luck. Water is running along the crossmember and dripping down elsewhere.

SWEET.....:p
MDKMDK
Explorer
May 21, 2018
Bill.Satellite wrote:
How, exactly, are you going to get a piece of that Flex Seal on the tank to seal the leak?

As you suggested in your prior, less confrontational post, remove the tank. If you want to assess the damage, and apply a permanent fix. The actual repair options are up to the owner. I've never used Flex Seal, but I doubt it would be a good choice for a permanent fix.
Bill.Satellite wrote:
Since that's impossible in the current scenario what is your followup suggestion?
Is this a quiz?
Bill.Satellite wrote:
For me, Flex Seal spray has turned out to be a complete failure. Long term I would expect the same results from Flex Seal Tape.

Sorry for the confusion Bill, but I thought my post was pretty obviously tongue in cheek.
MrWizard
Moderator
May 21, 2018
JB waterweld

i got mine at OSH
available all over the place including walmart, lowes, home depot, amazon etc..
Hammerboy
Explorer
May 21, 2018
Google plastic welding

From what I understand there aren't any good patches for this, they do make plastic welding rods (using same type as tank) that can make permanent repairs or "spin weld" a patch over it. Welding will of course will require tank removal.

Dan
bighatnohorse
Explorer II
May 21, 2018
I think that a well nut will fix the leak for you.
Do some Google and YouTube research on how they are used.
I think it will be a quick, cheap and easy fix for you. :)
path1
Explorer
May 21, 2018
I'd try a "well nut" first.

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