5gl plastic bucket to solvent weld window (portable moving tank)

West1 · Oct 4, 2016

I have this idea about cutting out a section of a 5gl bucket and placing a sheet of acrylic so I can have a side view of new tank mates.

I tried looking for a bucket that is not made of HDPE but I keep searching dead ends via web. Gave in and tried a Home Depot bucket. Cut out a large section, placed 1/8 acrylic in the oven@ 300* for 10 min, placed in bucket to get the curve I needed. After 20 min, I used GE I silicone and let it dry for 48hrs. The results was... a slow leak. It's a bit to scary for me, I'd rather solvent weld.

Does anyone know of a 5gl that can be solvent weld to acrylic AND food grade?
Or has anyone done something similar?

cromag27 · Oct 4, 2016

Silicone does not bond to plastics very well. you'd need a special cross bond solvent.

West1 · Oct 4, 2016

cromag08 said:
Silicone does not bond to plastics very well. you'd need a special cross bond solvent.

I found out yesterday lol.

Im going to toy with the idea. A portable tank with a handle would be pretty sweet.

I am watching repair videos of Kayaks. I think I'll try and weld the acrylic with a chopped up Lid. Might be easier with a square bucket rather than a round one.