Silicone on brand new tank

[BillB83]

Just had a tank delivered and im not too happy about the silicone but i want someone who knows more to let me know if this is a problem or just cosmetic.

3 of the 4 seams have these white lines going up them vertically almost like air ? but i am not 100% sure.


Internally one of the overflows looks fine the other one looks horrible both pics attached.

 

[JTP424]

The white line you are seeing I believe is the space between the structural silicone and the "protective" silicone, IMO it shouldn't impact structural integrity but I'll wait for others to chime in.
Overflow silicone is "cosmetic", so I don't think the company would do anything.

 

[BillB83]

The white line you are seeing I believe is the space between the structural silicone and the "protective" silicone, IMO it shouldn't impact structural integrity but I'll wait for others to chime in.
Overflow silicone is "cosmetic", so I don't think the company would do anything.

Confirmation that its just cosmetic would be the best news as its not easy getting it in an out of my basement

Thanks for the response

 

[UncommonSense]

The bottom of the pictured overflow with the rough surface finish is due to the squished out silicone bead being wiped by a finger after the surface of the silicone has started to “skin over”…

Basically, the builder took too long to wipe that bead of silicone after installing the overflow!

 

[UncommonSense]

Confirmation that its just cosmetic would be the best news as its not easy getting it in an out of my basement

Thanks for the response

Measure the glass thickness very carefully…

Then, measure how wide that glass:glass silicone seam adjacent to the air bubble is, at the narrowest point before a bubble…

If the silicone seam width is >= glass thickness, the structural seam is unaffected!

 

[BillB83]

Measure the glass thickness very carefully…

Then, measure how wide that glass:glass silicone seam adjacent to the air bubble is, at the narrowest point before a bubble…

If the silicone seam width is >= glass thickness, the structural seam is unaffected!

its 1/2 inch the air bubbles are almost dead center of the piece of glass i dont know if its a air bubble or what? but its not uniform all the way up, could it be clear silicone? put in prior to the black ? maybe i dunno

 

[JTP424]

Yea, if it's half the glass then yea that's probably not good...did you order it custom?

 

[RedReefer]

Following

 

[Lelegance]

I would get a refund / new tank. You didnt pay for a “maybe its alright” you paid for longevity and structural integrity that will last years, protecting both your house and your investment into the tank. Even if it isnt an “immediate issue” it is not what you signed up for.

 

[BillB83]

I would get a refund / new tank. You didnt pay for a “maybe its alright” you paid for longevity and structural integrity that will last years, protecting both your house and your investment into the tank. Even if it isnt an “immediate issue” it is not what you signed up for.

Yeah i just got a refund going with another brand for the replacement.

Thanks

 

[Lelegance]

I would get a refund / new tank. You didnt pay for a “maybe its alright” you paid for longevity and structural integrity that will last years, protecting both your house and your investment into the tank. Even if it isnt an “immediate issue” it is not what you signed up for.

Yeah i just got a refund going with another brand for the replacement.

Thanks

Great choice. Those were definitely air pockets, and 100% in the structural seam. Air bubbles off production would make me question the quality of the silicone, construction, or application methods, resulting in a terrible seam that cannot hold its required water pressure.

 

[UncommonSense]

its 1/2 inch the air bubbles are almost dead center of the piece of glass i dont know if its a air bubble or what? but its not uniform all the way up, could it be clear silicone? put in prior to the black ? maybe i dunno

Sorry, busy day! Yeah 1/2” thick glass with those defects dead centered on the seam isn’t great…

It’s definitely not clear silicone, black silicone turns light grey in color when squished out to an extremely thin film… I suspect that is what you’re seeing in the first photo… it indicates that the panes were pressed way too close together during assembly!

The second photo shows a definite air bubble in the seam, this can happen due to insufficient silicone application during assembly, or due to a large air bubble trapped within the silicone bead during assembly!

This said, I would honestly recommend warranting this tank under defects in materials or workmanship (specifically for workmanship)!

(if the tank was smaller, or the panes weren’t jammed tight together with a microscopic membrane of silicone between them, it might be worth skipping the wait and just running it; but 1/2 [12mm] glass mean the tank isn’t small, and the consequence of just blindly trusting work that you can see isn’t great can be high!)

 

[JonoH]

Looks like it has been put together with silicone injection, and they have done it in 2 passes (one from the outside, then another from the inside at different times)!
Glad you managed to get a refund - basically you have 2 silicone joins, could be ok, but also may not be!