# Poly Marine Livewell Tank Mod



## AnglerC (May 21, 2016)

I need to mod a livewell tank that came out of a Lund. It's 8" too long. I plan to chop it and glue the end back on with epoxy. Has anyone ever attempted this? Any tips, tricks or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Buckethead (May 21, 2016)

Angler, I didn't shorten a tank but I removed a bench seat from my boat, flipped it upside down and made a 21 gallon livewell out of it. I'll try to post a link to my build so you can see how I did it. It wasn't hard and it still holds water today.


----------



## Buckethead (May 21, 2016)

Buckethead's 1974 Duracraft 1720
https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?t=26781


----------



## Johnny (May 22, 2016)

in my world, most anything can be cut down to make
it longer or shorter - as long as it has the proper support
on the seam...... some 1 to 2" strap of something or other
screwed, riveted or glued over the seam for reinforcement.

50 or more pounds pounding in a boat ride could rupture
even the best seam job...... support support support.


----------



## Ebug (May 22, 2016)

If I were tackling that project I would start with calling a local plastic material supplier to ask if they weld plastic....or have a customer that does. Another source for welding plastic would be a dedicated kayak dealer near you. Most all of them either weld plastic or have a contact that will.

A weld joint is going to be far stronger than epoxy on a flexible material. Not saying it can't be done...just how I would do it.

Just an option.


----------



## AnglerC (May 22, 2016)

Thanks guys. All helpful info. I'm going to do some looking to see if I could get it welded. That seems the best alternative. However I plan to frame it in and build the deck around it. That should afford me plenty of support.


----------



## Johnny (May 23, 2016)

Angler, since you will theoretically have 8" of scrap 
poly material left over - why not experiment with
some of it to see what will work for your situation.
For instance: heating a large chisel or screwdriver
with a torch and heat welding two pieces together.
Soldering Iron with whatever blade that works for you.
Chemical Adhesive that will melt/weld/fuse the material together
such as Plastic Solvent Adhesive. (there are several brands).
and still use a splice of some kind to reinforce the seam.
Since this will most likely be a one time deal, there
is not much reason to put a lot of money into the more 
expensive tools or equipment.

jus my Dos Centavos


----------



## richg99 (May 23, 2016)

Epoxy won't hold if the plastic is the same stuff that kayaks are made out of..which I think it is.

Plastic welding will be the right way. There are tons of YouTube videos showing how to do it. I sealed some holes in a plastic tub with my soldering iron. Check this video out. There are many.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kibSo9JqWyo

richg99


----------



## onthewater102 (May 23, 2016)

Polyethylene and polypropylene plastics are notorious for not allowing adhesives to bind to them & require they be welded. Sight unseen I'd bet one of these is the type of plastic that tank will have been made from & I'd be another +1 to suggesting you get it sonic welded.


----------



## AnglerC (May 23, 2016)

Youtube has a ton of these vids on welding plastic. Harbor Freight even sells a welder. Going to do some more research and see which is the better route to go. I'll keep you all posted.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

Alright. As promised I am going to post my progress on my tank mod... So here we go. Pix to come.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

This is the tank in question. I love this tank. It's big. Beautiful...And will hold all my bait and several walleyes... I was certain it would fit...


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

Missed it by THAT much...


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

I struggled cutting this beauty.... I stood there several minutes with saw in hand making sure I truly wanted to cut into a perfectly tank. I worked though it and was able to make my cuts.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

Three pieces. Bait well, Live well and end cap.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

Support strips and welding rods...


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

End support for Johnny!!!! :mrgreen:


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

A man just can't get a break. More to come after the rain clears...


----------



## lckstckn2smknbrls (Jun 4, 2016)

The steel cross braces you put in between the stringers is not needed. When you install the floor you put rivets through the floor into the stringers.
I hope the tank works out.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

lckstckn2smknbrls said:


> The steel cross braces you put in between the stringers is not needed. When you install the floor you put rivets through the floor into the stringers.
> I hope the tank works out.



When I ripped out the old deck there was treated 2x between them. the stringers got quit wobbly when I took it all out so I replaced it with steel thinking they were needed.


----------



## lckstckn2smknbrls (Jun 4, 2016)

AnglerC said:


> lckstckn2smknbrls said:
> 
> 
> > The steel cross braces you put in between the stringers is not needed. When you install the floor you put rivets through the floor into the stringers.
> ...


The wobbly goes away when the whole floor to stringers to rib ends are riveted together. If the stringer to rib rivets are loose replace them.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

Well its raining again so I'll come in and post my progress. Everything on one end is molded. Ready to weld. If it will quit raining.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 4, 2016)

Finally got one end welded... Its not difficult at all.


----------



## Ebug (Jun 5, 2016)

This post makes me want to go buy something made of plastic and modify it just so I can try welding plastic.

Can you tell us where the welding torch you used comes from? Just curious of cost an availability.

Great job on your mod. Keep the post going to show us how it looks installed and how it performs.

Rob


----------



## richg99 (Jun 5, 2016)

Don't buy anything. Just use a laundry soap bottle, or even a garbage can lid. 

My project was a hole that was burned into a storage container.

You could try a milk bottle, but the plastic is very thin. 

Try a soldering gun.

Harbor Freight Sells a plastic welding kit. I d.k. if that is what is in the pictures. 

richg99


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 5, 2016)

From what I had read online you have the best luck making your welding rods out of scrape from your work piece. If you can't do that I'm not sure what you would use. There are commercial welding rods you can buy but I couldn't figure out which ones I needed so I just made mine from the pieces I cut off the tank. Here is the welder I bought. https://www.harborfreight.com/weldi...r-motor-and-temperature-adjustment-96712.html They let me use the 20% coupon but I've heard since it's a welder its not supposed to qualify. I have seen Soldering Irons used on kayaks but I figured I'd need way more heat. Youtube has a ton of videos on the subject. I used a lid from a rubber maid tote to practice and it is very simple. You're just melting the plastic enough to get the two parts to blend and cool and you're done. I have sunny skies right now so I'm going to get back to work. I have lots of new pics to post later if it rains again or it gets dark. So stay tuned.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 5, 2016)

Today was rain free. Finally made some headway. I have it done. It fits now which is nice. Here's the rest of the mod.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 5, 2016)

The bait well with the final welds to be done.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 5, 2016)

Damnit!!!! :mrgreen:


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 5, 2016)

Well... does anyone know if that spay sealer stuff that guy uses after blowing holes in the bottom of his boat with a cannon is toxic to fish??? Lol... 

Anyway here's some before and after in the boat to give you some perspective.


----------



## Johnny (Jun 5, 2016)

I post weekly - "Stay far far_ FAR_ away from that spray seal stuff" !!!!


take a piece of your scrap plastic and see how the 3M-5200 sticks to it.....
it should stick like Ugly on an Ape - then you would be golden.

OR - keep melting the plastic into the hole until you get it filled - would be best.
back the inside and melt into the hole from the outside. A piece of a soda can
is what I would use for backing.




.





.


----------



## richg99 (Jun 5, 2016)

Well done. You've learned a new skill and executed it well. richg99


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 5, 2016)

Would silicone stick?


----------



## richg99 (Jun 5, 2016)

Nope...not for long.


----------



## lckstckn2smknbrls (Jun 5, 2016)

Very cool project.


----------



## Ebug (Jun 6, 2016)

The project is looking good.

The leak brings something to mind that should be talked about. 
I am sure that once that tank is full of water and you are bouncing through the waves that there is going to be a good amount of stress on the welds.

I am certain that welding plastic shares some rules with welding metal in that your weld joint needs to be at least 1.5T thick. Basically the completed weld needs to have at least 1.5X the thinnest base material in thickness if you were to cross section it.
If your weld is from one side only I would groove out the weld joint 45° by [email protected] of the material thickness for a butt joint and even though it looks like you have a lap joint I would still groove out the lower component. In plastic it looks like the root pass is called tacking. I would make sure this step is thorough and melts all the way through the last 33%. From there lay a good solid pass filling the gap. Use multiple passes if required, making sure the base material and rod are at or near melting temp.

Once that is complete, consider doing it again with a double, like you did on the outside of the tank.

The whole project is really well executed. Just have a little bit more work to do. The benefits will pay back 10 fold when done.

Rob


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 9, 2016)

It's like Christmas from Flow Rite!!!


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 9, 2016)

Fittings...


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 11, 2016)

Well its Saturday and its going to get up in the mid 90's. So I was up at 5:00am to beat the heat. I'm doing several things on the boat all at once. Livewell wise here's what I did today. I had such a tough time gathering the courage to drill these two holes in my transom. But when I was done I was happy with the results.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 11, 2016)

This is hole seemed to be used as a livewell overflow port from days of old. When I got the boat it was plugged with some Mickey Mouse rig to plug it. Anyway. I'm going to use it as my livewell pump out port.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 11, 2016)

At this point all the fittings are glued and sealed or both. Plumbing the lines will be next. So stay tuned.


----------



## AnglerC (Jun 16, 2016)

Plumbing run, Connections done.


----------



## water bouy (Sep 12, 2016)

Great job. Howz it look today and what's the boat length.


----------



## oakchas (Sep 13, 2016)

Good to know that the welder works. Gives me some ideas.

I've already got my live well. So I don't need it for that.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk


----------



## earl60446 (Sep 13, 2016)

I hope the original poster comes back and reports on how successful all this is because I never would have thought the plastic welding would work with all the water weight and bouncing around in a boat. The seam made between the 2 pieces would worry me also because it does not look like it will sit flat on the deck and thereby put stress on the seam. Hope it works for the guy, sure did a lot of work.
Tim


----------



## AnglerC (Dec 28, 2017)

Earl60466 asked me to come back and comment on the performance of my livewell mod. I used it all summer without issue. Mostly on small lakes with minimal lake turbulence. Then in June I took it to Lake Mille Lacs for a week and fished like a mad man. 5 out of the 7 days I was there the water was extremely rough. At first I was reluctant to even take the boat out because I didn't know how it would perform after the rebuild. However eventually I got out in the mix and discovered that boat handled very well in rough water. Then I discovered the boat handled very well in rough water with a full livewell. I then discovered that a full livewell on rough water equals spillage over the top onto the deck. So... lesson learned.... don't fill livewell completely in rough water. The rest of the week the boat and the livewell took a beating on the rough water. Performed like a champ. 

So if I was to do it again I would. With confidence. 

If anyone has questions post them and I'll try to answer them.


----------



## AnglerC (Dec 28, 2017)

For those interested here is my boat restoration thread. 

https://www.forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40644


----------



## LDUBS (Dec 28, 2017)

Enjoyed reading your "one year later" review. Sounds like all your work paid off.


----------



## earl60446 (Dec 28, 2017)

Good for you, glad it worked out and you made a believer out of me.
If I ever do it, I have a 100 watt soldering iron that might work great.
Tim


----------



## AnglerC (Apr 17, 2018)

earl60446 said:


> Good for you, glad it worked out and you made a believer out of me.
> If I ever do it, I have a 100 watt soldering iron that might work great.
> Tim



Holy cow!!! 100watts oughta do you fine!!! LOL...


----------

