I’ve had 2 attempts at resealing the waterrower kits, followed instructions precisely, but both failed. I’ve successfully worked on fiberglass kayaks so I’ve had a fair bit of experience with such repairs. I’d not waste money on a kit. I do notice now that some retailers say that the kit is not suited to total seal replacement, just spot repairs. This may reflect customers failures with the kit. I’m in the tropics, so that may have been a factor in my failed attempts but I doubt it. I’m going to glass around the entire seal area. Not concerned about lack of access to tank internals. Worst case is that I eventually need to buy new tank.
Adhesive/sealer for water rower tank - any advice?
- Thread starter McAldo
- Start date
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Permanent sealing is certainly a solution if you do not mind the expense in case the tank needs replacing at some point.
Here in the UK a new tank is quite expensive.
If you go that route, given your local climate, I would suggest being extremely zealous with chlorine top-ups. Algae will develop in no time at 20C or more, and if left for too long will stain the tank badly enough to require disassemblying it to clean it properly.
My silicone seal failed recently, and the tank is again leaking in use, so I will have to re-apply it. But it did last quite a few years.
Thanks for the tip McAldo. Yeh, I use purification tabs & cover the tank to stop light reaching the water. I've been using waterrowers for years without problems but the seal has been a pain when it breaks down. The presumably simple seal kit, I really question its effectiveness - new price is crazy. I was going to buy a new tank, given that another seal kit is so expensive (about a quarter of the price of a tank) so that's why I thought fiberglass the entire join circumference as a last resort. With a bit of skill, it would be possible to grind the glass back, should for some reason I wish to open the tank in the future. Obviously I'm at a stage where the aesthetics of the tank are no longer a concern - in fact I think a jerry-rigged repair will add a bit of rustic charm to the great machine. Cheers & happy rowing.
