Anyone tried welding polyethelene such as our beloved free 55 gal car wash barrels? If it can be welded you can make a round fuel tank by shortening the barrel. There are cheap plastic welders at Harbor Freight. Anyone have one? Will they do a good job or are they a waste of money? What is a good welder if the HF one is crap?

My HF welder does not weld HDPE nor do they include HDPE rods. I have had some success welding the lids (appear to melt at a slightly lower temp)to the the blue and clear barrels. it acts more like a hot glue than a true weld. It will not come close do do what you are trying to do.

Sorry, I only know, mild steel, stainless steel, cast iron and aluminum, not plastic.

I purchased the low end plastic welder - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41592 - and have not had very good results . I see this only as a tool for making small repairs (vs fabrication ) but maybe it is just my limited patience and skill level. They now have an improved model that has thermostatic temperature control and a built-in air motor - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41592

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?p=1413780#post1413780

Search around the web for plastic welding and you can find sites like these :

http://www.plasticsmag.com/welding.asp?fIssue=Nov/Dec-00&aid=3052

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=164855

http://www.urethanesupply.com/step3c.php

etc.

There are also some plastic welding videos on Youtube . Follow the links on them too - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=plastic+welding&search_type=&aq=f

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rkpatt,

Thanks for the links.

quote:

Originally posted by rkpatt:
I purchased the low end plastic welder - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41592 - and have not had very good results . I see this only as a tool for making small repairs (vs fabrication ) but maybe it is just my limited patience and skill level. They now have an improved model that has thermostatic temperature control and a built-in air motor - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41592

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?p=1413780#post1413780

Search around the web for plastic welding and you can find sites like these :

http://www.plasticsmag.com/welding.asp?fIssue=Nov/Dec-00&aid=3052

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=164855

http://www.urethanesupply.com/step3c.php

etc.

I worked with some folks in the metal finishing industry a few years ago who tried to get into the tank fabrication business. They found welders trained in metal fabrication had trouble making the jump to plastic welding. But, workers with no prior training could soon weld better than the regular welders.

I have a feeling work with these Harbor Freight units is like welding with a little hobbyist welding unit vs. a fancy TIG/MIG rig... hard to get the same quality and precision.