Fixing a wheelbarrows cracked pan / tray

 

My first thought was fiberglass tape and some type of epoxy.
Something like this with some resin... Bondo-477-Fiberglass-Cloth-Tape/dp/B000CIRD1O

 

 

What I did on my son's plastic tub was bolt sheet metal over the offending area. It's held up well, now if we could only keep air in the tire.

 

Yeah I would goop it up with PC7 epoxy... the kind that is 2 part jars that you mix. Lay the fiberglass tape on into a very thin layer then lay more on top. Mix it all up at once and work fast. Might pay to scuff the tub up with 40 grit sandpaper first and wipe it clean with alcohol.

 

My tractor cart was getting rusty but the undercarriage was still strong. I've gotten several more years out of it by coating it with bedliner. I think it's flexible enough and sticky enough to stay put on a poly tub. It's definitely tough material.

A Qt. can (~$20) should be more than enough.

 

As always, thanks to everyone for your taking your time and sharing your thoughts!

I wound up going with 'baling wire' I had in the basement.

It took 1 hour? and I have a couple blisters to show for it. As a side question, how much time / effort do you put in to keep something working?

That 2 part epoxy? the bedliner materials - At some point, as much as the challenge / pride of keeping things working, do you say 'it just doesn't make sense because of cost and or time?

that bedliner at least - the plastic itself was cracked, so not sure how much the bedliner material restores the structural integrity?

I called True Temper and they talked of going to the Home Depot special orders desk to order a replacement pan... and the cost would be about $50.

I asked about metal vs. plastic - she said metal would last MUCH longer. Good to know. I do have a lightly used 2 cu ft. metal pan wheelbarrow that's 23? years old. keep it out of the rain, etc. looks fine. Did have to replace a wooden handle that cracked at some point (I did initially screw wood over the crack and it kept going for years, then got a pair of handles at a garage sale).

It's functional now I think?

 

Frankenstein would be so proud.

 

Would have never thought of fixing one that way but as long as it works
Plastic tubs never rust but a steel tub is more durable and not prone to break especially when used in cold temps.

 

mark: I get a kick out of the few times of knowing something the more experienced people don't (it's a rare situation : )

I found the stitching idea on line. Just was googling ideas on how to fix the wheelbarrow. Certainly not water tight.

https://blog.trashbackwards.com/2012...c-wheelbarrow/

I thought of combining someone else's idea of using gorilla glue. but then... why? Not worth the time. If I need water tight, I'll throw a Harbor freight free tarp in there.

One guy made a video using tie wraps, but I thought the holes would need to be bigger / more material removed.

X: my daughter's studying to be a physician assistant... I sent her the picture saying I'm available in the ER and OR as needed ; )

10 minutes? A bit long winded:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x4TA1W0vN4

 

When you get a few minutes. Look very closely at the cracks. Find the absolute very end of the crack and drill a hole. 1/8" - 3/16" is enough and the size isn't terribly important but is better if it's diameter is at least the material thickness.

As a crack propagates there is stress concentrated at the razor sharp point of the crack. That sharp focus of stress allows the crack to grow. By drilling a stop hole that stress gets spread out around the circumference of the drilled hole which often stops the crack from growing.

 

 

I'd be a bit worried about snagging the wire by accident with a shovel. Maybe smearing a fiberglass strip over the top would help if you do any cement mixing in it?

 

I have a couple of wheelbarrows with plastic or fiberglass pans and was curious as to 'how" you came to have such a crack ?

Some extremely heavy object was abruptly dropped on it ?

One of mine is a "Jackson" that is over 50 years old; but the steel pan only lasted about 20 years due to rust around the carriage bolts; and a replacement fiberglass pan (now 30 years old) still looks like new . . . . I've never dropped anything really heavy onto it.

 

The plastic tubs get fragile in cold weather. If you are tossing firewood or dumping rocks in it when it's cold that can cause the cracks. My 39 yr old steel tub wheelbarrow is in decent shape.

 

Some plastics are prone to cracking and can even crack without doing anything. There are residual stresses introduced during the forming process. A high quality plastic can be very resistant to cracking but lower grades that include re-grind or recycled material are more prone to cracking. it gets worse over time with sun exposure and as the plasticizers degrade making it more brittle.

 

Tratts: Good point, but I'm not using it for that

Vermont: Fiberglass? sounds durable! I got this at a garage sale. Not sure what happened to it. Interesting - most of what I've read is that steel lasts longer than plastic. But I guess there's always exceptions.

Pilot - good to know. New true temper wheelbarrows only have 90 day warranty.