hole in the tube

[partybarge341]

i was wondering if anybody out there new of a way remove water from a tube and how to patch a hole without TIG or MIG welding

 

[piggy]

Re: hole in the tube

Best take to a welding shop, weld, put 1 or 2 lbs. pressure in tube spray soapy water to check for any leaks. In the long run you will be better off. Should cost $50 or less if the hole isn't to big. To get water out of tube if there is no drain plugs, I use a 12 volt pump with a 3/4 in, inlet and outlet use garden hose and on the end put on about 2 ft. 1/2 in. pipe put in plug on top and use 12 volt battery to pump out. If no 3/4 in. plug on top have welder put some on at the same time. This has worked great for me.

 

[5150abf]

Re: hole in the tube

Ya, the only reliable way to fix a leak is to have it welded, aluminum tends to crack,which i woudl geuss is the problem with your boat.

Until you have it repaired that crack will get bigger and bigger until it causes a real problem.

I woudl also geuss that the leak is from one or both of the back brackets, it isn't uncommon for them to crack from the back inside corners and the only way to fix it is to drill out that part of the bracket and weld it.

I build new pontoons and am the repair guy so I have seen this happen many times.

 

[partybarge341]

Re: hole in the tube

thanks guys from the looks of it its been repaired once already looks like jb weld

 

[Pontuned]

Re: hole in the tube

I had water in my starboard tube so I took my boat to the local machine shop and had a plug put in the lower interior of both tubes. The port tube was dry but I had the plug installed "just in case" since it is a pain to take it to the shop.

All seems well so far, 2 trips out and no water. Whatever leak I have is not large right now so I am not going to worry with trying to find it. If it gets worse with time I will deal with it then.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: hole in the tube

All seems well so far, 2 trips out and no water. Whatever leak I have is not large right now so I am not going to worry with trying to find it. If it gets worse with time I will deal with it then.

I thought that last year on my 20'er. It had a slow leak and I'd pump it out once a week or so with a 12v pump and then one day I went down to the water and that side was sitting on the bottom! It had expanded. Luckily it was only about 2' deep! I'd address it while you can. I still have not fixed it and used my 16'er all summer.

 

[dcherry]

Re: hole in the tube

Here is a site to check out. http://www.aluminumrepair.com/index.asp I haven't tried it but it looks promising

 

[papasage]

Re: hole in the tube

i had my tubes welded 2 times. it will crack in the same spot . guess it will need a patch next time .