Hot water bottle sealant

I've now got 3 hot water bottles from CVS. They last a few weeks and then start leaking. I cut open the tops and discovered that it uses a clear plastic threaded insert. The bag is some kind of vinyl/plastic. The insert looks like acrylic. It has large threads on the outside to screw into the bag opening and large threading on the inside to accomodate the plastic plug threads. The leaking happens between the insert and the bag.

Now I'm wondering what I might seal that with. My thought is to back out the insert, which seems to seal merely by its snugness, and add some kind of sealant, then screw it back in. Polyurethane construction adhesive? Thick epoxy glue? It needs to be something flexible that will stick well to both parts and resist heat and water. My first thought was a gasket sealant I used to use on bad drain connections. It was reddish black, gooey and dried hard. But I can't seem to find that product anymore. Any caulking I can think of wouldn't hold up. Cyanoacrylate *might* stick but wouldn't fill gaps....

Reply to
Mayayana
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Why would you bother? Since they are defective you should return them for a refund and inform CVS the whole lot of them is probably defective... then get a different brand

Reply to
philo 

Would clear silicone caulk work here?

Silicone caulk remains soft and flexible, and will tolerate very high temperatures (300+ deg. F)

Reply to
nestork

| > Now I'm wondering what I might seal that with. | > | | Why would you bother?

Because I have 3 perfectly good hot water bottles, if I can just seal the tops. They should all last until they get accidentally punctured.

| Since they are defective you should return them | for a refund and inform CVS the whole lot of them is probably defective... | then get a different brand |

They all worked for awhile before they started to leak, so none of them is new and I have no receipts. I don't save receipts for $10 items, anyway. And CVS has one brand. Do you suppose Walgreens has a much better brand? I don't see any reason to think that. I'm guessing it's a case of planned obsolescence.

So I can go out and test different brands, assuming I can find different brands, or if I find the right sealant I can have 3 new hot water bottles and the knowledge of how to fix the next one that leaks.

Reply to
Mayayana

Silicone rubber stays flexible. But why not go to Walgreens and see if their bottles have the same construction, you ought to be able to tell by looking at the stopper area if it will have the same problem.

Reply to
hrhofmann

My guess is that this stuff from Pep Boys will work. I use it as an engine oil pan sealant and gasket maker, which is a high temp location. It is also the same stuff that Hyundai dealers use.

Reply to
TomR

Oops, I forgot to add what "this stuff" is:

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Reply to
TomR

If you don't need glue to fasten the inserts, plumbers' grease should seal them. Hot water isn't supposed to melt it, and it won't react with the materials in valves.

Reply to
J Burns

In your original post you said they were just a few weeks old.

Even if you do not have a receipt I think that CVS is a reliable enough store that they would want to know that they were selling a clearly defective product.

You will be doing yourself, CVS and many other customers a big favor by reporting this defective product.

If Walgreens sells the same brand though, no, I would not go there and buy one ...but chances are they have a different brand.

Reply to
philo 

| Even if you do not have a receipt I think that CVS is a reliable enough | store that they would want to know that they were selling a clearly | defective product. |

How about this: I'll give you one, then you can return it for the $10 refund. I imagine that will make your day. You'll make 10 bucks and you can stop pestering me.

I'm sure half of America would love to advise me on how to be a smart and demanding consumer. But my question is about sealant options for rubber/plastic.

Reply to
Mayayana

| > My guess is that this stuff from Pep Boys will work. I use it as an | > engine oil pan sealant and gasket maker, which is a high temp | > location. It is also the same stuff that Hyundai dealers use. | | Oops, I forgot to add what "this stuff" is: |

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That's a thought. I hadn't thought of automotive products. But it needs to stick really well to both surfaces, too. Gasket goo ends up under pressure. It doesn't need to actually stick.

Reply to
Mayayana

OK carry on then.

If you manage to find a good fix, post back with what worked .

Most of the sealing products cost about as much as the dang water bottle.

Reply to
philo 

| If you don't need glue to fasten the inserts, plumbers' grease should | seal them. Hot water isn't supposed to melt it, and it won't react with | the materials in valves.

You mean the paste sealant ued instead of teflon tape? That might work. The stuff I had in mind is a version of that that hardens.

It's hard to guess exactly what will work best. The fitting is "screwed into" the plastic bottle mouth with giant threads. There seems to be no sealant of any kind now, but one would think that the pressure would be enough to seal it. I'm speculating that the insert was designed for a more rubbery bottle that would mold itself around the threads, though I don't really know.

Reply to
Mayayana

It's grease, intended to protect and lubricate valves. It's useful from

-40 to 400 F, isn't toxic, and doesn't affect things like O rings. When I overhauled a pump-up sprayer, I used plumber's grease to be sure connections wouldn't leak water or air.

Reply to
J Burns

Buy one of the gel packs you heat in the microwave.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I would try two things:

  1. Acetone. Dip the threaded insert in acetone and immediately insert while rotating. Basically, you are fixing a leaky water bed.

  1. Silicone caulk. Do as above.

Reply to
dadiOH

The OP is not going to do that.

He is going to fix that $10 bottle even if it costs him $20 to do so.

A good engineer at this point would ask why he needs the hot water bottle and if he's got a muscle ache (for example) to address /that/ problem so he does not need the water bottle in the first place.

All kidding aside though, I /do/ understand why he wants to just fix it rather than take it back for a refund. I fix a ton of things that 99% would toss.

Reply to
philo 

That's what happens when one grows up in the shadow of The Great Depression.

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

| 1. Acetone. Dip the threaded insert in acetone and immediately insert | while rotating. Basically, you are fixing a leaky water bed.

Does acetone dissolve plastic? I've never known of any usage other than removing nail polish or cyanoacrylate glue.

Reply to
Mayayana

| > All kidding aside though, I /do/ understand why he wants to just fix it | > rather than take it back for a refund. I fix a ton of things that 99% | > would toss. | | That's what happens when one grows up in the | shadow of The Great Depression.

Anyone living who grew up during the Depression would be at least 85 now. My very elderly father grew up in the Depression. (Born 1922.) He still buys groceries based on price rather than taste or nutritional value. (And finding a bargain is still the high point of his week.) I grew up in the 60s and early 70s, when white picket fences were starting to look a bit haggard and we could afford to question the American Dream that we were being herded into.

But I enjoy being able to do things for myself. In general I find it very practical. Why throw out a perfectly good hot water bottle if it can be fixed? It's *usually* more economical. There's also an aesthetic/moral aspect: We all waste a great deal because we simply don't need to pay attention. But that's a sloppy, unsatisfying way to live. It can also an expensive way to live. (Computerized devices and smart phones are a great current example. People buy new ones before they've even paid off the old ones, which they really didn't need in the first place.)

But as Clint Eastwood said so well, "A man's just got to know his limitations." Last week we got a new toaster oven. Supposedly high-end. A fancy Italian model from Bloomingdales that was deeply discounted. It was junk. The elements only partially heated. Besides, the thing was ridiculously big. A giant, caverous waste of heat just to cook toast. So I'm not researching replacement elements. That toaster oven went back. :)

That brings up an interesting issue, though, that I expect others have noticed: We live in a time of global trade, yet variety keeps shrinking. There used to be more stores, carrying more items. A hardware store would be run by someone who knew hardware and ordered from numerous suppliers. Likewise with dpartment stores. Today they all contract with a stock company to fill the shelves with whatever's cheap this month, and they all carry the same things. It's the same with clothing, electronics, etc. Target carries the same electroincs models that Best Buy has. CVS is a clone of Walgreens. Lowes is a clone of HD. Hardware stores all stock the same selection of hinges and pulls. Is there more than one company supplying hot water bottles in the US? I don't know. Probably. But I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't.

Reply to
Mayayana

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