I've a basic petrol strimmer - Costco 6+ years ago. I had to have a little TLC today, and I noticed that the sealing washer in the petrol cap is shot. I'm not going to be able to get one off the shelf so what could I use to make a new one of.
Rob
The petrol 'can' (plastic) that came with my mower also had a flexi-spout to screw on, but no washer to seal it - the obvious happened. I just used a 'rubber'(?) washer from one of those Aldidl boxed kits (one fitted perfectly) and it's still OK after a year.
In message , robgraham writes
Do you have a local farm machinery shop locally? The one I use supplies farm mechanics with spares for just about every bit of machinery every known to man.
One thing they that supply is petrol proof sheet material for making gaskets, it would be a simple job to cut a piece into shape for your needs.
PTFA
Cut one form a piece of inner tube No inner tube?? tut tut - Ask for one out of the scrap bin at your local type place.
I just fixed the seal on the wife's all singing steam iron hot water tank with an o-ring prised out of a broken garden hose connector.
I've a basic petrol strimmer - Costco 6+ years ago. I had to have a little TLC today, and I noticed that the sealing washer in the petrol cap is shot. I'm not going to be able to get one off the shelf so what could I use to make a new one of.
I have suitable gasket rubber approx 1,5mm thick which I stick to my wifes greeting card cutting/plotter and cut new washers out to whatever size I need for stuff like that.
If you get desperate let me know and I'll cut one to size etc. nthkentmanatgmaildotcom
That's likely to be SBR which will swell and soften in petrol. You can sometimes cast an effective seal in the cap using silicone sealant. Apply suitable quantity, then squidge into place with a suitable cylindrical plug which just fits inside the threads, using a piece of cling film to prevent it sticking to the plug. Remove plug leaving cling film until silicone is cured. Then peel out the cling film.
This would probably do (other thicknesses available)
Or this
This would probably do (other thicknesses available)
Or this
I'm not the one needing a reply.....the OP is. But that's the stuff I have anyway
Many thanks Newshound and Nthkentman - something is stirring in my memory that I do have sheet of something similar ...... somewhere !!!!
I like the silicone idea but do worry slightly that if it goes wrong, the cap would become useless.
I too have my doubts about inner tube rubber and petrol.
Many thanks to all for your ideas.
Rob
If it is a polythene cap then the silicone won't stick to it strongly and it can be pulled out with suitable pointy tools if necessary. It's a method which works well for those caps which have a built-in "mushroom" to retain a washer. The nice thing about silicone is that it is relatively squashy so usually seals even on not very good counterfaces.
My point about ebay is that you can get small quantities of all sorts of things and materials which you might otherwise have to hunt around for ages to find.
Silicone rubber falls apart in petrol.
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