Patching a hole in a plastic dishwasher spray arm

Hi all,

The underside of the lower spray arm in my dishwasher has developed a hole about 1/2" round. Fortunately, it is located near the outside edge, so patching it won't affect water flow.

What would be a good material for patching the hole? Is there anything like a plastic-weld that doesn't require heat?

Reply to
Abe
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Thanks Ed. A little more searching found this at Radio Shack (of all places). Look at the section "Using Liquid and Powder" and below.

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I'll give it a try, then report back. I guess the worst that can happen is it doesn't work well, and I'll have to spend $54.00 (best price I can find on the net) for a "genuine" replacement part that costs all of 99 cents (if that) to manufacture.

Reply to
Abe

Probably nothing will hold well on that type of plastic, but since it is a low pressure situation and a little leak will be of no harm, there are many options.

Epoxy itself may hold. A better solution is to take a strip of fiberglass cloth and wrap the arm where the leak is. Them mix up some epoxy and coat the glass cloth. Look for the materials at an auto supply store. The cloth is used for patching on cars, boat hulls, etc.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Not sure why " heat" is an issue. ? I always fix things like this with a similar piece of plastic "patch" and use a soldering gun to melt (weld) it in. Then a bit of cleanup with a file or a dremel, and often you can't even see where a hole or crack in plastic was.

Mind you it seems a bit strange that a plastic dishwasher arm would "develop" a hole.

Did something melt through it eg heater element ? Or was this a manufacturing problem ? bad mold fill ?

Or did you take it off and step on it ?

You may want to find the cause if not the latter, or you will be right back to where you are now.

AMUN

Reply to
Amun

Why not use JB weld? I've used it on several odd applications with success. Essentially, it is an epoxy that comes in a putty form.

KB

Reply to
Kyle Boatright

take a look at JB weld.

Tom

Reply to
twfsa

I looked at the JBWeld site, and the way they describe it, JBWeld contains metals. I wonder if rust will be an issue since the dishwasher is a wet environment?

Reply to
Abe

The metal particles are tiny and are encapsulated by the epoxy. Not a worry for you.

KB

Reply to
Kyle Boatright

Doesn't say, but it sure looks and feels like PVC.

Reply to
Abe

Putting fiberglass on it could put it seriously out of balance. You might have to stick some epoxy/glass on the other end to rebalance it.

The right glue would depend on the type of plastic. If it's a low surface energy plastic, the adhesive that would work would cost a significant fraction of the replacement part. Otherwise, the only problem is ensuring the adhesive and patch can stand the heat in the washer. Does the replacement part indicate what plastic it's made of?

Mike

Reply to
Michael Daly

I would have guessed ABS. There are adhesives that will work for both. You might try taking a small piece of ABS or PVC to make a patch and get an adhesive that works with both to glue it in.. Weld-On 1007 would work, but the patch would have to be a close fit.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Daly

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