Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I Have three 650 gallon conical bottom tanks that were damaged when the building they were housed in had it's roof collapse down on them pressing big dents in them and punching holes in the sides in several places. I Need to figure a way to heat up the plastic safely to knock the dents back out because standing on them doesn't work all they well. What i was thinking was this: Why couldn't i heat up about 25 gallons of water in a steel barrel over a wood fire and when the water is almost boiling, i could tip the water over into the tank where the dent is and soften it up enough to let the plastic get it's memory back and pop back into place.

As for the holes in the tanks i think any hole that might line up with placing side windows would take care of some and patches and some plastic welding should repair them o.k.

I Tried to post some pictures on here but it wouldn't let me. So here is my Facebook page with the pictures shown. BTW I Got the tanks for free, and they are $700 plus freight new.

https://www.facebook.com/rockhillfarm.lubecmaine

Hmmm, yeah holes should be easy to fix with the welding or windows, don't know about getting those crushed bits back to shape though.. I'm not sure if water would be hot enough, gentle heating with a blow torch perhaps...

Probably have to resize your photos

If you were here this week you wouldn't need to boil water

We are in for a week of stinking hot weather , you could just put the tanks in the sun

A heat gun for paint stripping might be worth a try

Another option is don't worry about the dings the water weight will push some out

You might be able to hide all the plastic repair and dings behind wrap around insulation

I'm thinking that i'll never be able to heat such a big area with any kind of torch at the same time. That's why i was thinking boiling or near boiling water would cover a wider area more evenly.

Yes i suppose it's Spring or Early summer there now. I'll be willing to swap with you if you miss the cold. As i said before i don't think i could heat such a wide area effectively, that's why i was thinking boiling water might cover such a wide area better. Thanks

Have a read of Pete's experiments with forming an IBC. May help with coming up with a solution?

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=29783&hilit=conical+IBC

Hi,

if you still haven't resolved the issue I would place up side down on a flat surface, strap, seal and cover with several layers of plastic to retain heat but wide enough to inspect progress. Heat inside and out with electric heaters then gradually fill with compressed air through a regulator.
I'd expect the air and heated surface will allow the dents to pop back out leaving creases where the most deformation had occurred.

Pete