On Tue, 22 Sep 2020 18:18:20 +0100, newshound
wrote:

On 22/09/2020 17:04, wrote:
The fuel tank on my 5.5HP Tecumseh-engined MTD chipper/shredder has
started to crack and my attempts at welding haven't solved the problem -
I think the plastic has just reached the end of its life. The tank part
number is Tecumseh 36863 and replacements seem to only be available in
the US, so I'm thinking of improvising something. Ideas so far include:
perhaps a small plastic fuel container in a frame (but the smallest I
can find is 5 litre), or an aluminium water bottle ... but both of these
need a way to provide a fuel-tight tapping and a way to let air in.
What suggestions has the team got (apart from import from the US)?

I tried without success to repair the tank on my Tecumseh Flymo using
PetroPatch. I started thinking about other DIY routes but in the end
found a genuine spare, perhaps second hand, on eBay.

Depending on all sorts of things (like how the outlet is provided and
if it could be replaced, bolt through sort of thing, as with the
replacement Mark found) and the willingness of the plastic to take
fibreglass resin [1], is to coat it in fibreglass / chopped strand mat
and maybe finish with some tissue.

So rather than trying to repair the crack, you effectively re-form the
tank via said new external skin, the bond between fibreglass and
plastic only being relevant at the filler, vent and outlet.

Cheers, T i m

[1] I have found some really bond well (so that helps) whist others
not at all (can still work but you might need to re-make the
connections to the 'outer' tank')