Annisa McAllister wrote:
Frigidare Gallery Model #GPDB998JC0. Bracket supporting heating element became a free spirit and allowed the heating element to melt a 3-inch long little trench in the bottom of the tub. Don’t think it melted a hole, but pretty close. Can I repair with some type of epoxy, ect. ?? Please help restore my kitchen karma….Thanks !!!
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Not to worry, my leetle grasshopper, your karma is unviolated. I’ve done this repair many times using a good-quality, high-temperature epoxy. In extreme cases where a huge, gaping hole is burned into the tub, you’ll need to pick out the charred and curdled plastic around the wound and cover it with a fiberglass patch, and then slather it with epoxy.
Another technique, easier but with less strength, is to use a duct tape patch on the outside and then slather the epoxy on top of it from the inside. Once the epoxy cures, you can peel away the duct tape.
My own repair trick (with those crusty piece of junk GE and derivative dishwashers) has been to use a PVC pipe cap.
The tub is usually PVC (check the plastics recycling mark on the tub). I cut a square patch out of a 3″ or 4″ PVC pipe cap, then I use PVC (plumbing) cement to glue it into place.
On a couple of dishwashers I’ve repaired to re-sell, I’ve added two stainless steel machine screws and nuts to make it appear to be a factory panel – cosmetically very pleasing, and if you’re gluing PVC to PVC with the right adhesive, it’s as strong as original.
Very cool trick! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Masters,
I have a similar problem with a secondhand Frigidaire dishwasher… I caught the problem a few years ago before it could melt through completely, but plastic fatigue has finally gotten the best of it. The epoxy link above is dead… could you specify the epoxy characteristics? I just applied some GE Silicone II to fill the hole; the label indicates that it is not to be used on surfaces to exceed 400F. As the tub walls certainly don’t get that hot I thought it would be fine… but, as the stuff is not specifically labeled as high-temperature, I thought I’d ask here.
-Acolyte Eric