Fixing A Leak in the Water Trough With a New Product (For Us)

The water trough for the cows sits in a corner of the pasture.  A curious thing happens around water troughs.  When it rains or water overflows from the trough, it creates mud around the circumference of the tank.  Over time as cows gather around the tank to drink, mud gets between their hooves and they carry it off where it gets displaced in other areas of the pasture.  As that process repeats itself over the years, a hole or sunken depression is formed around the trough.

Low lying, muddy areas are not good for livestock.  They provide a great environment for bacteria to grow that can weaken or sicken your livestock.  Then, it is just unsightly to have a mud hole in the pasture.  I decided to do something about the eyesore, so I drained out the water trough, cleaned it and moved it out of the way.  Then we pulled in a load of dirt and built up the area, packed the dirt, and moved the water trough back in place and filled it with water.

Upon re-filling the trough, I noticed an issue that requires fixing - several leaks in the bottom.  The drip, drip, dripping over the course of the day was threatening to create another mud hole in the very place I had just fixed.  If you look closely, below you can see the fiberglass patching I used to fix this leak a while back and it lasted for quite a while.  Well, the leak has returned, and I'm assuming that when I emptied the trough and it dried out, the patching on the inside of the tank separated from the cracks it once covered.

Leaking water trough

I drained the water (again) and let the sun dry out the inside.  A quick tug released the fiberglass patching that was on the the inside.

Previous patch

I cleaned up the area where the stress fractures exist in the bottom of the trough. You can see the crack running horizontally where the bottom meets the sides.  I was going to use some more fiberglass patching, but then I remembered an advertisement of a spray on product I saw on TV for patching leaky boats.  It cost $19.99 a can, but after researching, I couldn't get any assurance that it was safe for drinking water.

In looking around, I found a product called WaterWeld, by J-B Weld that seemed perfectly suited for this situation.  In fact, it says on the label below: "Great for Potable Water Tanks."  I've used J-B Weld before (but not WaterWeld) and always thought it was a great product.  I think I paid $5.87 for the 2 ounce package below. 

WaterWeld

Application is simple.  You simply break off the amount that you need and knead it around in your fingers until the color is consistent, mixing the white color with the grey color product that is in the middle of the tube.  It has the consistency of a putty, but it begins to harden after a short while, so once you mix it, you need to be ready to apply it.

Kneading the 'dough'

Then, you just press in the putty, covering the crack, ensuring that the entire area has been coated.  

Applying WaterWeld over the cracks in the trough

The package said the set time is 20 minutes and it cures in an hour.  I performed the fix at around 8 pm at night and I wanted to be doubly sure that it hardened, so I let it cure overnight.  The first thing in the morning, at around 5:45 am, I turned on the hose and refilled the tank.  You can see the white WaterWeld patch at the bottom.

Filling the trough with water

And now for the test to see if the patching stopped the leaks.  I waited for a full day after filling the trough with water.  Annndddd....  No leaks!! Where the water was dripping from the bottom onto the wood prior to patching, now there are no more leaks.

The patching held

So far patching the leaking water trough with J-B Weld WaterWeld seems like a great success.  Only time will tell if it will hold for the duration, but the application was easy, quick, and put an end to the leaky trough.