Gluing Rubber Bottoms to Corney Kegs?

I've looked everywhere online for this and only found a few instances as to what people were using but no longer term results. One of the rubber bottoms has fallen off my corney and I need to get it back on. Some are suggesting gorilla glue (it sort of looks like that was previously used on this)..some are suggesting liquid nails...I found one that suggested going to a windshield repair facility and getting a bead of their adhesive.

Does anyone out there used these adhesives? I don't want to spend a fortune in finding one if someone else already has. I'm going to put a silicone bead around the top of the bottom mount where it meets the stainless steel just to make sure it's sealed.

Thanks!

I've not had this issue yet, but I would probably use silicone caulk. Silicone is waterproof. It's flexible, so it shouldn't ever start to peel or crack. It bonds really well. It's waterproof and isn't really affected by temperature changes.

I have used random products similar to liquid nail and had excellent success. I put a propane tank on top as a weight and it was good as new the next day.

neckbeardbeer said:

I have used random products similar to liquid nail and had excellent success. I put a propane tank on top as a weight and it was good as new the next day.

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You wouldn't by chance remember what those products were do you?

I could get liquid nails...but there are many types available. The key is to have something that adheres to rubber. Most other things will adhere to metal - although stainless steel is different in many ways.

I did some research during lunch - I found Homax Professional Weld adhesive. It's good for metal, rubber, plastics...etc. It is somewhat pliable which is beneficial in that it won't crack as easy...I may give that a shot.

I've reglued tops with gorilla glue, and I can easily lift a full keg with one hand and it's not even loose.

MC

Kuhndog said:

... Some are suggesting gorilla glue ...

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That's a water cured urethane glue that sticks to most anything soft or hard except some plastics like polyethylene. That will probably work just find as long as both surfaces are clean enough.

Kuhndog said:

...some are suggesting liquid nails...

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That's some kind of acrylic or vinyl ester. That may or may not work. Don't know if it sticks to SS that well.

Kuhndog said:

...I found one that suggested going to a windshield repair facility and getting a bead of their adhesive...

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The glue that holds windshields in is some super tough urethane. Most are made by 3M and they're strong enough to pick up a car or keep a flying occupant in the car in an accident along with the plastic layer between the glass layers in the windshield. This would definitely work, but you can't likely buy and you'd have to show up at a windshield repair place within 20-30 min of then installing a windshield, assuming they had some left in an open tube they just used. It sets up pretty quick.

Kuhndog said:

...I found one that suggested going to a windshield repair facility and getting a bead of their adhesive...

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Another option here is the stuff used to hold on rear view mirrors. That's a kind of crazy glue on steroids (CA). You can get that at the auto parts store in small tubes. It would probably take a couple of those to get enough but I'm pretty sure that will work too. Just make sure to get both surfaces super clean.

Kuhndog said:

...I'm going to put a silicone bead around the top of the bottom mount where it meets the stainless steel just to make sure it's sealed...

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Not sure most common silicones will be strong enough to lift a full keg, but would probably be OK on the bottom part.

Another type of adhesive that would work for this too is 3M 5200 or 5100 marine adhesive. It's a very strong urethane that's in the same family as the windshield adhesive, but you can get it pretty easily at HD, Lowe's, and most auto parts or marine stores. One tube would probably do a couple of keg tops or bottoms.

Another option is E6000. You can get it at craft stores. It is cheap, crazy strong and sticks to just about anything. I think it's silicone based, but is is stickier and stronger under most circumstances.

What about JB weld? I just used that to put the handle back on to a corny keg after it had fallen off. I have not filled the keg up with water to test it, but it seems like a really strong bond.

What you want that was described above is 3m window weld. It's meant to hold metal and rubber and glass together and is super strong. Most auto stores have it it's about $15 for a caulk tube of it. I would go to a winshield install shop and give them $5 for a dab on the keg and find a way to put weight on it for a couple days.

Gorille Glue works best.

I'll bet that 3m 5200 would work very well

thargrav said:

Gorille Glue works best.

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Until it got wet again. Came right apart.

lewdog50 said:

Until it got wet again. Came right apart.

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Are you sure about that? Their website specifically claims that it's waterproof: http://www.gorillatough.com/index.php?page=gorilla-glue

MC

lewdog50 said:

Until it got wet again. Came right apart.

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That is what I'm afraid of. It's activated by water but does then it chemically change that it's no longer affected by water?

It would be hard to keep it from getting moisture. The keg will want to condensate when being charged with CO2...that is why I was planning on sealing the bottom rubber with silicone sealant. Not to keep the bottom on but the rim (top) of the rubber bottom. I was planning on smoothly coating where the soda keg wall and the end of the rubber cap meet to keep water from going down the sides and into the bottom of the rubber cap.

lewdog50 said:

Until it got wet again. Came right apart.

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I have two kegs with bottoms I glued back on a few years ago and they are still fastened solid. The trick is to use enough so that when it expands some of the glue oozes out from between the keg and the base.

I'll think outside of the box... why?

Does it really make a difference?
Wobbly?

Just wondering.

Another option is E6000. You can get it at craft stores. It is cheap, crazy strong and sticks to just about anything. I think it's silicone based, but is is stickier and stronger under most circumstances.

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E6000 is the same thing as Shoo Goo and Automotive/Outdoor/Plumbers Goop. They are all basically the same product with different labeling, and would be perfect for this. I'm a big fan of Automotive Goop, the only bad thing is the tubes don't last real long once you open them.

Where I'm working we have a silicon based adhesive that has some sort of polymer technology, I think by 3M. I'll find out tomorrow what it is exactly and report back tomorrow. I've used it to glue two pieces of stainless steel together and it was a big pain to pry apart again. It is tacky to the touch in about 20-30 minutes.

Used plenty of glue, made sure both surfaces were perfectly clean. Plenty of time to cure the glue. As soon as they got wet up came the rubber. Wtf?

Did the glue foam & expand to at least twice its volume? It shoud have oozed out from between the runner and stainless, so much that you had to trim off some excess. If not then you had some bad glue.

Here is a handy website that recommends what glues to use for several different materials - http://www.thistothat.com

JJL said:

I've not had this issue yet, but I would probably use silicone caulk. Silicone is waterproof. It's flexible, so it shouldn't ever start to peel or crack. It bonds really well. It's waterproof and isn't really affected by temperature changes.

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I've used silicone on 3 or 4 loose tops. Weigh it down and give it plenty of time to cure. Better than new IMO.

Quick update: Well I went ahead and used the 2x faster drying Gorilla Glue. I made sure I scuffed the corney bottom with 100 grit sand paper as well as the inside of the rubber cap. I then cleaned both surfaces with acetone. Then using a damp cloth (I had an afterthought of using a spray bottle with a fine mist - it would have probably given a better uniform layer of moisture) moistened the two surfaces applied the gorilla glue in criss-cross patterns with only about 1/4" spacing between the lines and a nice bead at the top of the rubber cap....after 24 hours...it expanded just above the rim so I'll have just a little excess to cut off which is what Thargrav suggested. I like the way it cures and I don't think I should have a problem now. It didn't use much of the glue either - it was like $4 and something at Lowes and I didn't use more than 1/3 of the bottle. Now we'll see how it holds up to usage.

I used marine JB Weld and it worked great. I like that it is not affected by moisture or heat. When you clean your corny, if you use hot water it can cause other adhesives to release. After using the JB Weld I put a bead of silicon caulk around the rim where the bottom and metal meet and smoothed it out. This worked well and will keep water and gunk from seeping into the cavity between the bottom bumper and the bottom of the metal on the corny. Good luck!