Rubbermaid Cooler Materials ID solved!!!

[jfkriege]

With the knowledge that the interior material is Engage 8540, I have a follow up question.

I would like to machine a part out of plastic that attaches to the inside material. I want this bond to be as strong as possible and food safe. What polymer would be the best to machine this out of (perhaps a polypropylene?)? And is there a preferred method of bonding (heat, adhesive, superglue, etc.)?

If we find something that works well, this could be a really great way to do plastic 'welded' fittings in stead of going with weldless fittings requiring a gasket. It would also allow for very low profile fittings like a flush mounted bottom drain, which would be really exciting for me and how I brew.

Thanks,

Joshua

 

[shmEk]

Awesome job Brewtus... thanks for all the effort and sharing!!!

 

[brewtus_]

With the knowledge that the interior material is Engage 8540, I have a follow up question.

I would like to machine a part out of plastic that attaches to the inside material. I want this bond to be as strong as possible and food safe. What polymer would be the best to machine this out of (perhaps a polypropylene?)? And is there a preferred method of bonding (heat, adhesive, superglue, etc.)?

If we find something that works well, this could be a really great way to do plastic 'welded' fittings in stead of going with weldless fittings requiring a gasket. It would also allow for very low profile fittings like a flush mounted bottom drain, which would be really exciting for me and how I brew.

Thanks,

Joshua

Polypropylene would be the best choice.

Bonding is going to be tricky with this. You need something that is permanent, leakproof and robust that also won't break when banged around or when temperatures fluctuate up and down. So that is going to rule out any adhesives, Gorilla Glue, epoxies or superglue (unless you want to keep redoing it every so often).

What you need is a plastic weld in which the two materials are bonded together at a molecular level. Melting or solvent welding are the options here, but solvents for dissolving polypropylene at room temperature are nasty stuff. So, I guess melting is the best choice.

There are a few ways to accomplish this. The easiest is probably using a soldering iron to join the two components together. Drawbacks are that it's not very forgiving if you make a mistake, it will look like crap and the bond strength may not get there depending on your technique.

The best way I can think to do what you're tring to do is use a commercial plastic welding device. These can be thermal, ultrasonic or laser units. Handheld thermal ones can be had for about $200 or less. Ultrasonic are much more expensive. Google "plastic welding" or similar.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.aspx?catid=698&parentcatid=681&clickid=popcorn


Good luck, hope your get it to work!

 

[cheezydemon3]

jkfriege:

WAAAAAAAY easier, would be to start with something made of acceptable plastic and simply insulate it.

The coating of the inside of the cooler may be a fun project if you are made of time and money, but for me, I say "ABORT".

 

[jfkriege]

I am not sure what you are telling me to do.

I dont want to coat the inside of anything. I want to attach a fitting to the cooler interior by melt welding. Doesnt sound that hard to me. Besides, I like projects like this. I always learn something new that ends up helping me later on something entirely unrelated.

Joshua

jkfriege:

WAAAAAAAY easier, would be to start with something made of acceptable plastic and simply insulate it.

The coating of the inside of the cooler may be a fun project if you are made of time and money, but for me, I say "ABORT".

 

[cheezydemon3]

dOH! I thought you wanted to coat the inside of your cooler with a safer plastic. Sorry!

 

[theshoe82]

Excellent work by Brewtus........you are quelling all of my fears as I slowly make my way to all grain.

 

[brewtus_]

Excellent work by Brewtus........you are quelling all of my fears as I slowly make my way to all grain.

Thanks, Never got my new thermal analysis equipment to confirm Engage resin, but I've been meaning to hit my xray fluorescence spectrometer on my cooler to prove there's no heavy metals in there. Kinda forgot about it (and this thread) till you bumped it. Maybe I'll try to get to it in the next few weeks if time allows.

I do have a contact at Dow, I'll call him for info.

 

[nh_homebrew]

this was very helpful https://www.ratebeer.com/forums/mashing-in-a-cooler-leaching-plastic_60681.htm