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Successful (if messy) welding HDPE pond liner with a regular heat gun (media.piefed.social)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/diy@beehaw.org
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I needed to work around a corner of a shed green roof I'm building in a way that couldn't just be folded. Online sources say you need a specialized heat gun for HDPE welding (and that glues won't adhere).

I tested a weld on a scrap:

heat gun and scrap

torn

It stuck well enough to tear the material around the joint.

thermal image

The heat gun got it up to about 400⁰F (204⁰C), plenty to make it sticky but also easy to buckle, melt, and tear.

I can see that a specialized tool would be easier, but for a small, low tension/wear, non-critical area, this worked fine. I think it will keep significant water from seeping into the corner.

corner

Successful (if messy) welding HDPE pond liner with a regular heat gun

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[–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

I think more distance and more patience would have yielded a better result, but this looks dandy.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 weeks ago

    In demo videos they move pretty fast. I wonder if high heat quickly can melt the inner sides to be bonded without melting the outer surfaces. Small pieces and corners were also hard to manipulate, I wonder if with a big sheet it's easier to keep even tension/placement.

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