<p>Due to the surprisingly high cost, including shipping, of large water tanks (say, 100 gallons), I'm evaluating the possibility of creating one via 3d printing. (The pieces would of course have to be printed in chunks and fused together in a durable and watertight fashion-- I'm assuming for now that this can be done. It seems like a separate question, but feel free to address it in the comments.)</p>
<p>The question at hand is: is there any filament suitable for the task? The container needs to be able to sit out in the sun year-round without becoming nonfunctional.</p>
<p>The resources I've been reading (linked below) are suggesting PLA filament for small kitchenware items, but from what I've heard, that tends to degrade pretty quickly in the sun.</p>
<p>Are any filaments suitable for this?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instructables.com/3D-Printing-Make-Water-Tight-and-Air-Tight-Contain/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.instructables.com/3D-Printing-Make-Water-Tight-and-Air-Tight-Contain/</a></p>
<p><a href="https://all3dp.com/2/waterproof-3d-print-pla/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://all3dp.com/2/waterproof-3d-print-pla/</a></p>
<p><a href="https://all3dp.com/weekend-project-how-to-3d-print-watertight-and-airtight-containers/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://all3dp.com/weekend-project-how-to-3d-print-watertight-and-airtight-containers/</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-18T18:43:05.667Z
A hundred gallons is pretty big -- about 14 cubic feet, or three times the volume of a common outdoor trash can,.  Even a pretty large FDM printer isn't going to print that in one piece, and if it's assembled from small pieces, you've got more leaks to worry about than through the printed parts.
Zeiss Ikon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-18T18:58:29.513Z
Indeed 3D printing makes no sense for this. There are various decent ways you could fabricate your own such tanks though, from materials readily available at a hardware/home improvement type store.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-18T19:03:11.200Z
You won't just need a watertight material for that, you'd need a watertight glue as well. And a lot of it too, for 100 gallons. With such an amount of water, I'd start worrying just a bit about waterpressure too. 100 gallons of water weighs about 1000 pounds.
Mast
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-18T19:16:16.660Z
I was thinking of using a heat-fusion method (think welding) rather than glue.
DJG
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-18T19:25:47.663Z
Not necessarily glue. Could be gaskets and bolts, or heat or ultrasonic welding, or acetone welding with suitable plastics, etc. But it still seems incredibly difficult, time-inefficient, and cost-inefficient.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-18T22:17:07.140Z
The overall concept seems flawed, but for the joining part, ABS welds up nicely with an acetone/ABS mixture which can be tailored desired viscosity. I've assembled a nearly 1.5 m R/C boat of 40-50 printed parts. Strong and watertight "welds" were accomplished with ABS/acetone slurry about as thick as mustard/ketchup condiments. Also, size wise, consider the size of a typical 55 gallon drum. Nearly double that will be huge! I'd suggest inflatable tanks as an alternative. US$200 or less for Banks Outdoors Wild Water Bladders, 100 US gal.
fred_dot_u
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-19T02:06:41.880Z
i would not print for a large tank.  especially if i only need a few.  mold, form, seal, and coat.  maybe i'm leaning too far into a composite rather than 3d printed solution for this...
Abel
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-19T02:50:21.000Z
I've had PLA sit outside for 3y and it only got a little brittle.  I've also done friction welding with some success.  But unless you need a tank with a very strange shape, welding pre-made flat panels together or a bladder like solution would be better.
user10489
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-19T21:22:59.210Z
The Water-tightness part is already answered, the engineering problem makes this infeasible. In fact, it would be cheaper and faster to buy stainless sheet metal and weld the tank on the target place rather than to laminate a plastic container.
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-20T19:55:07.430Z
Watertight is hard to do with fdm printing . Lots of voids and pinholes. People have trouble with their vases holding water, and that’s one piece, not a patchwork or little parts.
ChinchillaWafers
<filament-choice>
Any filaments sun-safe and watertight?
DJG
# Any filaments sun-safe and watertight?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-11-18)

Due to the surprisingly high cost, including shipping, of large water tanks (say, 100 gallons), I'm evaluating the possibility of creating one via 3d printing. (The pieces would of course have to be printed in chunks and fused together in a durable and watertight fashion-- I'm assuming for now that this can be done. It seems like a separate question, but feel free to address it in the comments.)

The question at hand is: is there any filament suitable for the task? The container needs to be able to sit out in the sun year-round without becoming nonfunctional.

The resources I've been reading (linked below) are suggesting PLA filament for small kitchenware items, but from what I've heard, that tends to degrade pretty quickly in the sun.

Are any filaments suitable for this?

<https://www.instructables.com/3D-Printing-Make-Water-Tight-and-Air-Tight-Contain/>

<https://all3dp.com/2/waterproof-3d-print-pla/>

<https://all3dp.com/weekend-project-how-to-3d-print-watertight-and-airtight-containers/>

**Tags:** filament-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A hundred gallons is pretty big -- about 14 cubic feet, or three times the volume of a common outdoor trash can,.  Even a pretty large FDM printer isn't going to print that in one piece, and if it's assembled from small pieces, you've got more leaks to worry about than through the printed parts.  
> **username_2**: Indeed 3D printing makes no sense for this. There are various decent ways you could fabricate your own such tanks though, from materials readily available at a hardware/home improvement type store.  
> **username_3**: You won't just need a watertight material for that, you'd need a watertight glue as well. And a lot of it too, for 100 gallons. With such an amount of water, I'd start worrying just a bit about waterpressure too. 100 gallons of water weighs about 1000 pounds.  
> **username_0**: I was thinking of using a heat-fusion method (think welding) rather than glue.  
> **username_2**: Not necessarily glue. Could be gaskets and bolts, or heat or ultrasonic welding, or acetone welding with suitable plastics, etc. But it still seems incredibly difficult, time-inefficient, and cost-inefficient.  
> **username_4**: The overall concept seems flawed, but for the joining part, ABS welds up nicely with an acetone/ABS mixture which can be tailored desired viscosity. I've assembled a nearly 1.5 m R/C boat of 40-50 printed parts. Strong and watertight "welds" were accomplished with ABS/acetone slurry about as thick as mustard/ketchup condiments. Also, size wise, consider the size of a typical 55 gallon drum. Nearly double that will be huge! I'd suggest inflatable tanks as an alternative. US$200 or less for Banks Outdoors Wild Water Bladders, 100 US gal.  
> **username_5**: i would not print for a large tank.  especially if i only need a few.  mold, form, seal, and coat.  maybe i'm leaning too far into a composite rather than 3d printed solution for this...  
> **username_6**: I've had PLA sit outside for 3y and it only got a little brittle.  I've also done friction welding with some success.  But unless you need a tank with a very strange shape, welding pre-made flat panels together or a bladder like solution would be better.  
> **username_7**: The Water-tightness part is already answered, the engineering problem makes this infeasible. In fact, it would be cheaper and faster to buy stainless sheet metal and weld the tank on the target place rather than to laminate a plastic container.  
> **username_8**: Watertight is hard to do with fdm printing . Lots of voids and pinholes. People have trouble with their vases holding water, and that’s one piece, not a patchwork or little parts.  

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## 0 answers

