Fixing cracked toilet tank

[poppy]

Well guys and gals, I haven't updated my 1957 ranch house rehab project in a while, but I have made some progress.

One recent project was to get the septic tank pumped out and make sure the waste lines were running free so that even without running water I could at least get my vintage toilet installed temporarily.



This one-piece toilet is part of a matched set including sink and tub that was taken from a 1950's bathroom.  Unfortunately it leaked and a closer inspection revealed a long crack in the bowl. 



Inside the tank the crack runs from the center to the lower left corner in the pic.



On the outside the crack wraps around the corner of the tank and then runs almost all the way across the base of the tank.



My first thought was, oh crap, I'll need to find another toilet, which I did.



But it's from a 1960's bathroom and is a different color pink as well as a different design.

So I googled ceramic tank repair and found a video of a guy fixing toilets with JB Weld.  He said he used it all the time in his toilet repair business.  He didn't give any detail other than to spread it on.

Another site said to use epoxy after drilling a hole through the ceramic to stop the crack, grind a groove, and apply epoxy.

So has anyone done a successful toilet tank crack repair?  And if so how? 

[MountainDon]

I've never done a toilet but I have patched/repaired a large 4 foot diameter pottery pot with a two part putty like epoxy. I hogged out the crack slightly before application. No holes drilled as it was an entire chunk broken out. Probably a good idea if done with care.  G/L   

Makes one wonder how many fixtures are around in abandoned / foreclosed homes.

[JRR]

I have that same toilet (top photo) in three of our bathrooms ... "aqua" (even worse than pink!)... house built in 1949.  "Richmond" brand in my case ... now defunct I suppose.  Not easy to replace with new toilets because the dimension from the drain outlet to the rear of the tank is shorter than modern fixtures.  My tanks are cracked in many places, but luckily all above the water line.

However in our cabin I had a major water crack because I did not leave enough anti-freeze in newly purchased toilet over winter.  A huge chunk broke out of the molded-in "S" trap.  In that case, I used glass cloth and two-part epoxy from Home Depot paint dept.  Been in place about three years ... so far, so good.

[rick91351]

About 10 years ago my dad bought a house and a couple acres at auction.  It had a toilet repaired with something like you are talking about Poppy.  I replaced the toilet when he got around to resell it.  It never leaked but it was patched inside and out and really looked like   .  If that toilet could be fixed just on the inside and out of sight