I hope that someone will be able to advise me. I need always to have a ready supply of adhesive for what will be a recurring task, and I am unsure about which adhesive to use. This is the situation: My wife uses a bath-lift (bought about five months ago — it is a Bathmaster Deltis), which, to anchor itself to the bottom of the bath, has four moulded sucker-feet. These are replacable (they need to be!). I would imagine that the suckers themselves will last indefinitely. However, at the point where these suckers are screwed to the base of the bath-lift, there is a narrow neck (a tiny cylinder, which contains a machine-thread screw, pointing upwards, that screws into the base of the bath-lift). There are four sucker-feet, of course. The union of this cylinder with a flattish disc, at the top of the actual sucker-cone, is very weak. (I should imagine that, by some means unknown to me, it has been stuck on, after the screw has been inserted, because there is no way that the entire item could have been moulded as one piece, yet also have a steel screw inserted.) The result is that, when the joint at the bottom of the cylinder breaks, the entire foot has to be replaced. These feet are too expensive for me simply to replace when they break (which is too often).
Without going into too much detail, let me say that these sucker feet — also the “neck” containing the screw — are made from PVC (it says so — the letters “PVC" are moulded into the material.) I have tried using Thixofix (a liquid rubber-type adhesive) to glue the cylinder back onto the top of the sucker-cone, but it does not seem to grip the PVC well enough. Also, with Thixofix, the resulting mend seemed to be too flexible to be safe enough to take any great weight. I wondered whether anyone could recommend an adhesive that would bond these PVC parts together strongly enough for the purpose. The PVC is glossy, and, where it is flexible (i.e. where the feet need to suck onto the bottom of the bath), it feels a bit like a rubber sucker would feel. Although the sucker-cone itself is quite flexible, the disc on its the top (also, the tiny cylinder containing the screw, which cylinder sits on this disc) seems to be fairly rigid (since there, it is much thicker, of course). However, I would not describe it as being hard, like the PVC pipes used in plumbing.
Any response that you care to make would be welcome. I am aware that, even if the neck can be stuck back onto the top of the sucker, no one could guarantee that it would be strong enough. (The responsibility for using it would be mine alone.) All that I need to know is which adhesive would bond this glossy PVC, which is flexible only where it is thin enough to be so (i.e. the sucker-cone part). Someone that actually has made a successful mend of this kind would be an ideal adviser. However, I would like to hear from anyone with confidence to advise about this. (The adhesive would need to be bought in the UK, where I live.)
With thanks in hopeful anticipation,
A.W.
Without going into too much detail, let me say that these sucker feet — also the “neck” containing the screw — are made from PVC (it says so — the letters “PVC" are moulded into the material.) I have tried using Thixofix (a liquid rubber-type adhesive) to glue the cylinder back onto the top of the sucker-cone, but it does not seem to grip the PVC well enough. Also, with Thixofix, the resulting mend seemed to be too flexible to be safe enough to take any great weight. I wondered whether anyone could recommend an adhesive that would bond these PVC parts together strongly enough for the purpose. The PVC is glossy, and, where it is flexible (i.e. where the feet need to suck onto the bottom of the bath), it feels a bit like a rubber sucker would feel. Although the sucker-cone itself is quite flexible, the disc on its the top (also, the tiny cylinder containing the screw, which cylinder sits on this disc) seems to be fairly rigid (since there, it is much thicker, of course). However, I would not describe it as being hard, like the PVC pipes used in plumbing.
Any response that you care to make would be welcome. I am aware that, even if the neck can be stuck back onto the top of the sucker, no one could guarantee that it would be strong enough. (The responsibility for using it would be mine alone.) All that I need to know is which adhesive would bond this glossy PVC, which is flexible only where it is thin enough to be so (i.e. the sucker-cone part). Someone that actually has made a successful mend of this kind would be an ideal adviser. However, I would like to hear from anyone with confidence to advise about this. (The adhesive would need to be bought in the UK, where I live.)
With thanks in hopeful anticipation,
A.W.
