FARGO, N.D. – It’s a fact of life that grain bins do not always seal as tightly as we would like. The slightest crack, invisible to the human eye, is an invitation for insects and moisture.
Bolting one piece of galvanized steel to another piece of galvanized steel or to a concrete base will sooner or later result in leaks at the joints.
Tar had been the sealant of choice for years. But it’s messy and prone to splitting with exposure to sun and cold. The cracks get bigger once moisture gets in and freezes.
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An often-tried solution to the cracked tar problem is to force another type of more pliable sealant into the crack. This works as long as the two different chemical base substances tolerate each other. But once chemical incompatibility comes into play, there are two cracks, one on each side of the patch material.
Over the years, dozens of bin patch concoctions have been introduced. Some disappeared from the market once they proved to be no better than tar.
“I can tell you about a few of those,” says Crookston, Minnesota, farmer Walt Cymbaluk.
But other formulas have endured the test of time and are still on the market. One of those is Flex-N-Seal, a product from Gateway Building Systems formulated specifically for patching grain bins.
As a sideline to farming, Cymbaluk sells Flex-N-Seal from his booth at farm shows. He had a 10-year old patch sample on display at this year’s Big Iron Show.
“Every patch paste I ever tried would crack,” says Cymbaluk.
“Then 16 years ago I thought I’d try this Flex-N-Seal on some of my bins, and those patches are all good to this day. No cracks.
“The patch will crack if the wind blows your bin away, but otherwise it’s pretty good stuff.”
Cymbaluk said the stuff works because it’s compatible with galvanized steel and with concrete. It’s applied as a liquid in two coats.
The first coat forms a chemical bond with both the steel and the concrete. The second coat forms the waterproof membrane and reflects sunlight, thus reducing UV deterioration.
“It holds together because it’s an acrylic latex rubber,” Cymbaluk said.
“They have nylon fibres in there like the sidewalls of a tire. That nylon holds it together and keeps it from tearing or cracking.”
He adds that it expands up to 300 percent, like a rubber band.
“So one inch of this stuff can stretch up to three inches before it snaps.”
For more information, contact Gateway Building Systems in Fargo at 800-747-4499 or visit www.gatewaybuilding.com.
