Purpose
Protection, ready visibility, and ease of access are three conditions desired of sluice gate, valve stem, slide gate, and weir gate protectors. Before transparent butyrate covers, these were particular problems. The traditional protection employed galvanized steel with its drawbacks of poor visibility, unknown position of the gate, and weight.
Decades ago, Rodney Hunt Company, Orange MA and Waterman Industries, Inc., Exeter, CA began using our butyrate tubing to protect their stems from weathering.
Butyrate (CAB) protectors provided clarity, UV protection, and fracture resistance but these stem protectors are often joined to PVC caps and left to the elements.
Therefore, we set out on a simple test for the best adhesives. We researched dozens of adhesives and solvent combinations.
First, a comparison to Clear PVC and Clear Butyrate: Typically, amber PVC appears blue due to a pigment.
Butyrate and PVC are dissimilar plastics, and whatever method is used, we recommend that, as a backup addition, one should use a few setscrews.
Tested Solvents
Methylene Chloride
(Weld-On #4)
Strong bond ( > 5 min)
Fast set-up time (~10-30 sec)
Hazy bond area
MEK/THF
(Weld-On #2007)
Strong bond (> 5 min)
Fast set-up time (~10-30 sec)
Hazy bond area
UV Curable Adhesives
(Loctite 3106 & 3922 /Dymax 3069 & 3094)
Very strong bond (< 30 sec) Very fast set-up times (Immediate) Clear bond area Two-Component Adhesives (Weld-On 55, BondMaster V5004, 3M DP 8005) Urethane based adhesive Strong bond after 5 hours set-up time 
BondMaster V5004 produced strong bond after 2 ½-hour set-up time
SCUGRIP 1802
formulated to bond acrylic (poly-methyl methacrylate), ABS, cellulose, acetate butyrate, rigid PVC,and polystyrene to themselves and to each other. It does not bond to metal or glass. “
IPSWeld-On66
WELD-ON 10 formulated for large PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) pipe and fittings, but has been found to bond manyother plastics and non plastics.
Cyanoacrylate adhesives are single component adhesives that polymerize rapidly when pressed into a thin film between parts.
Weld-On # 10 and 11
The final four: waiting out their time in the elements. We’ll check on them in a year with a highly sophisticated system test. We will whack them with a hammer, and may the best man win.
As of 9/22/16 and a bunch of wacks.
The two left standing are Weld-on products SciGrip 55 and SureGrip 55.
