Portable basketball hoops have earned fame for it’s simple transportation and height adjustment features. If you’re a proud owner of a portable hoop, you must hope that your hoop shall last for years to come. This can be true if you take proper care of it. This can turn out to be a pretty much good investment.
Any portable basketball hoop base is generally filled with water or sand. As your portable basketball system is always kept outside, there is every possibility of getting damaged. Exposure to the environment and element give rise to some problems. Some bases may crack or break.
By far, the most common problem people have is a rupture or crack in a plastic bottom. That means your hoop may not last as long as you have expected. But how to repair a broken portable basketball hoop base?
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Alternative Solution
You can take a look at this PROBASE Steel Stand for portable basketball hoop. Literally, it replaces any kind of portable hoop plastic base and secures basketball goal.
If you wish, you can also take a look at some other useful basketball hoop accessories such as U-Turn Lift System Bracket, Anchor Kit, In-Ground Sleeve, or Deluxe Acrylic Ball Stand.
Now you might need to purchase the Probase steel stand. Oh! Suddenly your sleep is disappeared. Because you're running on a tight budget?
So for now fixing the crack in your portable basketball goal base is probably the last thing going on your mind. Hang on; actually, this type of damage is not that difficult to repair. Without further ado, let’s find out the best possible ways to fix a broken portable basketball hoop base.
2 Things That Will Make Your Portable Hoop Secure
3 Methods To Repair A Portable Basketball Hoop Base
Method 1: Using Caulk
If you do have a 44’’ backboard size basketball hoop or smaller than that you can use fiberglass reinforced caulk to fix a broken or cracked base.
Things you’ll need:
1. Rapidly setting fiberglass reinforced caulk
2. Damp cloth
3. Rubbing alcohol
Steps:
1. At first, find out where the leaking or rupture is. Use your hands to press gently over the entire base. The objective of applying the pressure here is to locate if there is still anymore crack or not. We hope you track down all the leaks.
2. Now, you should drain the base of your portable basketball system. For that to happen, turn the base on it’s sideways and let the water or sand run out. You should only stop when it is at a level below the ruptured surface.
3. The surface should be free of any kinds of debris and sand particles. That’s why you need to clean the rupture using a damp cloth and a small proportionate of rubbing alcohol. Make sure there is no moisture on it’s surface. Let the surface dry completely.
4. Now fill the rupture or crack with caulk. Compress the base firmly into the crevice. You need to keep this on your mind that you should cover all the edges. Therefore you have to collect enough caulk. After that press the caulk even and straighten the edges.
5. After an hour, you can smoothly sand the caulk. Make sure you do it with soft hands.
6. Want to hide the repaired spot from others? Use paint colors.
Pro Tips:
1. Use a clean cloth.
2. Before pouring caulk make sure there are not any moisture or sands in the leakage. If it is, the seal may not hold that well.
3. For precautionary measures cover the edges of rupture plus 1 to 2.5 inches.
Method 2: Using adhesive or resin
You can use adhesive or resin to fix a broken hoop base. Adhesives or resins provide superior bonding capabilities, but this is sad to hear that no strong adhesive can be used with fiberglass cloth to build a solid patch over a crack.
Just imagine your hoop has got a crack. It is laid down on the ground. Now probably you are not so sure if you are gonna buy a new one or not. So there is nothing to lose in trying some of the new adhesives on the market.
Here is the way through which you can get the best results. First, sand the base surface to create a texture and then flame the base in the crack spot to fix it. Let me tell you about the heating process. Pass the torch or open flame back and forth over the base surface.
Keep the heat moving all the time before the polyethylene shows any kind of sign of melting. After you’re done with the heating process, you can continue to repair for a short period of time. This will help you to get the ideal result.
Steps:
1. Plate a layer of adhesive or resin on the interior of the base over the crack. Then extend it about 1’’ beyond the edges of the break.
2. Cut a piece of fiberglass material and join into the glue or resin. Resin which you have just placed on the base- clear casting resin with catalyst 32 ounce.
3. Roll a layer of glue over the patch cloth to lay the second patch on top of the first. Thus it will help the edges to overlap the first layer by around an inch.
4. Until you see your base is really stiff between repaired and unrepaired area, you should continue adding the layers.
5. Patch layers should be placed over the interior of the base.
6. On the exterior, directly drip the patch over the top of the cracked surface and for about ¼ beyond each end of that area. You should repeat that too on the opposite side and sand those spots until you notice they are fair to the base. These patch layers are meant to build for encountering sandbars or other interferences on the water.
Method 3: Using heat to patch up
People will say this is the hardest option but worth spending the time. That’s why this process is regarded as the best move to fix a broken portable basketball hoop base. Polyethylene can be easily manufactured (like distend, bend, distort, deflect). After you have filled the holes with it from the melted patch, pour water on the patch to cure it.
Materials and tools:
1. Polyethylene can flex and distort quickly. Find a material as elastic as polyethylene. For e.g barrels.
2. Gloves are mandatory
3. Blow torch or heat gun
4. Water bottle for safety reasons
5. Large metal spoons or putty knife
6. A pair of pliers
The Process:
You need to flame the patch by consistently moving blow torch or heat gun over it. Simply can’t allow the heat gun to stay over it more than 5 seconds. If you do so, you will burn it.
You should check the patch immediately after holding the heat gun over it for few seconds. When you see there are signs of melting, spread the fluid into the holes so that the patch can attach to the impaired spot.
1. Put on hand gloves.
2. Then ignite the torch/power the heat gun.
3. Have your patch at a side with pliers.
4. After that, melt the patch and make it hanging downwards. Make sure you do not cause a hole in it.
5. The plastic needs to turn into a different color. So, you should sweep the torch all over the outer edges of the hole.
6. Strike the iron while it is hot! Yes, both the patch and base must remain hot while processing. So, you need to do it very fast.
7. Hold the patch and press it to the hoop. Make sure you have gloves wearing on your hand. It can still get a bit hot.
Method 4: Use concrete
If anybody asks you the simplest way of a broken basketball hoop base repairing, then answer him the concrete straightforwardly. You can fill or patch it from the inside with concrete almost effortlessly. That is really an uncomplicated, permanent, and cheaper solution to your problem.
Concrete is a high quality patching material that hardly has any tendency to leak. Nothing to worry about freezing. If you want you can even put the concrete mix in without adding any water. Then pour the water, slosh it back and forth.
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