Leaky tea table fix?

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Abracadaver!
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Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:37 pm

Hi all!

I have a stone tea table I've been using for a couple of weeks. Earlier today, tea started leaking out from underneath. I assumed I had accidentally pulled the drainage tube loose, but it looks instead like it's leaking around the edges of the hard sealant that encloses the copper drainage tube.

There aren't any obvious gaps, but I imagine coating the edges with some caulk or silicone should do the trick. Before I try this, I'm curious if anyone else has run into this problem before and if you can recommend a particular type of sealant.

Thanks!
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The leaky spots are circled in red.
The leaky spots are circled in red.
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pedant
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Tue Mar 20, 2018 2:14 pm

yes, try with silicone sealant/caulk, but it's possible that you will end up playing whack-a-mole.
water might be leaking parallel to the tube (maybe from where the tube starts).
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OldWaysTea
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Tue Mar 20, 2018 2:55 pm

A closer picture could help.

From what I see, it seems whatever used hardened, but did not really bond to the stone. I would be tempted to see if some of it wanted to chip out. If I could get some of it removed, I would then flood the edges with epoxy, ideally all the way to around the brass nipple to form a good seal. Right now it looks like the tray doesn't have any feet, any fix will likely stick up a bit, so you might need to add some felt or rubber disks to keep it level.

You might be able to get some level of improvement by dabbing the edges with some sort of thin glue or grout sealant. I don't think it would make for a long term fix though.
Abracadaver!
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Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:30 pm

Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:54 am

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions!

I used the photo from the TB proxy I used--I've since attached feet to the bottom.

Before I chip out the old filler, I think I'll try coating the entire length of the tube with silicone sealant and see if it holds. I'll report back!
Abracadaver!
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Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:30 pm

Sun Mar 03, 2019 4:15 pm

UPDATE: Infilled the edges with a silicone epoxy, then spread a thin layer across the entire central strip. So far, nearly a year later, there's been no further leaking.
Thanks for the suggestions, all!
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Baisao
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Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:51 am

Thanks for the follow up. That’s very considerate of you. I’m glad it worked out.
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