MacGyver me this: Broken Watering Can Rose
There isn't much that can't be fixed with duct tape. Garden tools are no exception. While I wouldn't trust a loose-headed pick-axe after wrapping it with several rounds of shiny silver duct tape, I would trust it to fix my reliable yet cheap, plastic Rite-Aid watering can with a broken rose attachment.
Plastic is, as we know, forever. Except in the case when it photo-degrades. Plastic pots or tools become brittle and cracked, and eventually useless for their intended purpose. When the rose attachment (that part that makes water come out like rainfall) shattered into a dozen pieces at the slighted touch the other day, I knew I would be hard pressed to find a replacement of this seasonal item in early winter. So I called upon my inner MacGyver.
When I tried to tape the tiny center piece, which was the only thing broken at the time, back
on to the rest of the rose, the entire thing collapsed.
I removed all the broken pieces and then covered the entire surface with duct tape.
Using 3 pieces of duct tape ensures coverage and enough to wrap around the sides.
Then I employed the use of an awl to poke holes in the tape similarly to the original rose attachment. An awl is a pointy metal tool usually used for punching holes in leather (to make extra belt buckle holes or shoelace holes), and it makes a nice round hole in tape.
A small Phillips screwdriver would work just as well, most likely.
Continuing on around in a circle, soon the entire surface was covered with holes.
The final test was to water something. It worked!
Admittedly, it's not the gentle rainfall I was hoping for, but the original rose attachment wasn't all that gentle either. If I had to do it over, I'd make fewer holes. This will do the trick, though, until next spring when I can get a new watering can - or come up with a better material than duct tape to solve the problem.
Any suggestions? Share them here.
Plastic is, as we know, forever. Except in the case when it photo-degrades. Plastic pots or tools become brittle and cracked, and eventually useless for their intended purpose. When the rose attachment (that part that makes water come out like rainfall) shattered into a dozen pieces at the slighted touch the other day, I knew I would be hard pressed to find a replacement of this seasonal item in early winter. So I called upon my inner MacGyver.
When I tried to tape the tiny center piece, which was the only thing broken at the time, back
on to the rest of the rose, the entire thing collapsed.
I removed all the broken pieces and then covered the entire surface with duct tape.
Using 3 pieces of duct tape ensures coverage and enough to wrap around the sides.
Then I employed the use of an awl to poke holes in the tape similarly to the original rose attachment. An awl is a pointy metal tool usually used for punching holes in leather (to make extra belt buckle holes or shoelace holes), and it makes a nice round hole in tape.
A small Phillips screwdriver would work just as well, most likely.
Continuing on around in a circle, soon the entire surface was covered with holes.
The final test was to water something. It worked!
Admittedly, it's not the gentle rainfall I was hoping for, but the original rose attachment wasn't all that gentle either. If I had to do it over, I'd make fewer holes. This will do the trick, though, until next spring when I can get a new watering can - or come up with a better material than duct tape to solve the problem.
Any suggestions? Share them here.
Posted by Christy Wilhelmi at 12/8/2010 2:19 PM 
Categories: What's Growin' On
Tags: watering can rose attachment Gardenerd garden nerd MacGyver fixing a broken rose attachment
Categories: What's Growin' On
Tags: watering can rose attachment Gardenerd garden nerd MacGyver fixing a broken rose attachment
Mmmmm! I admire your desire to milk the most out of a tool, but in this case you're going further than I would venture
I can't explain my thoughts scientifically, for lack of physics knowledge, but I think the water is going to behave much differently coming out of the duct-tape-with-holes (which has ragged edges) than it would from solid-plastic-with-holes (which has smooth edges).
If it were me, and it probably will be eventually, I would find a similarly sized disc of plastic or, preferably, thin metal, and drill holes where you want them, then file the edges, THEN duct tape it on the spout.
I also like to keep in mind that the way lots of Kenyans (and others) do their watering is by poking holes in a 2-liter bottle and lugging bottle after bottle over the whole garden. It reminds me that I should be grateful
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You are so right! I saw pictures, as I was researching, of those buckets with holes in them. It makes so much sense to use another piece of plastic. I will try using the bottom of a plastic bottle and see how that goes. Thanks for the idea!
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