Does anyone know how to fix a leaking waterglobe/snowglobe?

[enabler]

My wife has a G3 waterglobe that at some point in being in storage/moving decided it wanted to leak all of the water out of it. Now, from looking at it, I can tell that the globe itself isn't cracked. My theory is that whatever seal it had around the base of the globe where it meets the base of the item, has deteriorated or come lose. I don't know where to begin on taking it apart however.

Anyone have any experience with this?

[Karma]

I may be able to help, I make snow globes in my spare time. do you have a pic?

[hathorcat]

It could just be general time that is causing your problems; water will very slowly evaporate out of snow globes over time so it could simply need a top up with distilled water and glycerine rather than be broken. As Karma mentions, a picture will help  

[ponygrl07]

enabler has reached his post limit for today so I will post the pics
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The Globe leaked out all at one time (not slowly). I notice that the base in the globe (hill where the pony is sitting) seems to be shifted and no longer level. That may be where it leaked out?

[Karma]

Okay.... so you're going to have to go from the bottom up. Unscrew the music pin and the two screws, then take the plastic off and please send another picture.

[ponygrl07]

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The rubber section is def not level

[Karma]

Yeah, it looks like a section of the rubber seal broke and that's where it leaked. You are probably going to have to tear the seal out entirely (think of it sort of like installing a toilet). to fix it you will need distilled water, glycerin (you'll find it in the craft section by the cake decorating supplies) and a water sealing glue. I use E6000.
look at the inside stand, see if it needs to be glued down at all. if it does, it needs to be dry and the glue needs to cure for 24 hours.
The more glycerin you add, the slower the glitter will fall. I usually do about a teaspoon. So, fill it with your water mix. The easiest way is to put the globe upside down, on the mouth of a cup in a bowl to catch any extra. put the stopper back in, sop up what water you can, and seal it up again. Let it cure overnight in this position, then flip to check. if it holds, you're all good, just put it back together. if not, add more glue until it stops. In general, just add lots of you glue.

[ponygrl07]

Thank you so much Karma!!! I will get enabler to work on it when he is off work. I appreciate all your help!

[rybett]

Waits for more pics.  I love snow globes.

[Karma]

No problem! I'm just glad it was the easy fix. The other way they break requires resin and I don't think they ever look the same. This way they're just like new~

Rybett- I should make you a snow globe if we trade again!

[Rachel-Eyes]

Gonna drop a comment here for updates, because we're in a similar predicament and I'd love to see how you guys are doing! My mother bought some snowglobes at an auction as a present for my cousin and uncle, but the glue holding the figures inside had come loose, making the rest of the water really murky and gunky.

We've been doing some research on how to fix them... some snowglobes are put together with plugs, like pony heads, but not all of them apparently. Also, don't use pure water inside, but add some glycerin too. Apparently, you can find the stuff at some craft stores, but we've been unsuccessful. Glycerin acts as an antifreeze and will prevent the water inside from freezing, and it may or may not also protect it from algae. To minimize that problem, keep it out of direct sunlight.

If you want to save the snow inside, a trick I've read is to dump the water slowly, saving as much of the snow/glitter as you can. Then, when you've got just a little puddle on the inside, use a paper towel as a filter to collect the rest of the glitter. Let it dry, and then you can just dump it inside when it's dry and ready.

Good luck! We haven't attempted any of this yet, but this is all still some really nice "theory" that we've found during our research of trying to find a way to repair ours.

EDIT: I guess I got a little ahead of myself and somehow missed Karma's advice.  Which is very good advice, so thank you as well, Karma!

[enabler]

From the looks of it, the rubber seal/plug was never sealed in with any kind of glue, which may have been part of the problem to begin with.

From what I've seen messing around with it, it seems that the pony inside is attached to the plug directly but it was kept from leaking until a few months ago by just having enough pressure on the plug around the opening on the base. I only say this because I can move the plug and almost push it back in place/pull it out by hand. It is only slightly stubborn due to its size and being in a relatively small area for my hands. I shall be bringing some tools home tomorrow to work on it. More pics will follow.

[ponygrl07]

So Im guessing tomorrow I will be looking for glycerin and getting distilled water (maybe some fine glitter too just in case)

[Karma]

Actually, fine glitter tends to float. so do average or heavy glitter. 

[ponygrl07]

Actually, fine glitter tends to float. so do average or heavy glitter. 

GAH You are a lifesaver Karma! I was thinking fine glitter too HAHA. I would have goofed for sure.