Automatic Litterbox Central

This is to the gentleman that makes the Forever Tray...

I've had a Forever Tray from you that we absolutely LOVE! Bought it about 5 months ago and absolutely no problems with it and so much more economical than buying the expensive / disposable cardboard trays.

Question: I see that you've redesigned the tray and it's improved in several areas.

I'm interested to know if you are making available the "ridge" that you speak of in the info. on the new-and-improved tray to purchase by those of us that already have the previous "model" of the tray. I'm just curious if the ridge strip that's shown in the picture can be purchased from you by itself and if it just sticks on the bottom of the tray with some sort of easily-found adhesive or something?

This would be a great way for those of us that already have an existing tray purchased from you a while back to sort of retro-fit our tray to at least have the anti-poop ridge like your new ones have.

Drop me a line when you have a moment if you'd be able / willing to make the ridge strips available to purchase to me/others or if you can provide instructions on how you feel that myself / others can make our own ridge strips.

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Brad McCollum
brad dot mccollum at comcast dot net

I can answer that. The ridge is not a stick on type of thing. It is part of the mold for the whole tray. It isn't removable.

Okay... thanks for the information on the ridge thing...

Thanks Abbeytoo for answering as well.

The ridge is for the early (white) version is something you can easily fabricate for yourself, and in the end it would honestly be much simpler and more cost effective to do it that way. I'm going to post this here rather than just sending to you off-line in case others may want to do the same mod.

I just went out and took some rough measurements, but these should work for you. You may need to modify these slightly to fit.

You can source everything at Tap Plastics (if you have one locally) or at any local store that carries plastics and rigid PVC.

The strip should be 14 1/2" long, by 3/4" wide and approx. 1/4" thick. I wouldn't make it any thicker, as it might interfere with the rake. I would position it across the tray with the rake side of the edge approx. 4 1/2" out from the end of the tray.

My suggestion is to then put the SF over this assembly (BEFORE any gluing) and cycle the unit, making sure that the rake comes as close as possible to your ridge, but at the same time clears it. Only then would I glue it down to the tray itself.

As far as glue goes, your most secure choice would be to use PVC glue. What this does is effectively "weld" the PVC together by melting the two surfaces to each other. It should be readily available from Home Depot or the plastics store mentioned above. The version I use is made by Weld-On, and the model (version) I use is 2007, which cures very quickly. Should be available in a very small size for your use.

Hope this helped. Anyone with questions feel free to post -- I'm happy to help.

Jack & Stans Dad: I just checked the Tap Plastics site you mentioned to try to see what I could come up with as far as ordering the custom-dimensioned ridge for the tray and I'm a bit lost on the site. There are tons of options as far as product lines and material types and I wasn't sure which area to go into to begin my search.

Any additional specifics you could provide are greatly appreciated w/respect to the Tap Plastics site and exactly which area of the site I should be looking for...

Friend of mine located in Memphis, TN just ordered 2 Forever Trays (they have 2 ScoopFree litter boxes) for their home based on my recommendation. Told them they wouldn't regret it...

Take care...

Thanks for the referral!

I'm actually spoiled at this end, as we have a physical Tap Plastics store that I can go to with my ideas and tinkering. On-line is a little more difficult -- like trying to tell someone how to tie a shoelace over the telephone.

I'll look at the site today and get some specifics to post here for everyone to use.

OK, back again.

This should help many people at once.

Just go the the TAP website (www.tapplastics.com). They have a toll-free number at the top of the page -- I'd use that, as what you're looking for will go more smoothly with human contact. Then I'd just give them your dimension requirements (as mentioned in a previous post), specifying you want rigid PVC (not expanded, as it won't work.

If you want, you can make it a one-stop shopping call. At the same time I'd order their minimum quantity of Weld-On 2007 joining compound (you won't need much).

And at the same time (for those of you with side pee-ers or if you suspect you have one) order 4 pieces (also rigid PVC):

1inch square by 1/8" thick.

These will be little "feet" -- and you glue one at each corner of the tray to lift it 1/8" up, which will result in the actual SF resting tightly on top of the tray, thus pressing that gap tighter.

With these two mods you'll end up with a tray that essentially has all the updates of the new version, for very, very little cost outlay.

Please don't hesitate to post more questions or contact me directly if I can be of more help.

Jack 'n Stans Dad wrote:
Please don't hesitate to post more questions or contact me directly if I can be of more help.

Posting the questions and answers here, helps everyone


this is the Rigid PVC
http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=343&
You will still prob have to call them to give them the measurements to cut and figure the price

and this is the 'glue'
http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=133&

these are the glue applicators
http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=170&

I used the little bottle as opposed to the syringe.

I went to the local Tap Platics and had them cut a ridge per the dimensions above. When I placed the ridge in the tray I found that the rake would get stuck on the ridge and basically get jammed up. The 1/4" thick height seem to be too much for my unit. I'm going to have to go back and have another piece made that is a little less thick. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem?

Just curious what the final dimensions (thickness) seem to need to be for the ridge if you found that the 1/4-inch thickness is a little too thick?

When you have a minute, pls. post what you figured out so myself and others won't have to go through the same trial-and-error as you recently did.

Thanks and good luck!

stevemar wrote:I went to the local Tap Platics and had them cut a ridge per the dimensions above. When I placed the ridge in the tray I found that the rake would get stuck on the ridge and basically get jammed up. The 1/4" thick height seem to be too much for my unit. I'm going to have to go back and have another piece made that is a little less thick. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem?

ARGH!! Sorry folks! I'm thinking the ridge should either be slightly lower (1/8" instead of 1/4") and/or slightly closer to the poop compartment end to avoid contact with the rake.

Sorry about that.........I was working off of measurements off of the new version tray, and it looks like they may have them slightly off when applied as a modification to the older ones.

Unfortunately this "fix" has not worked out so well for me. I did end up going back to Tap Plastics and getting a less thick ridge piece than the one originally recommended. After gluing the piece in place, the rake gets stuck on the ridge. I have had to raise up the top slightly to allow the rake to go over the ridge. This has now created a space between the top and the side of the tray. I loved this tray before doing this modification and while it's still usable, it has never been the same as before the ridge was installed.

Hi Steve,

I'm responding here so that people don't think I've abandoned you!

We can get this resolved most easily one-on-one. I'm sure between the two of us we can figure something out that will bring you back to being as happy with this as you were before.

I'll be contacting you directly so we can discuss ideas/solutions.

I just want to let everyone know that Rick provides FIRST CLASS customer service. If you have been on the fence about purchasing one of his trays, get off the fence and buy one. It's a great product and he stands behind it 100%.

Wow......thanks Steve! Very kind of you......