bending CPVC

[SE18]

my 3/4" cpvc from the garden hose to the cattle float got messed up over the winter. It had 4 elbows in it. I'm going to try my hand at not using elbows. Last night I used a test piece and found that if you hold a heat gun to the CPVC not too close and go all the way around and around where you want the bend, then after about 20 seconds it will bend and won't damage the CPVC.

I know the preferred way is to heat up some sand and using a metal siphon, pour the sand in the CPVC (taping off the end) and this lets you flex the whole thing at once. But being lazy, I think I'll just try the heat gun.

I might post a photo later. Don't know if anyone ever tried this.

Dave

 

[HTH]

I have played with it. It is easy to connect two pipes of the same size without a connector by stretching on over the other.

I think I have seen people use air pressure to keep the pipe from collapsing too.

A while back there was a series of videos on youtube to teach people in poor countries how to plumb without fittings. It was quite impressive.

 

[SE18]

cool, hadn't thought of that, although I don't need to connect 2 pipes.

what happened is my elbow fitting came loose yesterday. My hound was trapsing thru the yard in search of rabbits and kicked it and it came out of the elbow. The pressure sounded like a small explosion sending a spray of water into the beagle, which I never saw jump so high

So the CPVC had been spray painted to reduce UV damage and I cut off the elbow and sanded the CPVC to remove paint. Trouble is, once you sand CPVC, it no longer fits snugly into the elbow and is too loose

 

[HTH]

I use a lot of PVC to move compressed air and prefer not to glue the joints as it needs changing now and then. You can pin the joint with a hole through both pipes plugged with a little dowel. As long as it is tight enough to hold water it should not blow apart.

 

[Mmathis]

I just love PVC and all the things you can do with it. I've read about adding the sand -- it preserves the shape of the area being bent, so the "bend" makes a smooth transition. Will have to try it some time. Good luck with your project.

 

[brandonsdad02]

I just did this very thing this weekend. I use my gas grill to bend my 1 /12" PVC pipe for my bog, here are the pictures. They are big.

This shows how much I had sticking out at the other end. I didn't want to heat up the end of the pipe where the connection will be

And the finished product. Well almost

You can try sand, but unless you are bending 4" pipe. The sand will take a long time to heat up and it doesn't hold the heat very well. I just sent my grill on high heat, all 4 burners, and rotate the pipe about every 30 seconds or so until its limp. Then you just take it over to where you are working and form the pipe to how you want.

 

[Waterbug]

I have played with it. It is easy to connect two pipes of the same size without a connector by stretching on over the other.

I use a pointed wooden dowel and shove that into the heated end to start forming a bell and then push that over another piece of PVC to join. Trouble is as the bell cools it gets too tight to get back off so it can be glued. OK for some cases. I had to make a pointed wooden dowel the perfect diameter to form a normal bell, letting it cool on the dowel.

Any heat will work, but sand is easiest I've used so far.

Here's the video I learned from. It's fun as heck.

 

[SE18]

great job guys, nice photos, I think I saw the snowshoe one a while back now that I think of it!


Got up 5 am today and took some pictures of my unhandy work, but it works anyway.

I decided to go elbows, however, you can see I used my heat gun to do some slight bends in the vertical. Harbor freight heat gun about $10. Don't do your hair ladies, or it will burn a hole thru your head

cherry blossoms started yesterday. All 3 photos just took

btw, heated sand last night and tried it but it got too cold in the cpvc to bend. I'm sure it would have worked had i heated it more

dave

 

[HTH]

My peach tree bloomed a few days prior to the cold snap. I hope the fertilization went ok.

The PCV is fun stuff. I have a collection of parts that feels a lot like a tinker toy or erector set.

Although there is no heat bending or part forming here I built this PVC hoophouse over a decade ago. A significant part of the cost was in PVC T's and X's.which one could make with the PVC techniques described on the web. It cost about $500 to build at the time. A big chunk of that was the UV resistant plastic.

The use of the steel backbone was new with this one, it allows for a clear span and holds up to wind better. I have been told that people in northern Europe now use version of this to grow veggies etc. They call them high tunnels. this one covered my indoor pond aka Hoop House II.

The two pipe sizes are electrical conduit and chain link fence post. My wife welded the corner brackets. I also cemented sockets where just sections of the larger pipe into the ground. This let me pull the green house down for the summer. I only did that once. After that I left it up as it provided hail protection for the lilies and other plants.

They have since come out with something called wiggle wire which would make attaching the plastic easier.

When the snow load gets to be too much the PVC ribs collapse and the snow falls to the ground. Then the ribs snap back.