need help with material

QuentinQuark

Well-Known Member
Hi folks,

I am looking for something to build a vertical system with, and I can't find the right material.

What I need is pipe/hose/tubing 6" diameter.

1. It needs to be clear, I will be wrapping it with reflective thermal insulation so light in the rootzone is not an issue. The reason I would like it to be clear is I would like to be able to visually verify that the aeroponic sprayers are functioning correctly, no clogs etc.

2. It needs to be flexible, this will be a vertical system but will be rows in a circle around the light not columns, so the pipe needs to wrap around a frame. I don't want to use 45deg elbows because they're too damn expensive.

3. It needs to be workable, I need to drill 1" holes in it for the collars that will hold the pucks (I grow mediumless) and smaller holes for the sprayers. I need to thread the holes.

4. It needs to be kink-free, it has to keep it's shape for obvious reasons!

Any suggestions? What would be perfect is clear, flexible PVC, but that doesn't exist. I'm sure there is some kind of hose out there that has ridges or something, that would flex, but then it probably has some kind of wire spiraling inside it, which wouldn't let me drill 1" holes and thread them for the collars.

Let me know if anyone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks!!
 

DubsFan

Well-Known Member
Hi folks,

I am looking for something to build a vertical system with, and I can't find the right material.

What I need is pipe/hose/tubing 6" diameter.

1. It needs to be clear, I will be wrapping it with reflective thermal insulation so light in the rootzone is not an issue. The reason I would like it to be clear is I would like to be able to visually verify that the aeroponic sprayers are functioning correctly, no clogs etc.

2. It needs to be flexible, this will be a vertical system but will be rows in a circle around the light not columns, so the pipe needs to wrap around a frame. I don't want to use 45deg elbows because they're too damn expensive.

3. It needs to be workable, I need to drill 1" holes in it for the collars that will hold the pucks (I grow mediumless) and smaller holes for the sprayers. I need to thread the holes.

4. It needs to be kink-free, it has to keep it's shape for obvious reasons!

Any suggestions? What would be perfect is clear, flexible PVC, but that doesn't exist. I'm sure there is some kind of hose out there that has ridges or something, that would flex, but then it probably has some kind of wire spiraling inside it, which wouldn't let me drill 1" holes and thread them for the collars.

Let me know if anyone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks!!
Buy the fiberglass or plastic hollow fence posts. Seal the ends with acquarium calk and the caps they provide. On one side you can cut out a long skinny section and calk a piece of glass or even possibly acrylic (plexi) to the space you've cut out for observation.

You could do it very cleanly with a router. I could probably plung the fence post with a circular saw for the long cuts.
 

QuentinQuark

Well-Known Member
Buy the fiberglass or plastic hollow fence posts. Seal the ends with acquarium calk and the caps they provide. On one side you can cut out a long skinny section and calk a piece of glass or even possibly acrylic (plexi) to the space you've cut out for observation.

You could do it very cleanly with a router. I could probably plung the fence post with a circular saw for the long cuts.
Do they come in a 6" diameter, and are they flxible enough to wrap around a 4' frame? Basically I need to make a 4' diameter circle with the tube. But yes good thought on gluing a window, I was thinking of doing that if I couldn't get something completely see-through.
 
Top