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20" round reservoir

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panckage

Member
I need a round container 19"-23" round in diameter to use a reservoir. Something like:
flattened-cylinder-hi.png


Any ideas where I can find this? Its really hard to find the right size If I can't find anything then I'll have to build my own. I'm thinking of having flexible piping as the rim and a waterproof tarp to hold the water. If anybody has any ideas on this I'd love to hear them as well
 
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panckage

Member
Thanks for the info iTarzan. Unfortunatwely I couldn't find anything like that in my area so I ended up building one use using threaded rods, a garden hose and a shower curtain mounted on the lazy susan I am using
 
Phaeton

Phaeton

Speed of Dark
Veteran
I buy 18 gallon rope handle plastic totes at my local Fred Meyer/Kroger grocery store.
18" at the bottom widening out to 24" O.D. at the top. I cut mine down to 9" high and use them for planters, the height/width ratio is ideal for 40" marijuana plants.
The price is under $10, 5 years continuous use shows them to be durable as well.
 
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panckage

Member
Just to update I currently using HDPE (plastic from milk jugs and ice cream pails) to build a proper 23" round reservoir. It can be melted and molded in the oven, sort of like a heavy dough. It should be completed in a few weeks... I just need to drink more milk and eat more ice cream so I have enough HDPE ^^
 
Mikell

Mikell

Dipshit Know-Nothing
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I hate to spread rumour, but doesn't HDPE break down quickly with reuse?

I'll poke around for my own benefit but as I recall single use plastic containers have all sorts of caveats on included material not found in typical consumer plastics.
 
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queequeg152

Active member
Veteran
nah, hdpe is very stable.
it is often transparent though. even blue or black hdpe can let some light in if its thin enough.

poly proplylene on the other hand is usually very opaque, even when thin.

HDPE is very chemically inert as well... not as inert as alot of other plastics like flourinated polymers... but its way up there.

biggest issue with HDPE is its veunerable to UV sunlight and becomes brittle after just a few years. if you protect it though, or if its very thick, or if it has a high of solids content blended into it it should last a good while.
 
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queequeg152

Active member
Veteran
panckage said:
Just to update I currently using HDPE (plastic from milk jugs and ice cream pails) to build a proper 23" round reservoir. It can be melted and molded in the oven, sort of like a heavy dough. It should be completed in a few weeks... I just need to drink more milk and eat more ice cream so I have enough HDPE ^^
Click to expand...

err no you cant do this.

i see what mikell was talking about now.

no you cannot just melt HDPE and shape it into what ever shape you want...

you CAN chip HDPE into little shards of plastic, then blend that shit into virgin HDPE and re mold all of that shit into a new container... but lol no you cannot just melt it and work it by hand or what ever.

it IS a thermoplastic, so in theory what you say could be done, but you need high high high pressures and very precise temperatures to do it.

it is not runny like steel at its melt temperature so you basically just heat it up untill it hits the consistancy of tar... then you use 1,000's of PSI to ram it into a mold.

the problem with somethign like a container structure is you need a less cross linky less branchy molecule, then add ribs and titanium dioxide and maby even glass fibers to get to the rigidity you need. this all requires lots of pressure to mold.

you could probably melt HDPE into shit like ingots, but without the pressure its going to be filled with voids and shit that will make it weak.

the HDPE they use in milk jugs is going to be a higher cross linked HDPE thats very branchy and highly plastic. this is required because its a blow molded container though.. just like coke bottles. but coke bottles are PET, polyethylene terepthalate.
 
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panckage

Member
queequeg152 said:
err no you cant do this.
.
Click to expand...
Perhaps I didn't use the right terminology but it is working fine so far. "Melt" probably isn't the right word, but the mold worked fine for the base. I've made a skeleton for the sides (of hardware cloth) and experimenting with that
 
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queequeg152

Active member
Veteran
lol thats so crazy. can you post a picture?

if i understand correctly... you basically used welded wire reinforcing(chicken wire), and melted a sheet of HDPE into that welded wire mesh???


lol you are nutty man, nutty in a good way though... but why not just use PVC membrane? or urethane membrane? or even something like a fluid applied waterproofing?

to make something like a circle with a pvc membrane you would need to use lots of staples and relief cuts and shit... but you can always weld a layer over the staples and relief cuts for perfect waterproofing.

urethane needs rubber cement i think... so the joints are less resiliant, but pvc membrane can be solvent welded similar to how you solvent weld pvc pipe.
 
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panckage

Member
queequeg152 said:
if i understand correctly... you basically used welded wire reinforcing(chicken wire), and melted a sheet of HDPE into that welded wire mesh???
Click to expand...
No there is no wire in it. I'll post a pic when it is done. It turns out HDPE is very easy to bend into shape. Just let it cool a few minutes (after being in the oven) and it is pretty easy to bend the correct curvature

I need to make a little window so I can see the level of the reservoir. I'm thinking of using a glass (microscope) slide. Any tips for making a waterproof seal between the glass and HDPE?
 
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