Anyone recommend a lubricant for 1.5" Sch 40 PVC pipe joints ?

I am trying to help a Middle School Science class with a project. It
involves launching a ball through a PVC tube using a 2 liter soda
bottle as air source. A weight is dropped on the bottle.

We need to be able to quickly and easily swap bottles from one shot to
the next. The bottles are glued to a PVC cap fitting with a hole
drilled for the bottle neck. From one test shot to the next the caps
can be easy or hard to remove.

We have tried Vaseline, and silicone spray. They seemed to make the
cap fit tighter on the pipe! We have also filed down the pipe end a
little, but don't want to make it too loose either.

Thanks for any suggestions.

On Sunday, January 18, 2015 at 3:51:10 PM UTC-5, Retired wrote:
Anyone recommend a lubricant for 1.5" Sch 40 PVC pipe joints ?

I am trying to help a Middle School Science class with a project. It
involves launching a ball through a PVC tube using a 2 liter soda
bottle as air source. A weight is dropped on the bottle.

We need to be able to quickly and easily swap bottles from one shot to
the next. The bottles are glued to a PVC cap fitting with a hole
drilled for the bottle neck. From one test shot to the next the caps
can be easy or hard to remove.

We have tried Vaseline, and silicone spray. They seemed to make the
cap fit tighter on the pipe! We have also filed down the pipe end a
little, but don't want to make it too loose either.

Thanks for any suggestions.

IDK about lube, I would think what you tried would work. I know they
can be a bitch to get apart, from experience trying to dry fit them.
One alternate solution would be to glue a threaded fitting on the pipe
and use a corresponding fitting on the bottle part, ie screw it on.

On 1/18/15 7:13 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Sunday, January 18, 2015 at 3:51:10 PM UTC-5, Retired wrote:
Anyone recommend a lubricant for 1.5" Sch 40 PVC pipe joints ?

I am trying to help a Middle School Science class with a project. It
involves launching a ball through a PVC tube using a 2 liter soda
bottle as air source. A weight is dropped on the bottle.

We need to be able to quickly and easily swap bottles from one shot to
the next. The bottles are glued to a PVC cap fitting with a hole
drilled for the bottle neck. From one test shot to the next the caps
can be easy or hard to remove.

We have tried Vaseline, and silicone spray. They seemed to make the
cap fit tighter on the pipe! We have also filed down the pipe end a
little, but don't want to make it too loose either.

Thanks for any suggestions.

IDK about lube, I would think what you tried would work. I know they
can be a bitch to get apart, from experience trying to dry fit them.
One alternate solution would be to glue a threaded fitting on the pipe
and use a corresponding fitting on the bottle part, ie screw it on.

Thanks for reply.

We did try glueing the bottle cap (with a hole drilled in it) into the
PVC cap, but had problems getting the threads started quickly. (we're
under a time limit to accomplish 4 shots), and sometimes the bottle
cap broke from the PVC cap, and once the PVC cap cracked.

I'm thinking now to file down the pipe more, make a slightly loose
fit, and rig a backstop to keep the bottle from blowing backward from
the PVC.

FWIW, this event (with it's rules) has never been done before. No
"prior art" to copy from.

A 2-liter bottle neck has almost the same threads as a common garden
hose.

Suggestion 1: Find appropriate adapters to go from your device to a
female garden-hose thread. Then, just screw on/off the bottles.

Suggestion 2: Same as above, but also use a garden hose quick connect,
with which you could swap bottles in a second or two.

Suggestion 3: Adapt your contraption down to a short length of 1/2"
pvc, which will fit snugly inside the neck of a 2-liter. Use a bit of
duct tape if you need a tighter seal.

Hope that helps!

Retired wrote:

Anyone recommend a lubricant for 1.5" Sch 40 PVC pipe joints ?

I am trying to help a Middle School Science class with a project. It
involves launching a ball through a PVC tube using a 2 liter soda
bottle as air source. A weight is dropped on the bottle.

We need to be able to quickly and easily swap bottles from one shot to
the next. The bottles are glued to a PVC cap fitting with a hole
drilled for the bottle neck. From one test shot to the next the caps
can be easy or hard to remove.

We have tried Vaseline, and silicone spray. They seemed to make the
cap fit tighter on the pipe! We have also filed down the pipe end a
little, but don't want to make it too loose either.

Thanks for any suggestions.

"Retired" wrote in message
...

We did try glueing the bottle cap (with a hole drilled in it) into the PVC
cap, but had problems getting the threads started quickly. (we're under a
time limit to accomplish 4 shots), and sometimes the bottle cap broke from
the PVC cap, and once the PVC cap cracked.

I'm thinking now to file down the pipe more, make a slightly loose fit,
and rig a backstop to keep the bottle from blowing backward from the PVC.

FWIW, this event (with it's rules) has never been done before. No "prior
art" to copy from.

Will the rules allow for 4 bottles in parallel with valves seperating them ?

On 1/18/15 9:53 PM, Hot Soup wrote:
A 2-liter bottle neck has almost the same threads as a common garden
hose.

Suggestion 1: Find appropriate adapters to go from your device to a
female garden-hose thread. Then, just screw on/off the bottles.

Suggestion 2: Same as above, but also use a garden hose quick connect,
with which you could swap bottles in a second or two.

Suggestion 3: Adapt your contraption down to a short length of 1/2"
pvc, which will fit snugly inside the neck of a 2-liter. Use a bit of
duct tape if you need a tighter seal.

Hope that helps!

Retired wrote:

Anyone recommend a lubricant for 1.5" Sch 40 PVC pipe joints ?

I am trying to help a Middle School Science class with a project. It
involves launching a ball through a PVC tube using a 2 liter soda
bottle as air source. A weight is dropped on the bottle.

We need to be able to quickly and easily swap bottles from one shot to
the next. The bottles are glued to a PVC cap fitting with a hole
drilled for the bottle neck. From one test shot to the next the caps
can be easy or hard to remove.

We have tried Vaseline, and silicone spray. They seemed to make the
cap fit tighter on the pipe! We have also filed down the pipe end a
little, but don't want to make it too loose either.

Thanks for any suggestions.



I like #3.

I'll get some parts Tuesday and try it !

Anyone recommend a lubricant for 1.5" Sch 40 PVC pipe joints ?

I am trying to help a Middle School Science class with a project. It
involves launching a ball through a PVC tube using a 2 liter soda
bottle as air source. A weight is dropped on the bottle.

We need to be able to quickly and easily swap bottles from one shot to
the next. The bottles are glued to a PVC cap fitting with a hole
drilled for the bottle neck. From one test shot to the next the caps
can be easy or hard to remove.

We have tried Vaseline, and silicone spray. They seemed to make the
cap fit tighter on the pipe! We have also filed down the pipe end a
little, but don't want to make it too loose either.

You might try "Wire Pulling Lubricant". It is made for pulling electrical
cables through conduit. It can be messy, but it's really slippery stuff
that is ideal for plastic to plastic lubrication.

You can usually find a bottle in the electrical section at Lowes or Home
Depot for $10-15 or so.

Otherwise, I would probably try some kind of wax, or even bar soap.

You might also try putting a garden hose washer inside the bottle cap to
prevent it from fully tightening down in the threads.

Anthony Watson
www.mountainsoftware.com
www.watsondiy.com

Retired wrote:
Anyone recommend a lubricant for 1.5" Sch 40 PVC pipe joints ?

I am trying to help a Middle School Science class with a project. It
involves launching a ball through a PVC tube using a 2 liter soda bottle
as air source. A weight is dropped on the bottle.

We need to be able to quickly and easily swap bottles from one shot to
the next. The bottles are glued to a PVC cap fitting with a hole drilled
for the bottle neck. From one test shot to the next the caps can be easy or hard to remove.

We have tried Vaseline, and silicone spray. They seemed to make the cap
fit tighter on the pipe! We have also filed down the pipe end a little,
but don't want to make it too loose either.

Thanks for any suggestions.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Super-Lub...2003/202932697

Greg