Stretching "concertina" ducting
 

I bought some flexible aluminum ducting that was claimed to be 8' long
but of course was "collapsed" when I bought it.

Is there some special trick in stretching this stuff out to anything
approaching its specified length? I only need it to stretch to about 5'
long, but it just seems to keep "unraveling" -- coming apart where the
"turns" overlap.

--
MB

Whether you vote Democrat or Republican in November, the country will
still be run from boardrooms in the USA and elsewhere, not by your
elected representatives.

Minnie,

I don't know what you bought. Is it single wall stuff for a dryer
or is it insulated flex duct?


Most flex duct comes in 25' boxes. It usually has a inside
plastic liner with a spiral wrapped wire inside - this wire is
usually loosely fastened to the plastic, but can be pulled out.
The outer wrapping is usually foil or plastic on top of fiberglass
insulation.

You should be able to grab the inside plastic while someone else
holds the other end of the inside plastic and accordion the thing
right on out.





^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Minnie Bannister" wrote in
message ...
I bought some flexible aluminum ducting that was claimed to be 8'
long but of course was "collapsed" when I bought it.

Is there some special trick in stretching this stuff out to
anything approaching its specified length? I only need it to
stretch to about 5' long, but it just seems to keep
"unraveling" -- coming apart where the "turns" overlap.

--
MB

Whether you vote Democrat or Republican in November, the country
will still be run from boardrooms in the USA and elsewhere, not
by your elected representatives.

It's 6" dia. single-wall uninsulated flexible aluminum ducting -- like
some I have seen for a drier (but bigger, of course). It was in the
ducting section of Menards, not in the dryer accessories section. It's
of a spiral (more accurately "helical," I guess) construction, with a
crinkled appearance where successive turns overlap. As displayed in the
store it was 4' or less long.

I did manage to ease it out to the required length (after throwing away
several inches from each end, where some of these successive turns
pulled apart) by bending -- not easy in the space between joists, floor
above, and suspended ceiling grid -- and pulling gently. I'm sure there
must be a more tedious and error-prone way, however -- in case I have to
do the same again.

--
MB

Whether you vote Democrat or Republican in November, the country will
still be run from boardrooms in the USA and elsewhere, not by your
elected representatives.


On 10/12/04 07:40 pm DanG put fingers to keyboard and launched the
following message into cyberspace:

I don't know what you bought. Is it single wall stuff for a dryer
or is it insulated flex duct?


Most flex duct comes in 25' boxes. It usually has a inside
plastic liner with a spiral wrapped wire inside - this wire is
usually loosely fastened to the plastic, but can be pulled out.
The outer wrapping is usually foil or plastic on top of fiberglass
insulation.

You should be able to grab the inside plastic while someone else
holds the other end of the inside plastic and accordion the thing
right on out.

I bought some flexible aluminum ducting that was claimed to be 8'
long but of course was "collapsed" when I bought it.

Is there some special trick in stretching this stuff out to
anything approaching its specified length? I only need it to
stretch to about 5' long, but it just seems to keep
"unraveling" -- coming apart where the "turns" overlap.

Obviously I meant "a *less* tedious and error-prone way."

MB


I wrote:

It's 6" dia. single-wall uninsulated flexible aluminum ducting -- like
some I have seen for a drier (but bigger, of course). It was in the
ducting section of Menards, not in the dryer accessories section. It's
of a spiral (more accurately "helical," I guess) construction, with a
crinkled appearance where successive turns overlap. As displayed in the
store it was 4' or less long.

I did manage to ease it out to the required length (after throwing away
several inches from each end, where some of these successive turns
pulled apart) by bending -- not easy in the space between joists, floor
above, and suspended ceiling grid -- and pulling gently. I'm sure there
must be a more tedious and error-prone way, however -- in case I have to
do the same again.

On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 21:52:13 -0400, Minnie Bannister
wrote:

It's 6" dia. single-wall uninsulated flexible aluminum ducting -- like
some I have seen for a drier (but bigger, of course). It was in the
ducting section of Menards, not in the dryer accessories section. It's
of a spiral (more accurately "helical," I guess) construction, with a
crinkled appearance where successive turns overlap. As displayed in the
store it was 4' or less long.

I did manage to ease it out to the required length (after throwing away
several inches from each end, where some of these successive turns
pulled apart) by bending -- not easy in the space between joists, floor
above, and suspended ceiling grid -- and pulling gently. I'm sure there
must be a more tedious and error-prone way, however -- in case I have to
do the same again.

I would love to know too, or if there is something better. I always
have trouble with the stuff.