Replies

1. 
   Splintie | Feb 20, 2003 11:17am | #1

   If you leave it in the sun, it gets brittle. If you try this, get fresh pipe (yes, it can go bad with exposure) at some high-turnover place and try the idea out. I've bent the electrical type with one of those blow torches attached to a propane tank, but it didn't look pretty when it was done, only functional. I would think boiling the pipe lengths might be a good idea to try. It has memory, BTW; stuff i cold-formed in the garden into a hoop was still shaped like that months later. But no, i have never done just what you're attempting. PVC is cheap, so experiment away.

   What do you need it for?

1. 
   cstein5 | Feb 22, 2003 07:54am | #8

   I have to bend PVC to make a stool that I can put in the bath tub for my wife who is an invalind.  I want to bend the PVC to make the legs/handles so that she can get up after spraying off her body with a shower nossle that I have fastened to the shower head.    Thanks everyone for your information.  Especially the person that gave me that article about bending pipe for the dust collector   [email protected]

1. 
   Splintie | Feb 22, 2003 10:18pm | #10

   Please do not use it for this purpose!! Get real grab bars and affix them to the walls,either to the studs or blocking. Use a shower chair that hangs over the edge of the tub to allow her to remain seated the entire time. PVC is in no way meant to support the weight of a person. Your wife could very likely be injured by what you're attempting to do. I'm all in favor of saving money, but this is no place to cut corners.

1. 
   cstein5 | Feb 23, 2003 10:24pm | #15

   I'm not using the PVC for grab bars.  We already heve those.  Also have the type that fasten to the side of the tub.  These are for legs/handles fpr a stool that I can put in the tub so that she can sit while washing off the soap suds.  I can't find one locally, and the one described in the catalog isn' tall enough to serve her purpose.

   I looked into the sliding stool too.  It would probably work.  I thought that I'd try the home made stool first, to see if she can use it.  I also considered using the stall shower, insead of the tub.  She can still step over the side of the tub, and prefers ut that way.  She has parkinson's and it is progressing slowly, but sooner or later I will have to find a better way to give her a bath.

   Thanks all of you for your inputs, and consern    C Stein

1. 
   Splintie | Feb 23, 2003 10:48pm | #16

   I read "handles" in your earlier post and envisioned her pulling her weight up with PVC. I'm glad you have grab bars. I recently did respite care for my MIL who has this disease, and was so grateful for the shower chair; her case is complicated by her having broken three hips and a clavicle since May '02 in addition to the brain problem. As it was, i still tore my bicep tendon lifting her (she's almost 100#), but at least she could help a bit.

   I would still urgently caution you not to use such a material for this application and esp such a light diameter for a stool. When it fails, it shatters--sharp shards to land on. Some of the accidents i can envision would make you tremble.

   My MIL became mostly incontinent during the time i spent with her, so i became well-acquainted with cleaning procedures. The shower chairs are plastic with tensile strenth the PVC lacks and  have drain holes so a woman can spritz her bottom as well lie a bidet.

   I feel for your situation. Please be careful.

2. 
   cstein5 | Feb 24, 2003 02:39am | #17

   Hi Splintie,

   I suppose that you are right.  I guess I'll have to go to plan B, as soon as I can figure out what that will be.  I'll have to go to the big town the next time that I can and see what they have to sell.     "till then thanks   Cstein

3. 
   RANGERP75R | Feb 24, 2003 05:09am | #18

   none

      Call the closest hospital and get transferred to physical therapy dept. They can tell you where you can locate the chair locally if available.

   sarge..jt

2. 
   bobhallsr | Feb 23, 2003 08:19am | #13

   I throughly sympathize with your needs.  It isn't always a matter of who will pay.  Sometimes the health aid providers don't manufacture the aids we need.  As Alzheimers took away her facilities my wife required my total care before she died last August.  I installed a gantry with an electric winch in the bath room so that I could assist her from wheelchair to toilet to bathbench.  I used padded bent PVC crooks under her armpits to lift and support her. (She weighed only 70 pounds.)  

   I agree with the advice to used professionally manufactured equipment.  Improvise only when the required equipment is not manufactured.

   That said, I will be happy to send you the sliding seat bath bench which we used.  Email me and I will describe it further and send it if you can use it.  (I didn't make the bathbench.)

   BJ  [email protected]

   Gardening, cooking and woodworking in Southern Maryland

   Edited 2/23/2003 12:29:29 AM ET by Bee Jay

1. 
   RANGERP75R | Feb 23, 2003 07:31pm | #14

   Bee Jay

      For some reason, I like your style. ha..ha..

   Have a great day...

   sarge..jt

2. 
   efarmer4 | Feb 20, 2003 11:53am | #2

   See this site: http://cnets.net/~eclectic/woodworking/pvc.html

   He is bending PVC pipe for dust collection but it may help.

   Edward
1. 
   BDW13 | Feb 20, 2003 05:42pm | #3

     I've never tried it myself, but I do remember hearing somewhere to pack sand into the pipe to keep it from crimping at the bend.  Depending on what you're using the bends for, getting all of the sand out might be a concern though.

     Like one of the other posters said, PVC is cheap enough that I'd just try a bunch of different methods and see what worked.

1. 
   johnhardy | Feb 20, 2003 10:11pm | #4

   The prior poster was correct in suggesting packing the pipe with sand prior to bending. It'll keep crimping to a minimum.

   If the pipe needs to look good after it's bent, I wouldn't use a torch for heat. I also wouldn't boil it because at 212 degrees it'll be way too soft. What I'd do is get a good long section (say, 8 feet), pack it with sand, and start by putting each end on a saw horse and puttingsome weight in the middle, so it bows naturally. Use a hair dryer to get it warm (not really hot), so that it bows noticeably. Let it cool. It'll retain this shape.

   Next, get a tub of pretty hot water ... say 160 degrees. Dip a portion of the pipe into the hot water so that you're warming the section that will be bent on your jig. Start the bend. If it doesn't want to bend, take it back to the water for more heat. Go back and forth until it bends in the jig. Keep it in the jig until it's cooled to room temperature.

   John

3. 
   Elcoholic | Feb 21, 2003 12:45am | #5

   If you have a lot of it to do, try renting a hot box.  In a pinch - rig a hose off your truck's exhaust and let it idle through the PVC pipe.  It works like a champ, just the right amount of heat.  Use a radiused conduit bender, not a "hicky" (also rentable) or a form to get nice smooth bends.  If you need tight bends then warm sand filling will prevent kinking.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

4. 
   LRutherfor1 | Feb 21, 2003 06:34am | #6

   The way we did it when I worked as an electrician (now retired), we plugged each end and heated it with either a torch or an oil bath.  The bath was outlawed several years ago, by they do make a heater (salamander type) for heating the PVC.  After placing it in the heater, watch it carefully and rotate it often, when it starts to get pliable, take it out and bend it.  The best method is to have a jig or markup of your radius.  Don't pull out the plugs until it cools.  We always wore welding gloves when we bent.  Don't try it with less than schedule 40.  Good Luck,

   Len (Len's Custom Woodworking)

5. 
   notDusty | Feb 21, 2003 06:49am | #7

       We made snow shoes for Boy Scouts and the frame was pvc . The sand was heated before it was poured into the pipe . The end was plugged , and let to stand just long enough to bend around the form. Then remove the sand .

           good luck       Dusty

6. 
   briank | Feb 22, 2003 08:34am | #9

   Check the latest issue of Fine Homebuilding---there is an item in one of the tip sections in the front of the magazine that deals with this problem.

7. 
   RANGERP75R | Feb 23, 2003 03:41am | #11

   C S

      Ditto, Splintie. My wife became a partial handi-cap 4 years ago when she was 39. On a respirator for 52 days and atrophy killed a mojority of nerves in her ham-strings. I use the same set-up Splintie mentioned as my 88 year old mom now lives here and requires it too.

      I know it is expensive, but I don't think the PVC can be depended on. Check with your health provider and see if they will pay for it. I am very fortunate my wife had a great one as she had worked MIS for the State of Ga. Our medical insurance is with Kaiser-Permente and they footed the entire bill for the things you will need.

   Good luck and any assist needed, ask...

   sarge..jt

1. 
   exhibitor | Feb 23, 2003 04:55am | #12

   Ditto Splintie and Sarge--  Been through this TWICE...Check with Medicare etc...They WILL help you if you don't have the $$$$.  If you need help with the politics involved email me and I will help you as much as possible....You do not have to go through this alone....Jimmy

8. 
   booch | Feb 25, 2003 01:32am | #19

   Why not just buy one that is prebent? Electrical supply houses have it up to 4 inch diameter and with different radi. If this is to hold water under pressure and for human consumption I'd look for a different method. The UV on your outdoor stored pipe will have made it too brittle to use if the application is critical.

   Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?