# PVC Pneumatics



## NickWaka7

I came across a few DIY articles explaining people who have made their own pneumatics with pvc pipe and compressed air. You take a piece of pvc pipe and fit a slightly smaller tube inside. Add some fittings, caps, and all that stuff and you have your own pneumatics. I was wondering if anyone has tried this.


----------



## bfjou812

It is not advised due to the fact PVC is not made for air use it states it on the side. Also with the prices of REAL cylinders becoming more affordable it is easier to do it the safe way. You will hear and read all kinds of arguments that it is safe. My question is if it is so safe why do the manufacturers state not to use their product for compressed gas?


----------



## BioHazardCustoms

Bad idea. PVC is not designed for the rapid pressure changes caused by pneumatic solenoids. Why not just purchase a slightly used pneumatic cylinder from ebay? By the time you get the fitting and end caps, you'll have paid roughly the same amount, but the cylinder on ebay is much less likely to explode and hurt someone.


----------



## RoxyBlue

This question does come up periodically - here's a recent thread about this topic which agrees with the advice given above:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=35761&highlight=cylinder


----------



## NickWaka7

I need something with at least 3-4 feet of travel, and cylinders like that are expensive. That is what brought me to finding other solutions. 

Thanks for the feedback.


----------



## Hippofeet

Yeah, it sucks, but there are just too many problems. To get 4 feet of travel, you would still need a ton of overlap, 2 feet I am guessing, to keep the PVC "cylinder" stable. I know a guy that did a few, and he is pretty happy with them, but he is only lifting a styrofoam ball and a bit of white lace. 

Sometimes it is expensive to get a good, durable and workable solution, which for your fireplace I think would be actual cylinders, or some type of cabled lift, via a garage door opener as suggested, or a DC winch, or some such. 

Levers, also suggested, could work depending on the space you have, with a long lever weighted on the short end to balance it and reduce the size of cylinder needed to lift it. You could get down into the 1 inch, 12 inch travel range of cylinder, possibly. But that's gonna be a long lever to lift the fireplace four feet.

I love the effect, and I want to come up with something that would work.

Nick, could you suggest any kind of budget range? It would help some of us (i.e. me) to come up with options. If it is 20 bucks, hey that is what it is, and I will think with that in mind.


----------



## bfjou812

Try using a scissors mechinism for that kind of distance if you're set on using pneumatics.


----------



## diggerc

Cables and pulleys block and tackle in reverse can multiply the distance of a shorter cylinder travel.


----------



## NickWaka7

Hippofeet said:


> Yeah, it sucks, but there are just too many problems. To get 4 feet of travel, you would still need a ton of overlap, 2 feet I am guessing, to keep the PVC "cylinder" stable. I know a guy that did a few, and he is pretty happy with them, but he is only lifting a styrofoam ball and a bit of white lace.
> 
> Sometimes it is expensive to get a good, durable and workable solution, which for your fireplace I think would be actual cylinders, or some type of cabled lift, via a garage door opener as suggested, or a DC winch, or some such.
> 
> Levers, also suggested, could work depending on the space you have, with a long lever weighted on the short end to balance it and reduce the size of cylinder needed to lift it. You could get down into the 1 inch, 12 inch travel range of cylinder, possibly. But that's gonna be a long lever to lift the fireplace four feet.
> 
> I love the effect, and I want to come up with something that would work.
> 
> Nick, could you suggest any kind of budget range? It would help some of us (i.e. me) to come up with options. If it is 20 bucks, hey that is what it is, and I will think with that in mind.


I have been looking into garage door openers and winches like suggested. I wanted to get your guys' opinions on the matter of pvc pipe. Looks like its back to some type of pulley system haha!

Thanks everyone for your input! I really appreciate and trust what everyone says here.


----------



## scarybill

a BAD IDEA, but, if you ever try use sch 80 pvc. thicker walls higher pressure. It is usually grey colored and not available at home stores ( the grey there is usually pvc conduit),


----------



## dommyboy

Agreed. Very dangerous stuff, and if PVC shatters you are looking at shrapnel and potentially serious injury. My last lot of used cylinders ended up costing me about $8 per 12' double acting cylinder, including the fittings. The deals are out there!


----------



## gma

Despite all the anti-pvc rhetoric, I know for a fact that one of the oldest and most respected (and best) professional haunted house here in the DFW area uses an array of PVC pneumatic cylinders to move an ENTIRE ROOM in their display. On a behind-the-scenes tour, I asked how much pressure they run in them and he said about 80. 

Keep the pressures to a reasonable level, think about what you're doing, and have fun building and playing with your inexpensive and (more importantly - customizeable) cylinders.


----------



## bfjou812

gma said:


> Despite all the anti-pvc rhetoric, I know for a fact that one of the oldest and most respected (and best) professional haunted house here in the DFW area uses an array of PVC pneumatic cylinders to move an ENTIRE ROOM in their display. On a behind-the-scenes tour, I asked how much pressure they run in them and he said about 80.
> 
> Keep the pressures to a reasonable level, think about what you're doing, and have fun building and playing with your inexpensive and (more importantly - customizeable) cylinders.


I would like to know the name of this just to see if what you're saying is a fact. I really find it hard to believe due to efficiency, liability and the safety. I'm not trying to start a war or anything ,but just find it hard to believe that a professional attraction would use something like that.


----------



## halstaff

Although it's true that people have built and used cylinders constructed from pvc, due to the potential for injury, we don't encourage, promote or instruct members on how to do it.
The safety issue alone should convince haunters to avoid this method. Commercial cylinders designed for this purpose are easy to acquire from many sellers including on Ebay for a reasonable cost. Considering the safety issues, cost of buying the materials to build your own and the work often required to get them to work properly, I wouldn't ever consider taking the risk of injuring someone using a home built cylinder.


----------



## gadget-evilusions

My opinion is always, if you can't do it the right way, don't do it at all. I have never even considered using PVC for cylinders, as I have seen it explode, and caught shrapnel from it before. My day job had our PVC system ran with schedule 80 PVC, guess what, it exploded. It's been replaced with all metal lines now.

Although this doesn't apply directly to making things out of PVC, OSHA did say that PVC should never be used in compressed air systems, per the manufacturers of the pipe. http://www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib19880520.html


----------



## bfjou812

Exactly what gadget-evilusions has said I almost lost my little finger on my right hand when some pvc blew up on me...........Its too easy to buy the correct parts and not have anything go wrong. That includes the door closers and the bicycle pumps. What everyone needs to do is quit being cheap on parts and realize that some parts are made for pneumatic and some are not. As an example, a dishwasher solenoid is NOT rated for a pneumatic application..............Just my 2¢................


----------

