Floating Tubing ?

[toppack]

Okay, I have a question. I'm a Newbie to making operational torpedos.
Where can I order some 7/16" o.d. rigid Tubing, with about 5/16" or greater i.d., made of a material that will Float?
I found some rigid plastic tube, made to use in a fish-tank, but it doesn't float either. :rolleyes:
I need all the flotation I can get, in these little babies. :D

Is that Silly enough for you Mike?
I really am serious, tho.

[Kazzer]

Yep! That's pretty silly! So what is the first parameter here?
Why doesn't it float eh?

[toppack]

I would say that the material, it's made of, needs to be less dense with air trapped in it, to make it more buoyant.
But I can't think of any Rigid tube like that?

[Kazzer]

I would say that the material, it's made of, needs to be less dense with air trapped in it, to make it more buoyant.
But I can't think of any Rigid tube like that?

Less dense than what?

[toppack]

Less dense than what?

Less dense than 'Tubing that Sinks'! :D
I'm starting to think the tubing is Not the only Thing 'Dense' around here. :D LOL

[Kazzer]

Less dense than 'Tubing that Sinks'! :D
I'm starting to think the tubing is Not the only Thing 'Dense' around here. :D LOL

No! No! No! Thumbs Down It needs to be less dense than WATER. (Not like you, which is just DENSE!:))

So, the tubing that sinks is more dense than water - heavier!

Why would you want an open ended tube to float? Seems pretty silly to me! Just shove a cork in each end!

Weigh the tubing. Then put it into a glass already filled to the brim with water. Catch the water that spills over in a saucer and weigh it. If the tube weighs less than the water, then it will float.
Displacement! Didn't you do physics at school? Good grief!That Stinks

Hmm! I'm enjoying this! Good job Merriman is busy tonight making VII Fittings Kits!

[toppack]

Yes, Mike, you have Learned the 'Make them feel Stupid' procedure very well, from David. :D LOL :D
Or did David learn it from You? :D

Who said anything about floating an open ended tube, I certainly didn't? I was talking about building torpedos.

Of course that's Not the answer I wanted or Needed, since the tube is full of motor and battery, there's not much air volume in the tube and not enough boyancy in the floating end plugs, so I'm trying to find another way to add it.
I'll just keep looking for tubing that Floats, maybe there's something out there that will work.

Hey, You ask a Silly question, You get Silly Answers! :D
Folks, I do Not recommend posting serious questions in this Forum! :D

[Kazzer]

Well, you simply don't understand the physics.:rolleyes: Now I know what you are trying to make, a torpedo, it makes some difference. (You edited that in your first post, you rascal) All you have to do is make the wall thickness of the tube thinner, this will give you more air space.
I would suggest your best bet would be a thin walled aluminum tube. It displaces less water and increases the airspace inside the tube, making the unit lighter in the water.
You state a 1/16" wall thickness and that is a huge amount of heavier than water material. Cut the wall thickness down.

DUH!

[toppack]

I would suggest your best bet would be a thin walled aluminum tube. It displaces less water and increases the airspace inside the tube, making the unit lighter in the water.
You state a 1/16" wall thickness and that is a huge amount of heavier than water material. Cut the wall thickness down.

I assumed you had read my other thread about working on the torpedos, also.

I first tried 'Very Thin' wall brass tube: Much too heavy
Then tried plastic tube with about 1/32" wall thickness: still not enough flotation.
So, I really need tubing that 'Floats', Also, to give the extra boyancy! If there is such a thing?
Maybe I'm asking for something that has not been invented yet???

[Kazzer]

I assumed you had read my other thread about working on the torpedos, also.

I first tried 'Very Thin' wall brass tube: Much too heavy
Then tried plastic tube with about 1/32" wall thickness: still not enough flotation.
So, I really need tubing that 'Floats', Also, to give the extra boyancy! If there is such a thing?
Maybe I'm asking for something that has not been invented yet???

Have you stopped editing it now? (Eight edits at last count) I don't read every post on the forum.

Your problem is not so much with the tube but the overall density of what you are trying to do. A brass tube of X wall thickness will weigh much more than an aluminum tube. Trying to look for a tube that 'floats' is a waste of time, You are on the wrong track! Reduce the wall thickness to lighten the tube, use a lighter material,reduce the weight of the batteries, motors and guts!

Your previous experiments with different tubes are a waste of time. You are missing the point. Conduct the experiment with displacing water from a jar to show you the weight of water displaced by immersing a tube. This is the clue!

Another clue. An air filled material, as you propose, is defeating the object, because you are going to cap the ends off. Therefore, you are only concerned with the amount of water that capped tube will displace.
If the tube were not capped, water would flow through it, and the only water displaced would be that of the actual mass of the metal. The metal, being heavier than water, would sink. The capped off tube would displace X amount of water, and as long as that water weighed more than the weight of the torpedo, it would float.
Phew! This is hard work! Merriman is welcome to the job!
:rolleyes:

[Kazzer]

This reminds me of a time when I worked for a company as a technical salesman. I was making a sales call with my boss, and he was explaining the virtues of this wall waterproofing material. (Like Thompsons Waterseal)

Well, he started harping on about coating a brick with this crap and how it would float!
Well, I nearly choked from trying not to laugh my butt off! The customer could see me trying to keep a straight face, and just nodded in agreement with my idiot boss to keep the peace. Sufficient to say, we never made the sale.

Physics! Something my boss never studied!
Maybe thats what you need, Thompson's Waterseal!!!! :):)

[roedj]

Perhaps if we looked at the problem from another angle.

I assume you want a rigid tube because the "guts" are not rigid, i.e., motor, battery etc. OK, but if you somehow made the guts rigid with plastic webbing, expandable foam, Plastruct, whatever, then you could encase the entire structure in something light like kraft paper. When I was a kid I used to scratch build model Great Lakes freighters entirely out of paper and then slap a coat or two of paint on it. They were totally water tight.

Just a thought,

Dan

[VanguardUK]

I assumed you had read my other thread about working on the torpedos, also.

I first tried 'Very Thin' wall brass tube: Much too heavy
Then tried plastic tube with about 1/32" wall thickness: still not enough flotation.
So, I really need tubing that 'Floats', Also, to give the extra boyancy! If there is such a thing?
Maybe I'm asking for something that has not been invented yet???

Something I've seen tried over here (UK) is to wrap the tube with Balsa splints & then sand round, if you make the warhead section from something bouyant - Balas / Foam/ Cork etc - problem solved. Simples!

[Kazzer]

Something I've seen tried over here (UK) is to wrap the tube with Balsa splints & then sand round. Simple!

Yep! That's it!!!! Put outriggers on it - that'll work!:D

Oh! Dear! Does no one understand physics? :eek:

Lets try again. (Don't try this with imperial weights):rolleyes:
1kg = 1000gms
1 Litre = 1000 cubic centimetre (cc)

Therefore 1 cc of water = 10 gms
1 cc of lead = 11.15 gms (Lead is heavier than water)

You need about 15% more weight of water displaced than the weight of the battery to counter it. So, weigh all the innards, and the tube and make sure the blocked off tube displaces more water in weight than the weight of the entire package.

In other words, you can't put 5 gallons of piddle in a one gallon bucket! That physics!:rolleyes:

[Subculture]

Not many plastics less dense than water, but one of them is polyethylene.

Not sure where you're going to get it from in the U.S.

It is often used for waterpipes here in the UK.

But don't expect a lot of buoyancy.