05 Jun 2019, 19:08
as mentioned elsewhere, I got two latex balloons from https://www.bubblexl.com/english/climb-i...n-147.html. They arrived today, which means instant delivery with a postage delay of two days from the Netherlands to Germany. Pretty good, I had to wait longer for items from Germany.
Colours are blue and purple.
I found some additional instructions here: https://www.bubblexl.com/english/instruc...in-balloon . Some facts are quite interesting:
- inflate slowly, because this allows the material to stretch evenly.
- let it rest for about 45 minutes to 1 hour before getting in. I suppose, this will let the material set even more.
- after use, you can heat-treat the balloon in a dryer, which makes it shrink back (which apparently is good for the material).
- "certain chemicals", fuel, solvents and duct-tape-glue will dagame the material and the balloon will pop.
A first attempt to inflate the balloon failed, because the pump was too small and it required a lot of strength to keep the balloon opening tight onto the valve. So I had to find my bilge pump, that I had bought in a DIY market a few years ago, to inflate an inflatable latex sleeping bag and try some manual vacuum ideas. It is manual too, but it has a piston of about 2 litres, which is at least 5 times the size of the other pump. I tried it and it will do the trick. However, I need a more suitable valve and find the clip that came with a stretch band, to close the balloon after inflating. The valves that come with the bilge pump are too small of course, and they have sharp edges, as well as the adapter on the end of the tube. So I need another solution. I am glad, that they warned about the duct-tape-glue, because, it is quite an obvious idea to tape the balloon to the valve until it is inflated.
Ideas for a valve - brainstorming:
-Coke bottle with bottom cut off and edges carefully rounded. 1 litre Coke bottles are the strongest plastic bottles I know, perhaps strong enough not to collapse during the pumping (it is air pressure against rubber pressure plus the pressure of my hand to keep things tight). I can then use epoxy to glue a suitable valve into the original opening.
- Fat candle with a hole in the center. I could perhaps even seal the valve with wax.
- A plastic water conduct with an adapter to a much smaller pipe, where I could attach the valve.
I think, I will use a reasonably big plastic pipe that can be pulled out of the balloon smoothly. Perhaps I can use the upper half of a coke bottle to reduce the diameter, then glue the valve to the screw cap (which apparently needs to have a hole). As a side effect, I will have the basic hardware for a water-rocket-launcher π
In order to close the balloon temporarily (until I get in), I have a large clip that came with a rubber stretch band. It should work. But I have to make sure, the edges are smooth.
Well, that's all for tonight. I won't make any progress until Friday or even Saturday, so stay tuned, if you are interested.
If you have any ideas, suggestions or questions, let me know here.
Colours are blue and purple.
I found some additional instructions here: https://www.bubblexl.com/english/instruc...in-balloon . Some facts are quite interesting:
- inflate slowly, because this allows the material to stretch evenly.
- let it rest for about 45 minutes to 1 hour before getting in. I suppose, this will let the material set even more.
- after use, you can heat-treat the balloon in a dryer, which makes it shrink back (which apparently is good for the material).
- "certain chemicals", fuel, solvents and duct-tape-glue will dagame the material and the balloon will pop.
A first attempt to inflate the balloon failed, because the pump was too small and it required a lot of strength to keep the balloon opening tight onto the valve. So I had to find my bilge pump, that I had bought in a DIY market a few years ago, to inflate an inflatable latex sleeping bag and try some manual vacuum ideas. It is manual too, but it has a piston of about 2 litres, which is at least 5 times the size of the other pump. I tried it and it will do the trick. However, I need a more suitable valve and find the clip that came with a stretch band, to close the balloon after inflating. The valves that come with the bilge pump are too small of course, and they have sharp edges, as well as the adapter on the end of the tube. So I need another solution. I am glad, that they warned about the duct-tape-glue, because, it is quite an obvious idea to tape the balloon to the valve until it is inflated.
Ideas for a valve - brainstorming:
-Coke bottle with bottom cut off and edges carefully rounded. 1 litre Coke bottles are the strongest plastic bottles I know, perhaps strong enough not to collapse during the pumping (it is air pressure against rubber pressure plus the pressure of my hand to keep things tight). I can then use epoxy to glue a suitable valve into the original opening.
- Fat candle with a hole in the center. I could perhaps even seal the valve with wax.
- A plastic water conduct with an adapter to a much smaller pipe, where I could attach the valve.
I think, I will use a reasonably big plastic pipe that can be pulled out of the balloon smoothly. Perhaps I can use the upper half of a coke bottle to reduce the diameter, then glue the valve to the screw cap (which apparently needs to have a hole). As a side effect, I will have the basic hardware for a water-rocket-launcher π
In order to close the balloon temporarily (until I get in), I have a large clip that came with a rubber stretch band. It should work. But I have to make sure, the edges are smooth.
Well, that's all for tonight. I won't make any progress until Friday or even Saturday, so stay tuned, if you are interested.
If you have any ideas, suggestions or questions, let me know here.