Anyone crack an acrylic tube before?

[I am a giraffe]

Just wondering if there are any failure stories that I could learn from. I just received the pipe today and the walls are thicker than I thought.

The pipe has an OD of 3", and the hole I need to drill for the uniseal is going to have to be 1.25" for me to fit in a 3/4" pipe. It seems like a pretty big hole for this sized pipe and it's got me a little nervous. A Uniseal will work with a hole that big on that much of a curve right?

Also, which hole saw should I be using?

Thanks.

[edit] Forgot to mention: this is extruded, not cast; another reason why I'm worried

 

[SushiChef]

I wouldn't worry about it. If it does crack a little you can just use weld-on 3 to put it back together.

 

[cougarguy]

Sushichef actually if it is extruded then you might not be able to glue it back together if it cracks since it is already stressed it will be more prone to crazing.

I had a 6" extruded tube crack on me. I bought a couple of 12" long 6"dia tubes for $5 and tried to make a skimmer, and when I drilled them and put my uniseal in them I tried to push the pipe into the uniseal more and it just shattered. I think the main was the tubes were flame polished when I got them.

 

[Joshua1023]

What did you use to drill your tubes?

 

[cougarguy]

A brand new Lenox bi-metal hole saw. The holes drilled fine and the tube went in great but when I walked over to my plumbing bucket to get the fittings for the inside and came back to it I needed to slide the pipe in a little bit and then boom.

I then ordered 2' of cast acrylic and built a new skimmer and it is up and running and have had no problems. I even used the same hole saws and drill.

 

[Joshua1023]

Any good way to tell if the acrylic is extruded or cast just by looking at it?

 

[cougarguy]

The extruded will have slightly visible lines going the length of the tube cast will not have lines and will be very clear compared to the extruded.

 

[Joshua1023]

Thanx

 

[I am a giraffe]

Well that doesn't sound too good...

Since I bought already I guess I'll just drill it anyhow. Not sure what I'd do with a 2 foot tube of acrylic anyways; if it cracks I'll go and get PVC and just make it out of that

 

[zeusfc]

Hi I've just drilled a 4" diameter tube as a tester before making a skimmer...

I used a cheap hole saw, and the first hole DID crack... about 2".
for all the other holes, i drilled a tiny pilot hole, and literally let the weight of the drill take it through. then when I used the holesaw, success!

One trick i've learned with holesaws, is to run it backwards to score a line before properly cutting, but some blades may drop out the round frame if you do this... it depends on the make.

I don't know if this helps too... make sure the tube is warm... leave it in the sun for a while, as ALL plastics are more brittle when cold!

Good luck!

 

[I am a giraffe]

Thanks so much zeusfc; that's exactly the kind of information I was looking for.

I'll be sure to update on how things go. I'd like a clear skimmer, but plenty of people seem to skim just fine with PVC, so I'm not too stressed about it