Hi All,
I’ve seen people with the PVC pipe filled with concrete for tent
weights. Does anybody know what size and length of pipe you need to
get a 40lb weight?
Thanks,
Ivan Sagel
Wyzensagel Designs
www.wyzensageldesigns.com
Buy 40 lbs of sand, buy a long pipe and fill. Cut off excess. I know
this sounds simple but…
I have seen the pipes and used them and generally they are about 3
to 4 ft long. Not specific but I hope it helps. You could do the
math on the volume of a cylinder.
Mary
Ivan:
The more weight the better. Our 4" pvc pipes are 36" long. I have no
idea what they weigh. We seem to be about average size and length
with other show artists.
hth
Carla
Concrete is about 150 pounds per cubic foot. An 80 pound bag of
ready mix (like Sakcrete) makes about 90 pounds. A 4 inch pipe about
9 inches long should be close to 40 pounds.
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ
I used 4" PVC (measured inside diameter) cut in 2.5 foot lengths.
PVC comes in 10 foot lengths. I just took the bathroom scale out to
the garage and mine weigh 38.5 lbs.
These are not the most economical tent weights. I remember the PVC
pipe, heavy duty eye bolts, nuts, washers, and concrete coming to
around $40 at Home Depot. Easy-up sells sand bag weights that attach
to the bottom of the post held in with a pin for $39.99.
Check the archives as this subject has been discussed and others
have came up with some more economical and unique tent weights.
I suggest attaching weights to the top of the post using 8ft tie
down nylon straps. The friction locks on the straps make it easy to
cinch up and suspend the weights so they are just off the ground.
Don’t use bungee cords as you lose some of the benefit of the weight
with the elasticity of the bungee cord.
Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Colorado Springs, Colorado
http://home.covad.net/~rcopeland
Easier to make it so that the top screws off and you fill them with
water. 4" pipe, as long as you wish cap both ends, (bottom glued and
sealed with plumbers tape), with a heavy eye hook screwed into the
top.
Lisa, (Just taking pictures of my new pieces for Sam Shaw’s Gallery
show coming up, before I ship them…) Topanga, CA USA
Ordinary concrete weighs about 150 pounds per cubic foot. As a rough
estimate a 6 inch drainpipe, 16 inches long, filled with concrete
would weigh about 40 pounds. Don’t drop it on your foot!
Dr. Mac
I have not yet made my tent weights, but I have the directions for
them. I will condense the directions and hope they make sense.
You need:
Use four 3ft. lengths of 2" PVC pipe
eight 2" PVC pipe end caps
eight heavy duty eyebolts with a long bolt end
nuts and washers for the eyebolts
quikcrete concerete mix
Drill a hole for the eyebolt in the center of each of the 8 caps.
Insert eyebolts so eyes are on the outside of the end caps and use
washers and nuts to secure the eyebolts. Cap one end of the pipe
using
PVC pipe adhesive with the eye on the outside and the stem inside.
Fill each pipe with QuikCrete Glue the other caps on the remaining
ends of the pipes.
You now have 4 pipes filled with cement and capped at each end. They
will have an eyebolt sticking out each end like a tootsie roll.
When the weights are dry you thread a rope, bungee cord, or
carabiner through the top bolt and up to the frame of the tent.
thread another one through the bottom so you can tether it to the
tent let to avoid it moving around.
Some use multiple PVC weights per tent corner.
This is info I got in a book, so I hope it is not a copyright
infringement to offer it on this list. As I said I have not yet made
these weights but I think one could use a wider diameter PVC pipe but
the weight would be bulkier to store. It seems to me these would
slide into a trunk or pick up bed nicely and i am going to make them
soon.
I also am going to hit the art show circuit and introduce my jewelry
little by little. If anyone knows of some good pictures that show
nice display ideas I would appreciate knowing them.
Jean in Minnesota
we always used several empty one gallon milk jugs which we brought
empty to shows and then filled with water- (which is always available
at big events somewhere,) and then emptied them out at the end of the
show. they have a nice handle for tying to the booth.
john & molly
Gee all I use for my tent (canopy) are milk jugs filled with water
and set on the tiny foot pads for my canopy plus a rope attached to
both and have never had any problems with some really high winds.
Leslie
Gee all I use for my tent (canopy) are milk jugs filled with water
Sadly, not the clean look some of us feel the need to go for…
I want to mention that if you are not on pavement, those corkscrew
stakes for dogs are an effective way to anchor straps or cords. On
asphalt, you can pound masonry nails right through the hole at the
base of legs (on my Light Dome, anyway), though some shows object.
I wouldn’t do this with an EZ Up, but I generally just anchor the
legs and put a strong clip on the corners of the top to hold it to
the upright-- it would take very heavy weather to need more than
that.
And I can’t resist climbing on my personal soapbox (OK, one of them)
to speak out once again against EZ Ups. I have more than once been
next to one when there was rain, only to have those folks get huge
reservoirs of water built up in the corners. They push up on them
with a broom to dump the water-- where does it go? You guessed it!
All over my display. If you must get one of these (admittedly
well-named) cheap tents, please equip the corners with extra
support. There are hoops sold for the purpose, but I’ve seen people
do just fine with Hula Hoops stuck between the roof and the corner
supports. Better for you… better for me, if I’m next to you!
Rant over (bow).
Noel
Personally, I REALLY like the sand-filled canvas weights that I
bought online from www.canopiesbyfred.com This is not a commercial
for the site. The canvas bags don’t swing around as they are bungeed
to the tent legs. No sharp corners like cinderblocks. I just bought
the bags online- the sand was purchased locally. Sometimes water is
hard to find for filling milk or water jugs.
A number of shows object to nails or stakes driven in pavement. If
the ground gets saturated from rain, even the dog stakes can get out
of the ground if wind is brisk enough.
I’ve used cinderblocks and duct tape for years. Can’t believe I
didn’t own the canvas bags sooner…
Ruthie
Sand can generally be found at garden centers and discount
department stores like K-Mart, Wal-Mart? since sand is used in sand
boxes for kids.