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Smithson

^ Thanks Rick, I managed to get a filter with a very fine mesh which will have to do for the time being. Don't know how good it will be with suspended particles, but don't think it will cause much pressure loss. It's a type that is used with sprinkler systems. The present set up is simple, not really sure how important the filter is.

There are some filters for water which can take pressure up to 4 bar, but not sure what sort of pressure they can maintain on the output side.

baldrick

running a pilot plant you can expect to have to try different things - theoretical calculations normally don't scale to reality.

just be careful with your pressure vessel - it is a good idea to have a safety relief valve ( PSV ) on all pressure vessels - you can calibrate and test it with a guage and a hand pump.

if you are using oil or hydrocarbons it is advisable to get the correct thread tape for fittings or else it will leak if you just use normal plumbers thread tape.

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benlovesnuk

There have been greater tests done with bamboo, and soil material for building. For instance in both India and Australia they use an earthen wall mix with bamboo on the outside, as a brace(rather then inside as rebar) this is because a soil structure is far more solid, but moves more then conventional brick.The bamboo sustains the natural ability for movement in the wall but rigid form in such instances, usually to prevent earthquake damage to high effect. The bamboo is then rendered off leaving no discernible protrusion from said wall.

I know you want to use bamboo more structurally but as far as I can calculate an earthen house is far cheaper to build, then buying bamboo. So i hope my suggestion is not taken out of context from your thread.

hope you get it to work!

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Smithson

Thanks for the help.

I got everything together and tried it on the weekend. The tank, valve, hoses etc. were fine, but the fittings on the ends of the bamboo are a real nightmare. We used an old motorbike inner tube, to join the bamboo and 4" PVC. This was tightened with hose clips. Below are the main problems.
- The pressure pulls the fitting away from the bamboo.
- It wasn't possible to get a seal between the bamboo and the inner tube. Unlike PVC, the bamboo doesn't have a smooth surface. I tried putting a heap of teflon tape around the bamboo, but the hose clips weren't strong enough and broke.

So there are a few adjustments needed.

- I need to find some kid of rubber fitting to join the PVC and bamboo, it needs to fit bamboo from 3" to 5". Something tapered and flexible would be good, but it must not balloon when pressurized.

- I need to find really strong clips to replace the hose clips and something to help seal the rough surface of the bamboo.

- I need to find some way of clamping the bamboo and fittings together so they don't pull away from each other.

Any ideas?

Below is a pic of what I'm trying to achieve, you can see they are using some kind of steel fittings.


Ben, regarding the info on mud, this is something I'm also interesting in. I've seen nice places with mud walls with bamboo truss roofs. For the cost of the bamboo, it depends, transport is a big factor - I'm lucky enough to have bamboo growing on my property and very close by.

I also like the open spaces and bamboo is ideal for this.

Smithson

I think some kind of saddle joint would be the go, maybe something like the first two.


Or even better a repair clamp for leaking pipes, these seem to be available to adapt to several sizes of pipe.

baldrick

can you make a groove in the end of you bamboo so the hose clamp can sit in it - file one out

and more hose clamps means more surface area gripping which will make it tighter

Smithson

Thanks Rick, this is one of the things I've been thinking about. Problem is finding strong enough hose clamps, the local ones are shite and give way. I'd like to get the ones below, but can't find them in large diameters


The other problem is finding a suitable rubber sleeve, anything flexible enough will either balloon or expand separating the bamboo and PVC fittings.

Any ideas are appreciated, everything works fine except the bamboo to PVC connections.