Sctiger Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 I realize this topic has been discussed at great length in the past, I was just wondering if anyone has found any other suppliers of the 2" OD tubing besides McMaster-Carr? I contacted them and got a quote for $10 shipping so I ordered a 10' foot section just to test it out and see if I liked it. To my surprise, the shipping actually was going to be $65 for the one piece of tubing. (I knew it seemed too good to be true!). If no other suppliers are found, I'm guessing a road trip is in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlogan Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) Last year when I was building my arches I was looking into that HDPE as well. I saw the cost and couldn't find a local supplier, either. I also thought that 2" was overkill. I ended up using standard white 10' PVC PEX from the big box store. I think it was 1" so it is easy to bend. It looks great as far as I'm concerned. I used a little acetone to remove the printing on the PVC PEX but if you position it properly, you probably don't even need to do that. The nice thing is it's easy to find all the connections and any glue you might need locally. If you are still in the "test it out" stage, I'd suggest trying out regular PVC PEX. Edited October 2, 2019 by tlogan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sctiger Posted October 2, 2019 Author Share Posted October 2, 2019 1 hour ago, tlogan said: Last year when I was building my arches I was looking into that HDPE as well. I saw the cost and couldn't find a local supplier, either. I also thought that 2" was overkill. I ended up using standard white 10' PVC from the big box store. I think it was 1" so it is easy to bend. It looks great as far as I'm concerned. I used a little acetone to remove the printing on the PVC but if you position it properly, you probably don't even need to do that. The nice thing is it's easy to find all the connections and any glue you might need locally. If you are still in the "test it out" stage, I'd suggest trying out regular PVC. Interesting. I've only heard of people using the PEX, not PVC. Do you have any issues with the PVC being too dim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlogan Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Shoot...that's what I get for trying to answer while I'm at work....I take that back. It WAS PEX. But still, it worked great for me. I'll edit the post above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sctiger Posted October 2, 2019 Author Share Posted October 2, 2019 9 minutes ago, tlogan said: Shoot...that's what I get for trying to answer while I'm at work....I take that back. It WAS PEX. But still, it worked great for me. I'll edit the post above. Haha..no worries! I'm at work too, albeit I'm on the other end of the busy spectrum. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Don't even bother trying PVC if you are going to illuminate it from the inside. Two issues. First is that it attenuates the light FAR more than PEX. Second is that it induces a substantial color shift. Full bright white became a dull yellow for example. And yes, I see that the original post about PVC was corrected, but wanted to provide the information for people who may want / need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sysco Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 https://www.ebay.com/itm/CHRISTMAS-XMAS-LIGHT-OUTDOOR-TUBING-LDPE-NON-TOXIC-UV-ARCHES-32mm-x-38mm-x-15m-/283225477790?hash=item41f18dd29e this is the only thing i have seen 45 foot roll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sctiger Posted October 3, 2019 Author Share Posted October 3, 2019 (edited) After taking way too long to convert mm to inches and comparing numbers, it looks like shipping from Australia and the price of McMaster would be a wash. Edited October 3, 2019 by Sctiger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhammer53 Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Found 20' joints of 1/2" PEX at home depot for under $8 ea...cut them to 10' lengths and shoved pixel strips into them. Made usable arches. FWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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