PVC Pipe for supports

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by Tim76

The lifespan for "grey" pvc under a load in direct would be about2-4 years.

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin...read.cgi?25420

I'm in Florida and I have installed thousands of feet of PVC on roof tops. I can tell you real quick like, it gets brittle after around 5 years. If your lucky you will get 10 years service out of, roof mounted, PVC conduit in Florida.

[feldon30]

This is an old one, but relevant...

http://feldoncentral.com/garden/tom_pvc/

[Cole_Robbie]

Furthermore, the UV degrading effect will be limited by several factors:
-Latitude and intensity of sunlight
-Weather patterns of any particular year, i.e how much the sun shines
-Shading of the supports in late summer by big plants
-Removing pvc supports from the garden in winter and storing them out of the sun.
-Any paint or other covering applied.

All of these factors make it a very inexact science when trying to predict how long a pvc support will last in the sun.

[Stvrob]

Given how cheap it is, why worry about how long it will last? It is certainly going to outlast a piece of bamboo.

[Cole_Robbie]

For me, it's because I am trying to support 1,000' of tomatoes on a shoestring budget. And usually failing, I might add, but I get a little better every year.

[cecilsgarden1958]

Originally Posted by heirloomtomaguy

No pvc is not asbestos. Completely different material. Pvc is a plastic while asbestos pipe is a type of cement pipe. Here in California you cant even buy asbestos cement pipe anymore.

I googled it this morning and saw it was not, but it did mention that it may contain lead, which doesn't seem too good to use around tomatoes.

[korney19]

Cecil. I used bamboo and still have some over 8 years old, always out in the yard, never put away for the winter or anything, but it's showing its age and splitting lengthwise now. I still have EMT galvanized steel that's 3/4" and runs horizontally with no sag for at least as long as the bamboo if not more like 15 years old now. Same thing could have been done with 1/2" EMT.

This year, for beans and peas, I found 8ft fence posts [online only] from Home Depot for around SEVEN BUCKS EACH (FREE DELIVERY IF TOTAL of your ORDER is $49-$50!!) These look like the green stakes that have the tab hooks every couple inches but they are like triangle "nubs" instead. Three stakes/posts weigh ~30lbs! I tried drilling on a drill press and broke 2 no-name bits & gave up! They may even be cast iron.

Anyway, I used 2 stakes about 9ft apart and used that 5ft tall netting between the posts, then put a PVC 1-1/2" pipe across to connect the tops using elbows to slip over the stake tops (nothing glued.) The top was to keep the posts from tipping inward under loading. Even using 1-1/2" PVC, it looks like the PVC has a slight sag--even without loading. I really didn't have any other way to connect the posts--maybe 2x2 or 2x4 lumber with slots at the ends? The posts have a "T" profile, and being so heavy duty & hard to drill, choices are slim.

I guess the moral of the story is buy new bamboo and perhaps scuff it up and paint it with an epoxy finish or something like Thompson's Water Seal, or, use 1/2" EMT galvanized steel tubing. Half inch PVC & even 3/4" PVC sags a great deal even carrying it up to the cashier!

Hope this helps.

[Cole_Robbie]

The scenario where pvc pipe produces lead involves a 3-way reaction between the pipe, chlorinated water, and brass plumbing fittings.

[heirloomtomaguy]

Originally Posted by cecilsgarden1958

I googled it this morning and saw it was not, but it did mention that it may contain lead, which doesn't seem too good to use around tomatoes.

I hate to tell you but up until a year ago, here in the most restricted state in the union, lead was in darn near every brass pipe fitting and galvanized pipe made. Not to mention if your city has any cast iron water pipe, which alot of towns/cities do, every 18 foot stick of pipe there is a lead pack joint holding the bell and spigot ends of the pipe together. Back in the day that is just how we did it. Today everything is either welded or sealed with some type of rubber. If you live in a home with plumbing i can pretty much guarantee you are drinking trace amounts of lead, either fom the pipes, the joints, or the fixtures themselves. PVC in your garden wont hurt you one bit.

[cecilsgarden1958]

Originally Posted by feldon30

This is an old one, but relevant...

http://feldoncentral.com/garden/tom_pvc/

Beautiful cages and excellent garden pics. That's a lot of work there Buddy. You did a great job. Just a tad more work then I want to get into though. I'm suffering this week from the little replanting I did. Back is killing me.

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I use 3/4" gray conduit. I make an H shape out of it. I cut 5' pieces, and drive them 1' into the ground on each side of the plant. Then I use white pvc T fittings to glue on top, then make about a 1' cross piece. I put one of these H posts about every ten feet, then drill 5-6 holes in them, 8-10" apart. Then I run synthetic baler twine through the holes. The end posts for the row are metal T posts used for fencing.

I just started this method this year, and it is the best I have ever done for supporting a large number of plants. Each H post costs under $5. The twine is 20,000' for $20.

Allow me to bump my post from three weeks ago to confess that those supports of mine collapsed and fell over from the weight of my plants. My 3/4" H posts will still be useful, especially for growing dwarfs, but they need to be anchored with more sturdy posts if they are used for indeterminates that get huge.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by cecilsgarden1958

Okay, thanks for the info, but just how do you cut that gray conduit to 7' lengths?

You can do it with a hack saw or copper tubing cutter. I use the latter. It is so much easier and you het a clean cut.

Gardeneer

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

You can do it with a hack saw or copper tubing cutter. I use the latter. It is so much easier and you het a clean cut.

Gardeneer

They have what you call a PVC cutter and it is the best tool for the job.
You can get them in many sizes and many prices they work great I have had one for years, I wouldn't do with out it.

For the really big stuff I use a Milwaukee Sawzall, I can cut a car in half with it.






.

[BigVanVader]

IMO no point using PVC when you can use metal conduit and it will basically last forever. It cost more but saves you money/time/headache because you dont have to worry about it. That being said you could easily use bamboo and get as elaborate as you want and its free plus you can choose what size to cut down. I use bamboo for stakes all the time and they last a year or two more if I'm lucky, but nothing beats metal conduit. If I was going to build a trellis system I would do it like B54Reds (Bill) setup that has been posted here in other threads.

[Worth1]

We have a plant growing wild here some people call bamboo, it is not bamboo it is a reed and is not fit for anything as far as support.

We also have Bamboo growing wild here too.


Worth