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Call for ATOT engineers!

ghost recon88

ghost recon88

Diamond Member
Looking at making a floating beer pong table out of PVC pipe. I knew that some PVC sizes float, and others don't. Started doing some research, and apparently the weight capacity it can hold depends on how much of the pipe is submerged under water. I found this article that mentions 3" pipe being able to hold roughly 1.5 lbs per foot. If I have PVC pipe on either side of the table, that means each foot of pipe will hold roughly 3 lbs? The table will be 8 ft long, so that would be 24 lbs of weight I believe if my calculations are correct? And that 24 lbs of weight would also include the weight of the pipe itself?

PVCsizes.jpg


http://www.asis.com/users/jknope/ROV/ROVBuoyancy/ROVBuoyancy.html
 
Think about pulling weight out of the table top.

Maybe go with a thin sheet of PVC or particle board.

As for PVC floating you would have to cap off both ends and make sure they are sealed for buoyancy.

You might be better off putting an inflatable float underneath the table top or perhaps even floating booms or Styrofoam, the closed cell stuff should be buoyant.

<<<Civil Engineer by degree, environmental engineer by trade.
 
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The PVC would definitely be sealed off, I'd plan on installing 4x 90 degree elbows to connect it all and sealing it up. At least 20 holes will be drilled for cups into the top of the board, removing weight. The thing with particle board is once it gets wet, you're screwed. I don't really want to use pine, but It'd be nice to find a nice 1/8 or 1/4 sheet of something.

purbeast0 said:
why build one when you can buy an inflatable for like $20?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/37201779
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Because those look like trash...
 
Don't use Schedule 40 pipe. Use Schedule 10. Schedule 40 has a thicker wall and weighs a lot more. Schedule 10 will have the same dimensions and give you more buoyancy.

I vote for the pool noodle or even ABS

You do know that 3" PVC is going to cost a boatload don't you?

Industrial Engineer who ran the maintenance shop for 10 years.
 
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3" (3.5" OD) PVC schedule 40 foam core costs $10 for 10 ft here....I'll look into schedule 10 stuff although initial searching shows it's not available at any of the major home do-it-yourself stores.
 
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ghost recon88 said:
The PVC would definitely be sealed off, I'd plan on installing 4x 90 degree elbows to connect it all and sealing it up. At least 20 holes will be drilled for cups into the top of the board, removing weight. The thing with particle board is once it gets wet, you're screwed. I don't really want to use pine, but It'd be nice to find a nice 1/8 or 1/4 sheet of something.



Because those look like trash...
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lol it's a beer pong table. didn't realize they are supposed to be fashion statements. good luck lugging around a pvc beer pong table to bodies of water.

just sounds like a lot more of a hassle than it's worth when there are much more convenient alternatives already out there. i have one of those foldable beer pong tables that folds into quarters so it hides away easily when not in use.
 
Pool noodles wrapped around 1/2 or 3/4" PVC to hold the shape would work. No place locally stocks ABS or schedule 10 PVC without it being special order.
 
As somebody who had a pool and one of those inflatable tables, I don't understand why you'd want to build one either. It's nice being able to toss something in & out of the pool without worrying about causing a concussion if you hit somebody, and it doubles as a raft.

But if you're adamant about it, use pool noodles like everyone else says. Not sure what you'd use as a playing surface though. Can't use wood, it'll swell and look awful as soon as it gets wet.
 
I vote for thin to medium thickness (1/8"-1/4") acrylic for the top surface. You could theoretically just put a top surface on the ends (where the cups go) to reduce weight. If you do the whole surface you'll probably need a couple of supports (maybe acrylic rod) to keep it from bowing too much.

Cutting acrylic is a bit of a pain in the ass though unless you have access to a laser cutter.
 
Wonder what one of those 2" Rigid foam (insulation board) 4x8 sheets with a 1/4" sheet of hardiboard would do on top of it?
 
vi edit said:
Wonder what one of those 2" Rigid foam (insulation board) 4x8 sheets with a 1/4" sheet of hardiboard would do on top of it?
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Using the blue foam with a sheet of FRP glued to the top seems like an ideal way to do it for ~$50.
 
Well looks like 3 post above me with the same idea lol

Being inherently lazy I would use foam for flotation.

From Home Depot, Loews, Ace ect get Get XPS Rigid Foam Insulation. Cheap, easy to cut with hot wire or saw. Construction glue it to your table. Are you using a real table? Some white Foam is more porous then other white foam so careful on using it, I would stick with the XPS blue or pink foam.

xps-foam-board-insulation.jpg
 
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Umm... Lead, the heavy metal, is a common additive in PVC -- makes it stronger, more durable, in general. I don't remember if they use it for PVC pipes but not sure you want to have that shit leaching in a pool.
 
i would use a sheet of xps as well. you can glue a sheet of the thin white plastic ( sold for bathroom walls?) to the top, and cut holes for the cups. you could line the cup holes with pvc to make it even more finished looking.
 
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