Fiberglass Pole Breaking Strength

[+LadyBee4T]

I hope that some of you more experienced campers than I can give me a bit of advice here.

 

I have a single shower stall tent that I specifically bought to take to the MIdwest GeoBash because of the poor facilities there. It had a ring in the top where the water bag hangs from. I should have known better but when I hung the water bag up (that in itself was a struggle) the hook immediately tore off and I had the bag fall on my head. I don't remember the hit but it must have been what happened

 

Anyway I have it listed on craigslist and now I'm thinking maybe there is a way that I can use it still. It has two short poles at the dome top that are shockcorded fiberglass. The wall poles are shockcorded steel. I was thinking that I could make a hole in the top of the tent and then put an S hook or an eyelet to the fiberglass pole and support the water bag that way. The bag I have holds 5 gallons (42#) but there is no way I could lift that much over my head to hang it and even 25# may be wishful thinking.

 

Anyway does anybody have an idea about the actual breaking strength of fiberglass? I realized that the pole diameter and thickness figures would be required to do an actual calculation but thought somebody may be able to give me an idea before I go and try to test it out in the real world of my backyard. I have some extra pole sections from another tent that I am throwing out but testing this possibility means I would have to make a hole in the top and if I go ahead and sell it, holes are not a good selling point.

[7rxc]

My first thought is... IS that the intended attachment point for the bag? Doesn't sound practical to me.

 

Anyway... could you give the product IDentification... be handy to look it up online to see. I found several but non that had a dome.

 

I'd bet the actual attachment is on the steel somewhere. As to redesigning it... again helps to know what it is... One thing you might consider is some sort of pump and hose (manual or electric) to avoid the lifting and suspending part at all. There are 12 volt water pumps that are for use in travel trailer water systems that might work for you... you don't need a lot to replace a gravity feed flow rate. An advantage to using a pump system is that you might be able to have more water available... i.e. large or multiple reservoirs... how to warm it is up to you though... solar or electric or even fired.

 

If I was going to bother with it, I'd say that some method of recycling used water would be helpful... some you want to let pass, but some you can let run for a bit to lather up... but you want clean to rinse off, right? That could be a simple valving system.

 

Does your 'shower' have storage for drain water or does it escape to the ground... some places don't like direct discharge and need to store grey water for disposal... another factor.

 

Waiting and thinking

 

Doug 7rxc

[+LadyBee4T]

Yes if I would have had my thought about me I never would have even bothered to try to hang the bag. No way was that nylong going to hold. This is not exactly the one I have but it is very similar Shower Tent Yep it's inexpensive and only used a couple of times a year so may not be worth bothering with but I was thinking if there was a way of trying then I still might get some use out of it. This one states that the ring at the top is for hanging the bag.

 

The 4 side poles are shock corded steel and there are 2 fiberglass shock corded poles on the top which make the rounded dome effect for the roof. There is a fly also. There was only an inside hook at the top of the dome and that was only sewn into the nylon. There wasn't any hole in the top of the tent to pass anything through to those fiberglass poles so that had to have been the method to hang the solar shower bag. The first time I used it I did have use of a friend's electric water pump. But that is no longer available. These are seen quite frequently hear in many campgrounds and were all over the campground at the last several Bashes.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

[+LadyBee4T]

Here is the craigslist link showing the actual tent that I have My Changing Tent

 

Right now I have a couple of people interested in it but I thought if I could make use of it I'd forget about selling it.

[+Jeepergeo]

The Experimental Method, or for some, the Trial and Error Method, can yield amazing information.

 

Why hang the bag? Why not squirt some water into a cup or pot and then wet up and rinse off by dumping the cup or pot over one's head?

 

I'd rid myself of that entire contraption for the following reasons:

 

1. It would likely blow over in anything more than a breeze.

2. It might "goose" you if you had to bend over to pick up the soap or wash your toes.

3. Someone might mistake it for a Porta-John.

Edited June 6, 2011 by Jeepergeo

[+LadyBee4T]

3. Someone might mistake it for a Porta-John.

 

LMAO Shower shoes are top priority.

 

Yep pail of water works for the bath but not for the privacy. It takes about 3 minutes to put up so really wouldn't need to be left up at all.

 

But still wondering how much weight the fiberglass poles could take before they break.

[+Fianccetto]

That's great, not seen one of those before. I want one. That would fit inside our family tent! Bucket of warm water, a plant sprayer for soaping up, jug or cup for rinsing off?

 

You could try testing the fibreglass poles with a very small amount of water and increasing it by about a cup at a time (so you can see when the water is getting too heavy for it before the fibreglass actually gives out.) Don't think it could support a bucket of water, unless there is a clever design for the water container and very good supportive guy ropes & fly. Does look like it would need a pump, or some other support for the water container. It's not so much the strength of the fiberglass, more the likelihood of the whole thing buckling and twisting, falling over sideways with nakie person inside.

 

Maybe your tent shouldn't have had a hook for the water bag, and they stopped putting the hook there when they realised it couldn't support enough water.

[7rxc]

Yes if I would have had my thought about me I never would have even bothered to try to hang the bag. No way was that nylong going to hold. This is not exactly the one I have but it is very similar Shower Tent Yep it's inexpensive and only used a couple of times a year so may not be worth bothering with but I was thinking if there was a way of trying then I still might get some use out of it. This one states that the ring at the top is for hanging the bag.

 

The 4 side poles are shock corded steel and there are 2 fiberglass shock corded poles on the top which make the rounded dome effect for the roof. There is a fly also. There was only an inside hook at the top of the dome and that was only sewn into the nylon. There wasn't any hole in the top of the tent to pass anything through to those fiberglass poles so that had to have been the method to hang the solar shower bag. The first time I used it I did have use of a friend's electric water pump. But that is no longer available. These are seen quite frequently hear in many campgrounds and were all over the campground at the last several Bashes.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

Hi... that example of the type is only rated for 2.5 gallon bag according to it's specs. That's still a load if it's not supported well. And made well... I've worked with repairing stuff like that in the past... most of it isn't well thought out or made... wherever it comes from. Yours sounds like it's from an importer or manufacturers agent... it could work if you could make metal tubes for the top section including the bends... at very least one wants to capture both poles with supporting loop... and it should not be metal loop... use a piece of webbing for that... most hooks can damage the supports under high loadings, not that that is a problem, except as a relative thing... that is anytime you try to come near the failure point you want to eliminate as much chance as possible. I still like the water system... and I think I would use a ring type plastic tubing that sprayed into the center... or perhaps just a hand spray that can hang up on the side... I like the idea of multiple smaller bags if you have to go that route.

one to wet up, one to'wash' with and the last to rinse off. just hang one at a time... the pump up sprayer idea has some merit... as long as you don't use the 'garden/lawn sprayer' or the 'deck stain' one... keep it for showering... How long it goes for would be based on the size of course. Don't know if you remember Boyle's law... basically it says that the pressure available to push water out of the tank will drop as the water leaves the tank. Once the water decreases by half, the pressure will have fallen off and need to be pumped up again. I know that isn't what the law says... it's just a description... question is how to fit the tank inside the 'tent'. they would go in a corner well and the pump is on top... heck have two small ones... one with soap added and one clean. or whatever. Smaller bags for hanging could be either the solar shower kind, or even hydration system bladders (replacement)

, even (try this one) rubber hot water bottles... often come with a hose kit for some reason...

 

I realize most of this is for helping move the item along, but the point is that it can be a useful adjunct to a campground experience (car camping). Many people just use a barrier and hang it under a tree branch with a solar shower bag.

Reading about these, I found reference to the fact that many campgrounds require a catch tank for greywater... and don't like it running out on the ground... enough could turn a campground into a swamp... especially if it is already raining (am I the only one who gets rain on camping trips... always?). Hope you achieve what you want to... it's more a matter of thinking it out to what you want it to be... everyone has different wants and needs.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+LadyBee4T]

Thanks for the great ideas! I will try to use a couple of different methods to see which one works best as the showers there are really nasty. I can't use just a barrier hung from a tree because there are any. LOL The first year we borrowed a fancy electric pump with heater and that worked great. However, I can't justify the expense just for the couple of times a year I will be using this. I sewed the ring back into the top and tried 1.5 gallons without a problem. I bet they don't advertise that feature because of the weight problem as someone said.