Thread: Great Stuff Insulation Foam \ PVC Candles

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For those of you that have made PVC candles using Great Stuff Insulation foam, I have a couple questions for you.

1.) Does it build up a lot of pressure in the PVC pipe? The reason I ask is I was planning on putting a plug in the end that will have the tealight. That way I could just remove the plug when it was dry and there would be space for the tealight to sit. This would avoid havinf to drill out the foam, but I am worried the pressure might just push the plug out.

2.) How long do you have to work with the can? I was thinking that the foam might dry up quickly in the application tube that is attached to the can.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Kirt

I know the stuff over here in the UK u can use it as u want. By that I mean that you dont have to use it one go. I used my last can over a few weeks. Once you've finished working with it just let it dry fully then scrape it off the nozzle and poke it out with a bit of wire, the tube should normally be quite clear anyway.

I would just squirt a little bit half way down if it's too low you can pack under the tealight with cardboard or something similar if you definately dont want to drill out the foam.

The good thing about drilling the foam is you can set the lights to the depth you want them.

I made some without using the Great Stuff. I drilled and tapped some holes in the PVC at the depth I wanted the tealights to sit, screwed in some nylon screws & cut off the heads of the screws. I made sure the "drips" went over the screw ends so you can't tell at all. I have some pictures if you want me to post them when I get home this evening.

The great stuff can build up enough pressure to push out a plug. The other problem you might encounter is that it takes longer to dry if you have 1 end plugged up. I've had this happen when shooting foam into a PVC pipe from 2 different ends. The next day I started drilling and the dried great stuff from the bottom just popped off and it was all still gooey in the middle.

And I've also used cans of great stuff over long periods of time, just clear out the nozzle when you're done.

JBfromBS,

Pictures are always good to see. Please post if you have time.

Jack Skellington,

Thanks for the information. I saw what you meant about the foam not drying this morning when I removed the plugs from my test run of candles. What a mess!

Sorry I didn't get to post in time with personal experiences...

Originally Posted by kimcfadd

JBfromBS,

Pictures are always good to see. Please post if you have time.

Sure, I will be glad to. I like not using the foam, you don't have to wait for a drying time, don't have to worry about cutting the foam at the bottom or drilling out the foam for the tealight. And you can get a drill bit/tap set (I used an 8-32 screw) at Lowes or Home Depot for 3 or 4 dollars if you don't already have a tap set.

If you have a drill press or a steady hand, you could drill a few holes straight (2 or 3, offset from the center of the pipe) and stick dowels through them. Then hot glue a piece of plastic or wood to make a platform for the tea light and cut the ends of the dowels flush with the pipe. Make sure your glue drips over the holes and/or paint/putty them white. You could also get some fine stiff wire mesh and bend it over the end of the pipe. You might even be able to find one of those fine sink straiers (for bathroom hair) that fit over the end of the PVC and then you can use glue and paint to cover it up.

I just made some last weekend and didn't want to drill either. I filled abut 1/3 to 1/2 of the pipe with Great Stuff so that it wouldn't seep out of both ends. After it dried, I used a simple box cutter to cut the overflowed Great Stuff to level with the PVC. I then placed my tealight in the center of the Great Stuff, marked where it sat with a Sharpie, removed the tealight and cut it out with the box cutter. Essentially, I hollowed out a hole in the Great Stuff so the tealight sits securely. It's nothing fancy, but it also wasn't time consuming. Hope this helps!

OK Kirt, here are some pics of how I did it without using the foam.
First cut your PVC the shape and length you want:


Then, wrap a piece of masking tape around the PVC at the level you want the bottom of your tealights to be. The tape is to show you where to drill so your holes will be fairly level (I used 3 holes so the tealights will be fairly sturdy in the candle. I'm sure you could use just one long screw, but I haven't tried this)


Then drill your holes right at the tape level


Tap your holes, I used a 1/8 drill bit and an 8-32 tap.


Screw in the nylon screws leaving enough out so you can snip the heads off.


Now snip the heads off the screws!


Make sure your glue drips cover where the screws go into the PVC


Now paint them however you like, and you are good to go!


I hope this wasn't too long!