[budduke]

I was wanting to know what everyone's experience has been with PVC props and the normal joints.
I live in the Midwest Ohio valley and I have had issues that after a couple of years they begin breaking at the joints are on most of the items I make.
I store them in an outside storage shed that gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter. During the month of October the weather is usually hot to cold on any given day and I am wondering if this is normal that they break for the temp changes that they are going through?

I try not to have much pressure on them when building and storing but it just seems like they get brittle.
I see allot of prop building using them so it is hard for me to understand if I am the only one seeing this or if I am doing something wrong?

Thanks everyone for any input you can give me,

 

[Icepick]

If your not glueing the joints, they tend to crack easier. It's putting stress on them that isn't distributed through the joint, but rather on the edges.

 

[Diabolik]

Are you using the bright white schedule 40 PVC, or the off white CPVC? We use a ton of PVC in our prop kits and had no reported issues. I do know the off white CPVC tends to be much more brittle and I have seen it crack. Where are they breaking?

 

[budduke]

Thanks for the info. I have been screwing them together instead of glue for storage reasons.
They break where the tubes go into them. usually on the ends so it is hard to keep the tubes attached without replacing the joints. Funny that they are fine where the screws are going through them. I wonder if I should use 1 screw on each side instead of one?
I would have to relook at them but I believe they are all the white ones.

I am planning on building some robed ghost men in my graveyard this year with them and am going to give PVC another try to see how they hold up to the wind and weather.

thanks for letting me know that I am not crazy and other people see them crack and break also. It is still the cheapest way to go. I have even went as far as taping the crap out of the joints to keep them lasting longer.

 

[Therewolf]

PVC for plumbing deteriorates in UV light. There is special 'furniture grade' PVC used in Pool & lawn furniture that is much more resistant. Also has fixtures that would not make sense in plumbing scenarios

 

[Krusty]

Hmmm