flexiable pipe over 6" PVC

[paul a rowsell]

I have bought 10 ft of 6" flexible hose for my DC setup. I know the id of this hose is 6" and the od of the white 6" pipe is 6.25. I am looking for suggestions on how to connect the two together.

My idea is to take a 4" long piece of 6" pipe and split it down the length and then remove some material and keep squeezing it together until it fits in the flexible . I would then wrap tape around the pipe to seal it up. The end that would go in the 6" pipe end would now be a little loose but I would build this up with layers of tape and tap it snugly into the fitting. Sounds a little Rube Goldburg so any better ideas or pics would be great

Quebecnewf

[Dan Hintz]

You can't stretch the flexible hose a bit to have it fit over the rigid piping?

[paul a rowsell]

well thats another thought. The flex has a wire coiled in it so I don;t know if that will be possible. Time will tell. Maybe someone has already done this.

Quebecnewf

[John Lanciani]

If you heat the pvc you'll be able to stretch it so that the 6" flex will fit inside. I just use a 1500 watt heat gun and it only takes a few minutes. You don't want to use a torch, pvc scorches easily and the fumes are nasty.

[Matt Meiser]

2 methods:

1) 6" snaplock fits inside 6" pvc snugly and 6" hose slips over crimped 6" snaplock so you can use a short piece of snaplock to interface.
2) 6" hose fits very snugly inside the 6" fittings and 6" bell ends.

[Cliff Holmes]

I'm not sure what type of PVC you're using, I'm using sewer and drain (S&D) pipe. The outside diameter of the 6" flex hose I got from McMaster-Carr is the same as S&D, so it fits perfectly inside S&D bell ends, couplings, elbows, etc. See http://www.thewoodnerd.com/workshop/dustCollection.html#ductwork to see a picture of how I used it to make a flex connector between two duct sections.

However, when the connection's vertical, the hose's weight can pull it out of the connector. The 6" HVAC fittings from Lowes fit perfectly inside the flex hose and really close inside the S&D fittings, so I use a duct coupling to reinforce it when I need to. I put a little bit of caulk on the fitting, then slide it into the S&D and use a couple of screws and a pipe clamp. See the same page for a photo of a flex connection to a shop-made blast gate.

The same sort of fittings can be used to upgrade your machine's dust port. Look at http://www.thewoodnerd.com/articles/dustPortEnlargement.html to see an example of using a fitting like that.

[Curt Harms]

2 methods:

1) 6" snaplock fits inside 6" pvc snugly and 6" hose slips over crimped 6" snaplock so you can use a short piece of snaplock to interface.
2) 6" hose fits very snugly inside the 6" fittings and 6" bell ends.

6" flex hose will fit in 6" couplers. I think I used silicone sealant to secure the hose inside the coupling. You could also use 3 or 4 #6 bolts /w washers & nuts outside. Simple & cheap quick disconnect dust collection fittings if you need flex hose.

[Paul Wunder]

Is it possible to use a longer piece of 6" diameter pipe and cut a 1/4" kerf in it for about 8"-12" of length (not the full length) and then use a hose clamp to squeeze the pipe together so that the flex would fit over? Doing it this way would preserve the diameter of the PVC pipe where it connects to the rest of the system.

Paul

[paul a rowsell]

Very interesting replies guys. Lots of good info and ideas. If you need to do something someone here on this site has done it before or at least tried it.

Quebecnewf

[Mike Cruz]

I just did this.

What you (I had to do) have to do, is cut out the metal reinforcing wire out of the last linear 3 inches or so of the flex pipe. The way to do it is to take wire cutters and snip the wire about 3 inches back. Then, and here is the fun and tricky part, cut the outter layer of flex pipe that is directly on top of the wire with a knife or whatever...being careful not to slip and cut through the lower layer of flex pipe OR YOURSELF! Then, remove the wire. I got my flex pipe to go over schedule 40 PVC. It is a VERY tight fit. It took some SERIOUS wiggling and manuvering and brute strength. But it is so tight, I don't even need clamps to hold the flex pipe on.

Hope that helps!

[Lee Schierer]

Take a short piece of 6" pvc about 4-6" long and cut a slot lengthwise and remove a section of the wall of the pipe so that when you close the gap the short piece will fit inside your fixed 6" pipe without leaving a gap. You will now have an adapter that has the same OD as the ID of your 6" pipe. Your flex hose should slip over it easily and attach with a hose clamp. You can glue the adapter inside the pipe if you wish.

[Chris Padilla]

I did what Matt did: used 6" metal duct inserted into the 6" 2729 to act as a tenon and then slipped the flex over it. The metal duct fits very snugly...worked great.

[Steve Peterson]

I had the same problem with 4" flex over 4" S&D PVC. I put a couple of hose clamps around the end of the PVC and started heating with a heat gun. After a few minutes, the PVC gets soft and the hose clamps can be tightened.

6" PVC is thicker than 4" PVC. You may need 2 heat guns. A wooden circle on the inside might also help to keep the end result from buckling.

Be sure to have good ventilation, since burning PVC gives off dangerous fumes.

Steve