Polycro Bathtub!

[gunther kirsch]

Was wondering if i could melt/cut polycro (neatly) into a bathtub floor without sewing, because i hate sewing. and i'm too lazy.

polycryo is a plastic base right? so it should work…

anyone have experience with this stuff?

[drowning in spam]

It seems too thin to heat bond. Why not use double sided scotch tape?

[David Drake]

If you buy your polycryo in the form of window insulation, it should come with a roll of double-sided tape meant to adhere the film to window frames. Should be fine for your purposes, especially if you plan the seams right (ie, stressed in shear, not peel). Heat might be a problem, as polycryo is meant to shrink when heat is applied.

[Franco Darioli]

For backyard use sounds great.
For real world application I would not bother.
But go ahead, it isn't all that expensive , for the first two or three times anyway.
Franco
BTW, it is a made up name , nevertheless it is polycryo

[gunther kirsch]

Guess i need to just buy some of this stuff and start experimenting.

the trick is gonna be folding/cuting the seems in suck a way they don't leek i have an idea in mind (kind of like the way youd wrap a present, no?)

[gunther kirsch]

why do you say for real world application don't bother?

[drowning in spam]

Real world…

The bathtub walls are going to fall down unless you add more to it to keep the walls up.

Buy your window film from the hardware store or Amazon. You'll get a lot more for less $$.

[EndoftheTrail]

Not answering your question… but just pointing out the the plastic sheeting is spelled polycryo.

[Franco Darioli]

Sorry, I thought you meant to replace a tent bathtub floor with that.
If you intend to use it as a disposable groundsheet , then it may just work.
However without some re-enforcement it will most likely collapse on itself .
Franco

[gunther kirsch]

No no. Yeah I have an ID silshelter and I need a ground sheet. and even though if I pitch it correctly in the right location I can probably avoid water flow (or some wind) but I would like the added securitty of a bathtub floor.

though I've never used polycro but heard its great for the weight and price… that being said i guess i assummed it would be rigid enough to hold a 2-5 inch wall because its plastic. So its very flimsy? any suggested improvement to try to hold it up?

Thank you all for your responses!

Gunther

EDIT: spelling and grammer

[drowning in spam]

It's barely stiffer than Saran Wrap.

[gunther kirsch]

well shoot…

EDIT:

Ill try pitching the corners of the flat polycryo sheet together to create the bathtub floor with flaps sticking out of the corners (triangles) ill hold that pinch with double sided tape. ill cut holes and make make-shift gromets on the flaps for ties. tie the ties to the roof of the sealing or the stakes to hold the shape… a little more work but the should hold it… I think

[Kevin Beeden]

Well, you can fold a raised corner in any sheet material. Turn up the edge of each side of the corner, make a diagonal fold in the corner (this will tend to form of its own accord as you turn the edges up). Fasten the resulting upper triangular flap to one edge or the other; a paper clip, for instance?

However, you may find that a structure like this will cause fracturing of the film in the corner, due to the sharp folds that result.

Experiment with a sheet of paper.

You can make these structures for non-right-angled corners, too, only the resulting 'triangular fold' flap isn't quite as convenient as it is with the right-angled corner (as the corner angle increases beyond 90 degrees, the flap gets narrower, and rises above the turned-up edge).

[Dale Wambaugh]

Nice idea, but the stuff is thin. Even if the corners stand up with some sort of reinforcement, the sides will droop. I had marginal success trying the same with Tyvek. Note that most bathtub floors have some toggle-and-loop hangers to keep them in place.

The trick with a plastic ground cloth is to make it a little oversize and roll the edges under, creating a small berm.

If you want to experiment, I would use duct tape in the corners.

[Kevin Beeden]

> Nice idea, but the stuff is thin. Even if the corners stand up with some sort of reinforcement, the sides will droop.

That's true of almost all groundsheet materials. At least of any groundsheet materials that I'd want to carry…

As you say, the walls will need supporting by something (like they are by the inner tent with a sewn-in bathtub).

The folded corners suggestion was to allow experimentation without committing the film, or for ad-hoc use in the field.

[Robert Kelly]

Just put some smooth sticks or rocks (if no sticks available) under the edges by a couple inches. This will keep the edge off the ground and let water flow underneath the edge. Involves no cutting, taping, or bonding.

[john hansford]

Sorry to time-waste here , but I just had to jump in. For a nation that regularly butchers the English language, eg aluminum for aluminium, acclimated for acclimatised, etc, how can anyone complain about polycryo becoming polycro. I think it's a neat devolvement.

[EndoftheTrail]

I dislike the word 'polycryo' — I even lost a bet (beer) on this one time — thinking back then that it was 'polycro.!

Polycro just sounds better — although I suspect polycryo is an abbreviated version of a longer, more technical term??

[jscott]

+1 to what Robert says. Also: if it's not going to rain but it's windy, you might use those same little rocks to hold down the Polycryo (whatever) and keep it from blowing around.

[gunther kirsch]

HAHA thanks! polycyro sounds too… biological. polycro just rolls off the tongue… I'm changing the title back to polycro!

[Kevin Beeden]

I'd assumed the made-up name was from its use as secondary glazing; the -cryo bit referring to cold things (although we use it to do the opposite, keeping the house warmer). Then we stick on the usual polymer prefix; poly-

[K C]

Heat shrink films are made of Polyvinyl chlorides (PVC) or Polyolefin as far as I know. Polycro sounds good, how about Polygroundsheet or Polyhopeitprotectsmyneoair

[john hansford]

I protect my Neoair, and the polycro, from sharp objects by putting a 1/8" Gossamergear foam mat under everything. Must work- never had a leak from a Thermorest mattress.

[jscott]

John: I put down the polycryo, then the tent, then the GG pad inside the tent, under my Exped ul7 mat. One season, no leaks. Both the Polycryo and the GG pad are ridiculously light; the pad is poly-functional. But I'll cryo-me a river if they fail and I spring a pad leak!

[gunther kirsch]

well it seems trying to create a bathtub floor is pointless or not worth the time and trouble. folding the material in under itself seems like a better plan… and i like the idea of a thin foam pad underneath aswell for added protection. when it comes to air core matts that type of insulation would be great for snow camping too.

one last question. since polycro is used in windows as a type of insulation, does it provide any insulation when on the ground? or does it have to be in a vaccum to actually work?

Thanks

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