I got the idea from a post on the web. I call them nipplugs because I use baby bottle nipples as forms. The ingredients are white portland cement, sand and water. I pour the mixture a little on the wet/thin side. If too thick it seems to be more difficult to get out of the form. After pouring I put them on an eggcrate and shake/vibrate the heck out of them. This eliminates the air bubbles that may be trapped in the form. I usually leave them in the forms for 12-24 hours. They seem extremely hard to pop from forms if left longer. It seems like the rubberish brown bottle nipples do better than the clear. Because the plugs formed in the clear are extremely difficult to get out of the plugs. But they do have a larger surface area to encrust. As usual if I do something I overdo it. I have the ability to make 100 at a time, it takes such a small amount of mixture per plug. Largest negative is the curing time. Being concrete and emitting extremely high pH levels I have to cure in fresh water for approx. 2 months. I use the tanks of the three toilets in my house. It also saves household water with every flush.
My DIY frag plugs
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With your ability to make so many...I'm betting some members here would buy some.
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This is absolutely awesome. I can't believe you thought to use toilet tanks to cure them. Talk about going green!
Question: with less water in each flush, do you find yourself clogging the toilet more often?
Question: with less water in each flush, do you find yourself clogging the toilet more often?
I don't put an extreme amount in each. I have the 1.6 gallon flush toilets, and probably only displace about .2 or .3 gallons. So no problem sending what is in the bowl home, so to speak. Only thing you need to watch out for is getting one in way of the flapper going down, then the water will keep flowing. Years ago I use to put a brick in my tank to save water.
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That's funny. I have 1.6g toilets as well, and even without anything in the tank, they get clogged like crazy. Guess I'll have to stop eating so much mexican...
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So how many of these do you make in a batch? Seems like a fair amount of work.
about 100 at a time, I mix in a bucket and use cup to pour into the forms. Probably takes 15 to 20 minutes and and about the same to pop them out when they are done. Then drop them in the toilet tank. Material cost I would guess would be in the .03 per plug range.
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Cool. Care to share your recipe? Or what do you charge for 100?
For personal use, I don't think you'll need to worry about cure time. Yes, green portland cement is very hig in PH, but if you're only using just a few of these guys in your system, then the high PH from the plugs will be diluted. A caveat to that would be an elaborate frag tank, with a relatively small amount of water.
I'd say you should see if you can cultivate commercial interest in these, and keep your idea hush-hush.
I'd say you should see if you can cultivate commercial interest in these, and keep your idea hush-hush.
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yea wat would you charge for a 25 to 100 of em?
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