Replying to I've found a cheap alternative to fire hose!
as your bladder in a pnuematic press. holy hell. you can buy 25 feet of used 5" fire hose for 50 bucks (crappy, it'll probly leak later on.) or you can buy 25 feet of NEW fire hose for upwards of 150 bucks. However, i went to a hose and gasket-specific shop today, and i told the guy what i was doing. i said the hose needed to withstand at least 100 psi (i'll be pressing lower than this, but i'm leaving my options open) and that it needed to be around 5" in diameter. well, lo and behold, he produces this hose called spiraflex pvc disc hose. they make a 5" size, but he said it's more expensive than the 6" diameter they have because it's a less common size. anywho, six inch dimater, fiberglass reinforced hose that's rated to safely handle 150 psi, and it's thinner than 5" firehose. yes!
and then, he's like, "yea dude, this is good stuff, it's only 9.50 a foot!" 9.50 a foot, jesus christ, that's a lot! so i leave the rediculously-overpriced shop, and i look online for this magical hose. i found a place that sells it for 3.52 a foot, which means if you wanted 20 feet of it, it would cost roughly 70 bucks plus shipping. which is a hell of a lot better quality than used fire hose, and the price is pretty hard to beat.
i'll post a picture of the material in a few hours, i got a sample of it to take home with me. i need to finish my homework first. for those of you searching for a bladder in advance, i will already say, you are wecome.
oh, by the way, the six-inch diamter sample i got is just under 10 inches wide when laying flat. they also make 4" diamter that's also rated at 150 psi.
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