Misc Make String from plastic soda bottles

[jazzy]

i thought this was pretty amazing and wanted to share it, wasnt sure where this instructional video fits so im just putting it in Preps.
i thought this was very cool. with a small piece of wood and a sharp knife nad some soda bottles you can turn them into string as thin as fishing line or thicker, this was so easy i had to laugh. what a neat idea.

here is link. looks about 7 min run time. all you do-it-yourselfers and handymen will like this. if you run out of string, cant buy it, cant afford it, you can make your own

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRy2sD_k57g

 

[summerthyme]

That is SO cool! I wonder if it would be flexible enough to crochet with? I'll bet it would make great weatherproof door mats!

Summerthyme

 

[AlaskaSue]

That is SO cool! I wonder if it would be flexible enough to crochet with? I'll bet it would make great weatherproof door mats!

Summerthyme

I agree, that is VERY cool....and that guy has a new subscriber (thank you very much Jazzy)! The next day he made some cordage, then turned that into some pretty decent rope; looks pretty flexible, so I'd think the plain 'string' would be worthwhile to try crocheting it. This goes on my winter list for sure.

 

[jazzy]

wow, crochet? i did not think of that summerthyme, and it is a terrific idea. yes i bet it would make great door mats that would last about forever, justy need to adjust the knife to trim the right thickenss, would be a good experiment.

i watched a couple more of his vids, loved the one about using a hot coat hanger to cut, trim, seal zip locks baggies for special size needs, that was cool.

i admire people who can find multi uses for common tings and can make something out of nothing.

glad you all like it!

 

[Martinhouse]

I wonder how well that plastic string holds up to sunlight. Shopping bags do not hold up at all and is why I'd never spend time making door mats of them. It wold be worth doing if the soda bottle plastic hold p better.

 

[jazzy]

that is very good! i looked htis up and depending on why type of material, they last in a landfill for 1000 years so thaty say, BUT standing out in sunlight if a #1 or #2 plastic, can start to degrade fairly soon due to UV, about a month or so. but out of sunlgith will last many years, at least 10 or so. the supposed lifespan of a #1 or #2 plastic bottle is 1000 uses.

so, in a pinch this could be very helpful. not perfect or permanent but then nothing is.

 

[kyrsyan]

The plastic that soda, juice, etc bottle are made of holds up really well in sunlight. I use juice bottles as thermal mass in the greenhouse and garden beds. They have a long lifetime. Most are at the five year point and still fine.
Now milk jugs, nope. Even the big five gallon jugs used for oil/grease don't hold up. Although the 4 or 5 gallon water jugs do.

 

[jazzy]

how do you use them for thermal mass in greenhouse? fill with water and lay on their side, stand upright?

 

[kyrsyan]

how do you use them for thermal mass in greenhouse? fill with water and lay on their side, stand upright?

Fill with water. If you can paint the bottle black or tint the water black. Then use in whatever position you need. Once the cap is back on tightly it doesn't matter. When my plastic green house still had life I stood them up on the floor under the bottom shelf and laid them on their sides under trays on each shelf.

 

[jazzy]

ok, i get it, thanks for explaining, i have a plastic hoop greenhouse, we tried 2 black 25gal water drums and didnt see much difference, maybe we just didnt do enough. im going to start saving bottles. we dont drinj soda so ill scramble for large bottles. thanks!

 

[kyrsyan]

I have used this method for over 10 years. When I first tried it we tested the temps. The bottles averaged above 70 degrees in TN winter.
But the temps will drop throughout the night. It's more a way to modulate the temperatures. Hold the warmth deeper into the night and, hopefully, let the greenhouse ride out the crack of dawn cold snap.
And, depending on the greenhouse size, you may need a lot of thermal mass. I would say that there was roughly 40 to 50 gallons for a 6 x 8 plastic greenhouse.
No sodas here either. I saved juice bottles. Typically half gallon. It helps that a lot of companies now use a rectangular design that stacks neatly. When I first came up with the idea I had friends save 2 liter bottles and then I found a recycling center that had no problem with me raiding their plastic recycle bin.
The smaller bottles actually allow for more thermal mass. And a lot of flexibility in where it is placed.
I have used them to make a ring around particularly sensitive plants in the greenhouse, to give them a bit more protection. I've even used them in mini cold frames directly in garden beds.

 

[jazzy]

thanks i appreciate it. we are in CO mountains, around 8000ft. we have not bothered to try keeping the greenhouse going over the winter but are wanting to grow some spinach, fresh greens, you know? have been thinking of trying a hot box' inside the greenhouse, i like the wter bottle idea, i think if stacked around the grow box that will be covered, that might work good for us.
thanks for your ideas!

 

[mourningdove]

Two awesome ideas on one post. Thanks jazzy and kyrsyan for sharing! My Honey Do list just got longer.

 

[jazzy]

lol, thats what i love about this place. you can start talking about one thing and someone brings up another and you learn all sorts of cool things. im defintily going to try the water bottle thing and im going to try the make string idea. just got to get the boss to set uit up for me.

 

[Kathy in FL]

i thought this was pretty amazing and wanted to share it, wasnt sure where this instructional video fits so im just putting it in Preps.
i thought this was very cool. with a small piece of wood and a sharp knife nad some soda bottles you can turn them into string as thin as fishing line or thicker, this was so easy i had to laugh. what a neat idea.

here is link. looks about 7 min run time. all you do-it-yourselfers and handymen will like this. if you run out of string, cant buy it, cant afford it, you can make your own

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRy2sD_k57g

I've been doing things like this since my old summer camp days. When you use this stuff for lashing, you can gently heat the knot and you will "lock" it so there is no releasing the webbing. It is like melting the end of a rope that has plastic in it to keep it from unraveling.

The heating/gentle melt also tightens the binding.

 

[jazzy]

thanks kathy that is great, and its good to hear from someone who has done this.

 

[bartender]

jazzy, have you ever heard of a “climate battery”? A contractor I work for went to Colorado with a local man. When they got there he said the temp was 32 degrees outside, but the greenhouse they went to see was 72. He said the just used a climate battery. Just a thought. Did not mean to hijack the thread.

 

[jazzy]

damn son, that is very interesting. ive not heard of it but i sure will look into it. thanks for mentioning it, i appreciate it. i love learning new things.

ps, i spent many years as a bartender. not the easiest job but i learned ot make it easier. not the funnest job but i learned to make it fun. most of the time anyway, lol. thanks again fr telling me about this.