I'm looking to make accumulators out of pvc, but need to seal the ends without getting larger than the outside of the pipe. will this work, or will it blow up in my face? If so, what material woud you sudjest to seal off the ends?
You can machine up some custom inside endcaps out of PVC, and use standard PVC glue from your local hardware store to stick it all together. PVC is the most popular choice for endcaps, even when the accumulator material is aluminum or copper. As for the shape of the endcaps, all you really need is a really short, fat cylinder with a #10-32 threaded hole for your air hookup. Dimensionally, you'd want 1/4" thick for accumulators 1" ID and under, and 3/8" thick for accumulators over 1" ID.
Out here in the wild east, most accums are built with copper endcaps. Not better, just different. For me, I just like any excuse to fire up the blowtorch. If you don't have a blowtorch, I expect that using PVC caps and PVC glue is cheaper than buying a blowtorch ($15-$25 for copper and torch vice maybe $5-$10 for PVC). Assuming you can machine the PVC for free (I can't, no lathe yet) Why do you need to seal the ends without being bigger than the pipe's diameter?
What do you mean by milling the PVC? I also was thinking about using large copper tube to make accumulators, but I can only get it in ten foot lengths. On my accumulators I was thinking size wise about 2” di or greater, what material will hold up? Is it possible/legal to make your own air tanks/supply that can be charged by an air compressors?
