1.1 Sil is HOW water proof?

**stormcrow** · 02-10-2009, 00:21

I got too many computers in this house! I am on one the living room checking the forum occasionally and she is in the other room posting to my thread when she SHOULD be studying for a midterm tmw...LOL.

Originally Posted by Mrprez

Ya'll are cracking me up! Hey how about one of you sending me a picture of that fire hydrant on the corner in front of the townhall? LOLOL

At first I was like "What in the world are you talking about" then i remembered the story about you running over it!

LOL. I will snap a picture of it the next time I am in town.

Originally Posted by Shug

Do What? Huh????

I dont know how I want to keep this poncho together on the sides. She suggested ties and I said I did not want to fool with them. Then I went to toggles then snaps and now might go back to ties because of the simplicity.

I never seem to have a good idea either...until it is someone elses! LOL

Adam

**Youngblood** · 02-10-2009, 07:47

I used snaps to hold together the sides of a two layer hammock that was made of 1.1 rsn. Don't know that I had it figured out, but I used some of the nylon repair patches that have glue on one side before I installed the piercing type snaps. That seemed to hold okay for the year or so I used it... at least they stayed together. With your coated rsn, they may hold.

The glue on the patches held fine, but I had some issues with the snaps and the compression tool. I used the snaps and compression tool I found at Hancock Fabrics. Later when I was revisiting snaps for another application I discovered that while that tool said it worked for a number of different snaps, it worked okay for a certain size and not to well for the size I had used on that hammock. But even with that info, I don't think I could install snap after snap without running into issues every so often.

Reinforcing the fabric and getting a compression tool to work correctly is what I recall as being key to the process. The other issue I was worried about but don't think I had was rust or some type of corrosion. Sometimes metals will bond together like they were wielded when they are exposed to moisture and pressure over time.

**Ramblinrev** · 02-10-2009, 07:54

Those peircing compression type snaps are fine for light home use. But if they don't line up the points on the one side and the channel on the other they don't install properly. That requires the right tool and snap matching. They are a PITA from my perspective. I would be more inclined to go with sew ons if I was going to use snaps. You get them where you want them. If you sew them properly they install correctly everytime. The prongs on the piercing snaps can also cut the base fabric. I would worry about that for most garment weight fabirc but for the really light stuff I would be cautious. Trying to install them through two layers of grosgrain and silnyl might overtas their little progy length and leave with a weak attachment under the best compression.

**animalcontrol** · 02-10-2009, 15:24

I used compression snaps on all 3 of my TQ to make my footboxes. Easy to install and works very well.
Sewed a piece of grosgrain at each spot (left a tab to be used as a pull tab). With these lighter materials (ripstop, sil) it is really easy to line up each side before you wack it with a hammer to compress it together.
Just my $.02

**Ramblinrev** · 02-10-2009, 17:57

Glad to hear of your success with them. It's been a long time since I've used them... mostly because I had such trouble with them. One word of caution... from personal experience. If you use a hammer make sure you have the snaps set up so you don't smush the working parts. I have flattened the "male" side of the snap before. Tends to make them unusable. Of course _that_ one engaged properly and I think I damaged the fabric trying to get it apart to take it off. I have mostly blocked those memories from my mind.

**whitefoot_hp** · 02-10-2009, 19:42

Originally Posted by stormcrow

I have read about the "misting" sometimes encountered with sil nylon tarps. I have also heard some people talking about this material breathing and others saying it doesnt. I must be confusing too much information or something.

i think the 'misting' is mostly just moist air collecting on the inside of the tarp. its not that the tarp let water through, its just that moisture is in the air and will collect on anything, including the inside of the tarp.

as far as i know, the material should not breathe at all.

**stormcrow** · 02-10-2009, 19:59

=

Originally Posted by Ramblinrev

Glad to hear of your success with them. It's bee a long time since I've used them... mostly because I had such trouble with them. One word of caution... from personal experience. If you use a hammer make sure you have the snaps set up so you don't smush the working parts. I have flattened the "male" side of the snap before. Tends to make them unusable. Of course _that_ one engaged properly and I think I damaged the fabric trying to get it apart to take it off. I have mostly blocked those memories from my mind.

I DID decide to go with the snaps. I like the idea of going through the grosgrain for strength. I got some heavy duty snaps and a little toolto put them on with. I have put two of them on (ok technically it was just one because I put the first one on upside down and had to CUT it out and sew on new material to replace what I cut out and THEN install it the right way...it was late). I was trying to stay away from heavy hardware but I SUPPOSE this will do. It is my first poncho/tarp anyway so I am refining as I go.

Adam

**BillyBob58** · 02-10-2009, 20:08

Originally Posted by whitefoot_hp

i think the 'misting' is mostly just moist air collecting on the inside of the tarp. its not that the tarp let water through, its just that moisture is in the air and will collect on anything, including the inside of the tarp.

as far as i know, the material should not breathe at all.

It should not breathe, but I think the misting folks refer to is actual moisture getting through. It is always associated with a very hard rain, where the rain is falling with a pretty good velocity. Resulting in enough psi to overcome the low rating of the sil-nylon, causing a mist to be felt on the faces of those sitting under the tarp, or at least seen by them.

However, on my JRB ( Sil-nylon) 10x11 tarp, I have not yet seen this phenomenon either during heavy rains, or when testing with a hose and nozzle.

**Ramblinrev** · 02-10-2009, 20:13

Ahhhh... yeah those goobers are different than my horror stories. It looks like you got the post style. I had forgotten about them. They did not used to be found in the retail markets. They were commercially available only when I was mucking around. Those are different beasties. They'll be fine as long as you keep your ups and downs straightened away.

**stormcrow** · 02-10-2009, 20:29

Originally Posted by Ramblinrev

They'll be fine as long as you keep your ups and downs straightened away.

Yeah I was pretty mad at myself. Jenny just kind of shook her head (sad because she knew i had to cut it all out and then replace it all). What was really funny was when I reinstalled the second one I was watching tv again. Right after I slammed the hammer down to pinch the two pieces together I said "Oh no I did it again!" . Of course I did NOT do it again but you should have seen the look on her face! LOL. She said with a look of horror on her face "YOU DID NOT!" as she was covering her mouth (like women seem to do).

I was cracking up!

Adam