Transmitted here is a step by step procedure to replicate the Jugbag that is my avatar. I made the first one several years ago and the ideas expressed below are mine alone and I reserve all rights to them. Permission is granted to make one of these enema bags for your own use but not granted for any commercial manufacture, sale or distribution of the Jugbag product.
First
I advise you to read my previous posting, “Make your Own Enema Pump A SMALL DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE CHECK VALVE AND HIGGINSON TYPE PUMP” By K2MMW Before beginning go to: http://www.zity.biz/index.php?mx=gallery;ox=showcat;c=4489 The full text of this post can be seen in:: http://www.zity.biz/index.php?mx=forum;ox=display;topic=265.msg416136;topicseen#msg416136
Much of this article is excerpted from that posting.
Let Us Begin By Selecting The Jug
There are two types of plastic jugs, suitable for modification, in this project. They are the hard, clear plastic jug originally filled with drinks such as punch and the soft, polyethylene translucent ones which often contained vinegar. The translucent jugs are easier to work with and modify. The translucent jug is the one pictured in my avatar.
See Photographs 5, 5A, 6 and 7
Caps and Tubes
Next turn your attention to the bottle caps from the jug that you select and the thermo-plastic tubing that pierces them. Possibly the most obvious source for the two tubes is to use the barrel of a pen. Another source is a dollar store, where children's toys that are made of plastic tubes abound. (A jump rope found in such a store, supplied the author I:\with over twenty, two inch long, tube segments!) One might also try the plumbing, hardware stores or a search around one's own home for cleaning tools such as feather dusters which occasionally have plastic tubing handles. The tube you select should also be of thermo-plastic and have an outside diameter of three eighths of an inch (10 mm). That diameter is slightly larger than the standard 5/16 inch vinyl plastic tubing that will be coupled to it.
Cutting and Modifying the Tube Segments
Cut one tube segment at approximately three inches long and the other one approximately four inches. Now, flare one end of both tube segments by warming one end of each over the slow flame of a propane torch or alcohol lamp. Insert a mandrel, I use a twist drill, the same size as the inner diameter of the tube and push the warm end lightly onto a table top and form a lip or bell shape on the end. The short tube segment is designated the coupler. These tubes may now be temporarily put aside for a few minutes while the bottle caps are modified.
Drilling the Bottle Caps.
Both of the bottle caps need small holes drilled in the center of their tops. Since the tubes we will be inserting are 1/4 to 7/16 inch O.D. every attempt should be made to drill the caps to no more than three sixteenths of an inch. This is to ensure a tight fit when the connecting tubes are inserted. Start the holes by finding the center of the caps and with a small twist drill to start a pilot hole from the caps’ outside center.
See Photographs 5A and 5B
Heating the Hole
Now, the newly drilled bottle cap hole needs to be expanded. To expand the small hole, heat the area around the hole with a small flame. To heat the cap evenly, sight the flame through the hole from the cap’s under side. Heat approximately three seconds or until the plastic becomes pliable. Now push a small conic shaped probe, such as a pencil, from inside the cap and push it through while keeping the point centered to expand it. After removing the probe, the hole should be filleted on the outside of the cap and dimpled on the inside. While the cap is still warm, push the plastic coupling tube through the hole to expand it to its final size. Finally the tube needs to be secured in the cap.
To bond these two parts, use low temperature thermal setting plastic glue such as that used in a glue gun. This glue is available in home improvement and crafting stores at an affordable price. The bond the cap to the coupler for a water tight seal, warm the glue until it is a viscous fluid and apply it all around the tube forming a ring. Start tlhe glue ring approximately a quarter of an inch from the unflaired end. Now push the coupler into the cap leaving approximately 1/16 inch between the flair and the coupling tube. The dimple in the cap should fill with glue and a doughnut shaped puddle of glue should surround the coupler forming a water tight seal.
On the outside of the cap deposit heated glue around the cap at the base of the tube. Apply the glue by rotating the cap and tube between your fingers or ideally, using an electric drill while depositing the melted glue up and down approximately one half inch from the bottle cap. Set the cap aside on its rim with the coupling tube pointing straight up until it cools and sets. In this position, any excess glue will migrate down toward the cap and strengthen the water tight bond with it.
This completes the modification of the cap.
The Jug
Attention now needs to be paid to the jug because provisions still need to be made to pour water into it. To be used as a syringe, the jug is inverted and a hole needs to be made to let water in. To do this, find the center of the bottom and scribe a semicircle of two inch radius with a compass then connect the ends of the mark across its diameter. Now, using the semicircular line as a guide, carefully cut a flap in the bottom. I have found that sharp tools like a knife or scissors tend to slip off of the mark sometimes with disastrous results. Instead I use a red hot wire which melts its way along the line from end to end.
The jug is not done yet because raising the flap is next. Once again, heat is needed! That diametric line mentioned earlier is a fold line to raise the flap into an upright position. Using a propane torch at very low heat, warm the plastic of the jug along the line. Bear in mind that the jug is made of very thin plastic and overheating can end your project almost instantly. Two or three seconds of moving the torch across the diameter line should soften it and allow you to raise the flap With the flap open you have a fill hole, a splash guard and a means of hanging your new Jugbag. The only item remaining is to provide a hole to hang your syringe. That’s easy enough. You can use a paper punch or hot poker for that.
I have one more item that I wish to mention. Almost all of the coupling tubes used in this project are likely to be 3/8 inches O.D. That means that if you use standard 5/16 inch tubing it will have to be expanded. That’s an easy task! All you need to know is one simple trick. That is, “Heat it!” Once again a small flame is your best friend. You just heat the first couple of inches that goes on the coupling tube and expand it. The expansion of the tubing is done with a pair of needle nose pliers with the jaws slipped into the bore of the warm/hot tubing. Now, instead of squeezing the jaws together, pull them apart with the handles. The jaws will open and expand the tubing to any size you need.
If you construct a Jugbag, please drop me a note and let me know how you did!