Gravel cleaner tube help

I tried last night to flare the end of my tube, it’s the same 2” x 10” from Petsmart that everyone has. When I heated it over a stove eye, I could flare it some over a bottle neck but when I tried to press it against a flat surface it buckled. Any ideas on what I could be doing wrong? No matter how I heated it, it seems that it would get soft and flexible but it was still “springy” and would not hold the shape or flare out.

Anyone?

Avocet lured all the pumpers into that “pumpers speak out” thread so Thunder could round them up and properly contain them…

Apparently, it worked very well :)

Other than that, I have no clue how to answer your question.

Well, you could try not flaring it at all. I just coated the end of mine with some of that Plasti Dip stuff I got at Home Despot. It’s working fine for me. I found that after letting the stuff dry for 20 minutes or so it could be formed a little. I dipped my end three times total. It’s very volatile, so open the windows and resist the impulse to light a cigarette, bong, or kitchen bonfire.

Here’s what Plasti Dip is: https://www.plastidip.com Brace yourself for extensive use of Flash Player 6.

Wesb,

Cut off the messed up end and epoxy a piece of properly sized pvc pipe on the outside of the tube. It will stiffen up the first few inches of the tube. Then you can flare it or affix some sort of other seal to it. Some other member has done this in the” Made my own pump thread”.