SharkBite vs Apollo

[rsegreto]

Do you know if the SharkBite is similar in transparency (or lack thereof) as the Apollo?

That’s my question too, I looked at the specs and shark bite is actually thicker with a pipe wall thickness of .150” where Apollo is .125”. But the transparency might still be different?

I just tested my strips inside of a 5’ stick of Apollo and it wasn’t as bright as I had hoped but lived the diffusion. Might not have been as bright since I was using a different power supply and a simple nodemcu to test?

Interested to see someone else chime in with a brightness comparison if any. Logic would say that the thinner Apollo would actually be brighter / better.

-Russ


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[ppohlman]

How long did you leave them with the cord holding them together? And afterwards was the curve permanent or did they straighten back out? ...

... Assuming since you used a 10' stick yours would be about 4' tall but can you measure if you don't mind? ...

Once I made them, I left the cord holding them together so they would hold their shape. I used a clip to hold the cord together, so I could undo them, but I figured it would be easier to just keep them in the arch shape for storage.

I left my sticks at 10' long. With a base of 6', their height is 3.5' (42"). I personally like that shape so I left them there. Obviously you have 2 options to bring their height down; 1) Widen their base or B) Cut your sticks shorter in length.

Do you know if the SharkBite is similar in transparency (or lack thereof) as the Apollo?

I don't have any SharkBite sticks lying around, so I don't know how they light up compared to the Apollo. In the store, they appear to have the same color/transparency, but as it was pointed out their thicknesses are a little different. That may have on impact on how the lights shine through.

[rsegreto]

I was planning on using 4 way Tee's for the base and cut 12" feet for supports plus adding a crossbar out of 3/4 pvc but that won't really hold the arches together, rather more for stability. But now seeing how much memory the sticks have I might have trouble with that approach unless I can really get them to hold the arch shape first. Although others have used a similar approach so maybe just a little extra attitude adjustment for them in the form of twine holding them where I want them for a bit will do the trick.

I'm hoping for 36" height so I can store them in my attic which has limited access so I'm thinking maybe a 8' stick or so but I'll do some tests.
Thanks!
-Russ

[munu]

The Apollo I got has 3.5mm walls and so does the 1" pipe from McMaster. The 7/8" pipe from McMaster is about 1.8mm, i.e. about half the thickness.

[K-State Fan]

That’s my question too, I looked at the specs and shark bite is actually thicker with a pipe wall thickness of .150” where Apollo is .125”. But the transparency might still be different?



-Russ


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That is surprising I assumed that it would have been constructed to the same standard.

[rsegreto]

I thought so to, seemingly if they're made of the same material and rated for the same carrying capacity of 160PSI that they would be the same thickness.

[munu]

I finally tried out the different pipes I bought by cutting off short sections. I used a BTF-LIGHTING WS2811 5m 16.4ft 30LEDs/m 10Pixels/m 150LEDs 50pixels IP66 that I purchased from Amazon.

The very left is the Apollo. What I like about it is that it diffuses the light very nicely. However, it is not very bright. The next one is from McMaster 7/8" which has half the wall thickness compared to the next one which is 1". The one to the right is also from McMaster but is the 2" version. This one gives you the nicest blurr unless the LEDs are right against the wall (as they are at the transition from the 1" to the 2"). But just like with the Apollo it is not as bright.

I am still not sure which way to go but as of now I think I would go with the 1" from McMaster but try to keep the lights away from the "front wall" (the one that people will see). The Apollo is kind of hard to bend and so is the 2" McMaster plus the 2" takes up quite a bit of storage. I still would like to see how the SharkBite looks like.

pipes1.jpg

[angus40]

I finally tried out the different pipes I bought by cutting off short sections. I used a BTF-LIGHTING WS2811 5m 16.4ft 30LEDs/m 10Pixels/m 150LEDs 50pixels IP66 that I purchased from Amazon.

The very left is the Apollo. What I like about it is that it diffuses the light very nicely. However, it is not very bright. The next one is from McMaster 7/8" which has half the wall thickness compared to the next one which is 1". The one to the right is also from McMaster but is the 2" version. This one gives you the nicest blurr unless the LEDs are right against the wall (as they are at the transition from the 1" to the 2"). But just like with the Apollo it is not as bright.

I am still not sure which way to go but as of now I think I would go with the 1" from McMaster but try to keep the lights away from the "front wall" (the one that people will see). The Apollo is kind of hard to bend and so is the 2" McMaster plus the 2" takes up quite a bit of storage. I still would like to see how the SharkBite looks like.

pipes1.jpg

If you need the brightness increased ,try the APA102 -144 pixels per m
With these pixels all the pipe variants will glow .

[1pet2_9]

I finally tried out the different pipes I bought by cutting off short sections. I used a BTF-LIGHTING WS2811 5m 16.4ft 30LEDs/m 10Pixels/m 150LEDs 50pixels IP66 that I purchased from Amazon.

The very left is the Apollo. What I like about it is that it diffuses the light very nicely. However, it is not very bright. The next one is from McMaster 7/8" which has half the wall thickness compared to the next one which is 1". The one to the right is also from McMaster but is the 2" version. This one gives you the nicest blurr unless the LEDs are right against the wall (as they are at the transition from the 1" to the 2"). But just like with the Apollo it is not as bright.

I am still not sure which way to go but as of now I think I would go with the 1" from McMaster but try to keep the lights away from the "front wall" (the one that people will see). The Apollo is kind of hard to bend and so is the 2" McMaster plus the 2" takes up quite a bit of storage. I still would like to see how the SharkBite looks like.

pipes1.jpg

Good work.

So is the reason I almost never see anybody give any real consideration to clear polyethylene tubing pretty much entirely because people want the light diffusion?

[munu]

I can't speak for others but for me light diffusion is a big factor. That applies even more because our property is small (the arches will be 2' from the pedestrian walkway) Ideally, I would go for the 2" pipe from McMaster as it has great light diffusion and it looks big. But it is also big to store which matters in my area with very limited space. So as I said, I probably will to with the 1" McMaster pipe as it has reasonable light diffusion and ok diffusion when the LED are mounted to the back. You will still see the individual lights but I think people will care more about the overall display and not even notice those individual lights.