How To: Build Your Own Rubens' Tube

[@TJ57channel]

Literally the perfect instructional video.

[@lindseyjamz6801]

i wish all build videos were done how you did yours. well done sir

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

[@n1ght28]

Agreed, excellent!

[@nooknerdz]

Great how-to video, thanks!! I'd love to offer a tip... For the 1/2" hole you had to drill into the pipe for the hose fitting, next time maybe try a STEP BIT (AKA Christmas Tree bit) instead. These bits work very well when drilling thru thin materials and leave a cleaner edge than a standard drill bit. They CAN be expensive, but they don't have to be. Harbor Freight sells them cheap, and their version works well enough for light-duty drilling like this project requires.

[@JoshTheEngineer]

You're welcome! And thanks for the great tip! When I made this video I didn't have one on hand, although like you said, they're easy to get a hold of. So yes, for anyone making this project, I do recommend using this type of bit over your normal drill bit.

[@nathanlowski1789]

Where have you been my whole life? Brilliant!

[@nathanlowski1789]

Did I speed that up or was it all you? A man after my own heart.

[@gfirebunny]

It's nice to see an articulate video.

[@mjuurata8463]

This video is nicely made, very easy to understand and in fine detail, thank you!!

[@missyt6738]

Thank you for this video. Informative and detailed to the right level.

[@JoshTheEngineer]

You're welcome!

[@TradesDigital]

Forgot to gas leak check before lighting - most important. Good video, thanks

[@JoshTheEngineer]

No problem! And yea, I ended up forgetting to add the leak-check video that I took, and I didn't want to go back and add it in. I do mention in the video that you need to do it before running though.

[@gauthierchamplong8833]

@@JoshTheEngineer Hey I intend to reproduce your rubens tube but how do you actually do the gas leak check?

[@JoshTheEngineer]

@@gauthierchamplong8833 Mix a little bit of soap with some water, and then put it all the joints between the propane tank and the tube itself. If there's a leak, you'll see bubbles continuously forming. If you don't see any bubbles, you're good to go.

[@bovinagarajtarun3659]

I am making my physics project on this topic ..... It will be very helpful for me .... Thank u bro .☺...

[@JoshTheEngineer]

No problem, good luck!

[@johnkramis7426]

Hoping I can trouble you for some troubleshooting tips. I'm a physics teacher building this out for demos. I followed your tutorial fairly closely. My only modifications were that (1) had to use PVC on one end (it's all HD had in stock), (2) I my drill won't hold bits as small as 1/16", so my holes are 3/32", and (3) I spaced the holes 1/2" apart. I light it up, get the flames nice and steady, but practically nothing is happening. I tried putting both my phone speaker and a computer speaker up right up to the balloon (without touching it directly), I've used a frequency generator producing pure sine wave tones, tried playing music, and... almost nothing. Additional info: the only 3" tubing HD had was suuuper rigid, so it's not quite perfectly round. I also made a small dent in it about 1.5 ft from the sealed end while trying to get it closer to circular. Are the holes too big? Does it have to be perfectly round? I feel a little stupid asking these questions, but I'm at a loss otherwise. And it's such a cool project. Any tips/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[@ChrisWiegmanVideoArtist]

Did you ever get it to work? I’m planning to build one and going to guess the primary cause to your issue stemmed from a small speaker doesn’t move enough air.

[@2626gowen]

I noticed at the end of your video you had different color modes for your flames. How did you accomplish that? Thanks.

[@admacdo]

Video editing.

[@JoshTheEngineer]

As the other commenter said, just editing the video/picture afterward. Thought it looked fun.

[@petergatto951]

Excellent video, but needs recommendation re speaker setup. Size, distance from diaphragm, etc.

[@benaycock1646]

Great video, thanks!!

[@peterstewart1491]

That was really great!

[@malettefelker3565]

Wow! So thorough a d easy to understand, thanks! 2 questions please. 1, how long should the house be? And 2, how did you get the flames to change colors? Thanks so much!

[@JoshTheEngineer]

You're welcome! The hose can be any length you want, but you generally want to make it just long enough to reach between the propane tank and your tube. Figure out where you'll put your tank and then cut a piece of hose that is long enough to reach your tube, with a little extra slack. The color of the flames in the thumbnail are just artificially changed by me. The flame color will be orange/yellow.

[@carterfuehr-bush4231]

Very nice video! I was looking for someone who actually knows what they're talking about and clearly states all the tips/tricks as well as safety precautions. I've tried this before but it was very makeshift with too small diameter tube I believe. In another video, he used a wooden block to fit inside the end opposite the sound input. Do you think there is any difference if it's wood, metal like you did, or rubber on both ends? Someone didn't know what to do with some slightly warped metal tubing today and I volunteered to take them off his hands so I can try this again.

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Thank you! You should be able to use anything solid for the one end of the tube. You shouldn't use a flexible diaphragm for both sides because it messes up the standing waves in the tube. Wood should be fine though, or even stiff tape or something. You never know if it will work until you try, so I say go for it!

[@osvaldomorales9191]

I think you should had divided the diy in 3 parts 1: how to set up the propane 2: how to set up the pipe and 3: how to set up 2 speakers one for the flame the other for the music to sound better.. because the speaker in the tube wount sound as good as having a 2nd speaker for better sound. Not just that can you show us how to connect it to an aux cable so many of us can connect it to our phone. I would be very much grateful if you could. Thank you and still a great video.🔥

[@clutch302tc]

This is badass. I work for a haunt attraction and we are always looking for newer cool ideas for things that grab people’s eyes. This would be a great fire attraction, like sitting on top of a high flat roof. The only thing I can see is that it seems rather small and the holes for the flames wouldn’t be noticeable from far away. So let’s say we got a 6” diameter exhaust pipe, could we make bigger holes like maybe 1/2” each and use big fittings for this? What’s the risks with this is there chances that it will cause fire if left unattended. Ideally I think we would like 4’-6’ flames coming up.

[@siliasporter4424]

I found to see flanes better just increase the gas pressure.

[@Mars30999]

what does it mean if the gas only lights on the inside of the pipe even if you let it fill the pipe for 30secs? by the way great video, easily the best i have seen so far

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Thanks! This could be a couple of things, and you'll probably just need to troubleshoot a little. The first that I can think of is that you have a leak somewhere (either the gas section or the tube section). If you can smell propane in the air, but you can't light the gas coming out of the holes, then it's leaking from somewhere else. Make sure all your seams are taped, and that there's no holes anywhere. You can do a leak check by taking a mixture of water and soap, and putting a little on joints/seams that you might be suspect of. If bubbles start to form continuously, then you have a leak there. If not, then you're good. Check everywhere, even at the regulator. The second thing it could be is that the flow rate from your tank/regulator/valve is too low, and you'll either just have to wait longer before lighting it, or increase your flow rate. With the gas flow rate that I use in my videos, I can hear a slight hissing when I'm standing by my propane tank, indicating that the gas is flowing. If you can't audibly hear that the gas is flowing, it might not be. Hope that helps.

[@Mars30999]

JoshTheEngineer Thank you so much! Your advice and your video literally just saved my science fair project

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Hah, glad I could help!

[@ModestMaker]

Best demonstration I have seen for building one of these, and I really like your concise focused delivery. Well done!

[@abhimanyus1670]

Though this video is really old I would really appreciate if you'd still reply: is it possible for me to build it using piped natural gas or liquified natural gas rather than propane? I'm using it for an experiment for my research paper and it's possible propane might not be available... This video really helped!

[@ttree76]

Nice, clear video. Thank you. I plan to make one to use in my 6th grade physics class when we study acoustics. One question for you. What is the reason that you've used both the propane regulator and the ball valve. Would just using one or the other suffice? Thanks. Thom

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Thanks Thom! The regulator has no adjustability of the flow rate, so I used the ball valve to more easily change the height of the flames. Some regulators have a valve built in, but they are more expensive. It was just for more fine-tune adjustments.

[@r.giacovazzi7208]

Great video! Just wondering, does all the propane gas finish burning when you turn the gas off, or is it still full of propane in the end? What abour the smell if you disconnect it afterwards? Thanks

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Thanks! The propane will continue to burn if there's the correct fuel/air ratio. So when you close the gas valve, the propane is no longer being forced out of the holes, and the flame height decreases until it appears to extinguish. However, it can continue burning in the tube if air is sucked in through the holes. I'm not entirely sure if it does to be honest, since I haven't looked into the tube after shutting it off. If it doesn't continue to burn, then you'll still have propane in the tube since it's heavier than air. This also means you probably won't smell it even if there is propane left in the tube. One way to get rid of the extra gas in the tube after turning it off is just to turn it upside down and let the propane leak out of the tube.

[@nomnommonsterr]

What would happen if you decrease the gap to 1/2 inch instead of 3/4 gap? Wouldnt it populate with more flame and be nicer?

[@7cle]

What do you think increases the flow where flames are bigger ? It can’t be sound pressure because that is essentially a very small fluctuation around average pressure. Could it be turbulence ? Wouldn’t turbulence act against flow ? Is it louder by the small flames or the big flames.

[@prodbytukoo]

Hi! I want to make this but Im afraid everything will explode as I kinda break everything I touch, do you think this project can be too dangerous or is it safe

[@McClaryJD]

A fine step bit would be best for the gas inlet hole.

[@JoshTheEngineer]

That's true...wish I had one when I made the video!

[@danielburk8453]

Thanks good video

[@nathanlowski1789]

Does the surface area of the galvanized pipe allow you to continually run this or does it have a limited run time?

[@Cyberbully008]

Thanks dawg

[@JoshTheEngineer]

No problem!

[@kirill2525]

what if i want it to be a rectangle with the holes in a grid?

[@nolanholthausen2974]

it works really well, kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJLak36HZ6l_iKc that link is one

[@Aramalisadventures]

Isn't it dangerous to use a regular or latex balloon/glove? Can the balloon withstand the heat and pressure inside the pipe? It can blow up and all the gas escape causing explosion, no?

[@mamaslostsoul]

Hi. am using Butane cylinder (usually people use for AC copper duct welding) and though i keep burning the diaphrams, still feeling safe. i even had endcaps burning (due to minor leaks). but i have enough time to put those flames peacefully. Not sure about propane though, as wiki suggest they have slightly higher flame temperature.

[@IamKellyHumbarger]

did i miss the part where you show how to connect a speaker to show the sounds frequency?

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Hey Kelly, I didn't add that part in to the video. I just connected the aux cord of a regular set of computer speakers straight into my phone, and then placed one of the speakers right up against the flexible side of the tube to play the music.

[@bnalive5077]

How did you attach the speaker?? Thanks

[@JoshTheEngineer]

I just put it on a piece of wood at the end of the tube as close to the diaphragm as I could get without touching it. Nothing fancy.

[@chrisedward7659]

How about just sealing a speaker to the end instead of a rubber membrane?

[@7cle]

Chris Edward . Speakers aren’t air tight. It Can’t work.

[@drgonzo7806]

Wouldn't a small diameter pipe work better? Require less gas volume stored inside, and have better pressure at the nozzles? Might be a bit safer this way. Nice work..

[@JoshTheEngineer]

You could definitely try using a smaller diameter tube. If you end up doing that, leave a comment letting us know if it works better than the larger tube.

[@ozu3668]

There arent any risk by sealing in on one side just with the glove and the tape ?

[@JoshTheEngineer]

I haven't had any problems with my setup. Before you run, you should always leak-check any areas that might be susceptible to leaks. As long as you tape all the way around and make sure there are no holes, it should be fine.

[@shaanj6145]

bro i really need ur help, i did everything like in the video i turn on the gas, i hear it but i cant light it . i checked for leaks, and retaped every single part idk what to do. my science fair is in 2 days and it wont light! please help.

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Sorry I couldn't get back to you in time before your science fair. My first guess, if you say there aren't leaks, is that you didn't wait long enough for the gas to build up in the tube before trying to ignite it.

[@Kanae_and_Shinobu-kochos]

liked

[@Isotope1213]

i could only find HVAC foil tape. would it work?

[@JoshTheEngineer]

HVAC foil tape should work great. That's what I recommend.

[@JoshTheEngineer]

Looks great! The flames are all nice and level, and once you get a song playing, I'm sure it'll look even better. You can also sing with your mouth next to the diaphragm, and if you hit the right note, you'll be able to see it. Thanks for shout out!

[@avverdkmikjifd2433]

Informative, but too fast. Subbed anyway

[@yaozuli546]

Creative tech?

[@christhegreat4519]

PLease use the metric system next time i dont understand inches they are an engineers nightmare ughhhh

[@JoshTheEngineer]

I use whatever units are convenient for me at the time. The hardware I was buying wasn't in metric, so it would be much more confusing to convert them. I've mentioned this in comments on my other videos, but you really need to be able to work with both unit systems. I personally like metric better for calculations, but sometimes it's easier to use English units.

[@abecoulter18]

Talking too fast