Where can I find a longer tube for a spray can?

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Some AC duct/evaporator cleaner aerosols have ~12" extension tubes. If thats enough you may buy one of those and have the AC cleaner as extra. Just an idea.
 
Believe it or not, I actually connected two of those little red tubes together. I took a match, heated up the ends of the tubes, and stuck them together. I went through about eight tubes before I got two that still passed gas and didn’t leak. It was a pain. I tried to get three stuck together, but the failure rate is so much higher than the success rate, I gave up. Once I had a working dual tube, trying to make it three just ended up ruining the working dual tube.

Perhaps someone can come up with a better method than heating the ends with a match.
 
Kang said "passed gas."
Where did you get all the extra tubes to play with? Just picturing you with the matches and the tubes, melting, and probing....
But that actually gives me an idea: a length of small diameter heat shrink tubing over the plastic tube. It would probably just kink, though.
 
Yep, I found a place to say "passed gas" legitimately.
smile.gif
I thought about changing it but decided to let it stay.

That picture, “with the matches and the tubes, melting, and probing” is correct. It was pretty funny.

I’m always losing those little red tubes. They spray off the end of the can and disappear someplace. I’ve made it a habit that when a can gets empty and I still have the tube, I save it. This way, the next time I lose one I have a replacement. There are only a couple different diameters, if you haven’t noticed.

The heat shrink wrap sounds like a good idea, but would it be tight enough not to leak and would it keep the ends of the two tubes close enough and aligned enough to work.

I can’t believe we’re talking about this. Are we obsessed or what?
 
Have you thought about trying some of the new glues that are out that bond plastic? Not really sure what type of plastic it is...so maybe even some simple model glue would work.
 
I tried glue. The problem is it tends to flow into the tube so it can no longer "pass gas."
 
The throttle body of my '03 Toyota Echo sits very low in the engine bay. To clean the TB I have to remove the battery beside the hose, then hold the can horizontally in order to spray cleaner into the TB. This means I can only use up to half of the can before air coming out of the can. I have 3 half filled cans of TB cleaners lying around. I was hoping to find a longer tube that can be attached to the spary cans to use them up. So far no luck with Lowe's. Does anyone know where to find such a tube?
 
Take a suitable piece of common wire [about an inch long], and pull the wire out of it. You now have an butt joint for extending two or more tubes.
We do it all the time in the shop.
 
The aeirsol spray extension from Mc-Master-Carr with 24" coil hose and 16" probe will make cleaning TB a lot more fun and easier. I just ordered one. Thanks to all.
 
Google search "Extend-A-Lube Super Straws" Aircraft Tool Supply, Aircraft Spruce, and other companies offer these useful tools. There are three 16" focusing tubes to a pack and three Hold-Its, tools that prevent the tubes from popping off the nozzle and becoming lost. They are highly chemically resistant and are compatible with virtually every aerosol except WD40 Smart Straw. Or email Extend-A-Lube directly at [email protected]. Hope this helps, guys. Best regards.
 
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Maybe some 5-minute epoxy would be good for gluing two straws together with a piece of single strand wire fitted loosely in the straws so they don't clog.

A bit of teflon tape for a seal and electrical tape for structure to hold should also work and be quicker assuming a one-time use is okay.

The squishy synthetic rubber seal from the back side of an electrical harness connector could also make a good joint. Just remember to put it back where it belongs when you're done so moisture doesn't corrode the terminals.

Do NAPA stores still sell the orange scented throttle body cleaner in cans that spray at almost any angle until 90% used up? I think it's a rebranded 3M product. If so, that might be worth looking into.
 
I had an electronic repair store. I used mini aquarium tubing with the straw ends. Melted the straws on a 45 degree angle. Made them about 18 or 24" long. Worked great. Cans stayed upright and you could spray in all different angles.
 
Hi Guys,
I know this is kind of an old thread, but I've finally found something that I have been searching for for a long time, so I am updating all the threads that I came across during my search.
There is a product called "Spraysnake" that is a 2 meter (6') length of the little red spray can tube. It comes from Australia of all places. You can get it on ebay for $5 delivered.
It comes with a spray can cap in the bag, though I couldn't figure out why as first as the tube fits fine in all the spray cans I have. I ended up using it to glue the lining back on the roof of my car - I made a little slit near the side, and shoved the tube up in there and sprayed it full of contact adhesive - I found out what the spare cap was for. It worked like a charm - my roof lining doesn't sag at all any more.
I ended up buying 2 more (the first one was pretty gummed up after putting half a can of glue through it). Search for spraysnake on ebay. For 5 bucks, you really can't go wrong.
 
Originally Posted By: sifan
The throttle body of my '03 Toyota Echo sits very low in the engine bay. To clean the TB I have to remove the battery beside the hose, then hold the can horizontally in order to spray cleaner into the TB. This means I can only use up to half of the can before air coming out of the can. I have 3 half filled cans of TB cleaners lying around. I was hoping to find a longer tube that can be attached to the spary cans to use them up. So far no luck with Lowe's. Does anyone know where to find such a tube?


Sounds like you are cleaning the TB far too often, I can't remember the last time I cleaned one on any of my cars(includes five currently licensed and insured)... The one on my 175K mi '96 F-150 is nasty, but it runs fine and I know cleaning without removal will just douche dirt into the engine, let sleeping dogs lie...
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
I have used skinny vacuum line to put 2 or 3 normal spray tubes together.


+1 ^^^
 
laugh.gif


I ordered one of these 'Spraysnake' spray tubes recently via ebay. Alleluia!!

Wicked little product. I've made up about 8 spare short spray straws, and have a longer bit left over (~80cm) that I use for getting into fiddly spots on the car. Had some squeaks in the suspension (lower control arm bushes) on my girlfriend's car (it's old and [censored]) and was able to hold the can upright and away from me while I used my spraysnake to get the WD40 in where it was needed.

Great little product! Haven't used it on any other cans yet, but tried it and it plugs in to my chain lube, degreaser, fly spray - so seems pretty adaptable.

Thanks scotcarl for the tip!
 
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