# Hygrolon mount



## keithrs (Apr 29, 2013)

Long story short, I ended up buying some hygrolon(and hygrolon/epiweb slab) from Folius. Super fast shipping and great customer service but I think what I bought could of fit in a smaller box to save on shipping cost.... O'well, Beggers can't be choosers!!!

My plan here is to do a little R&D project on which product works best for mini orchids. 

First step is to gather all the supplies you'll need. 

I used....

Sheet of hygrolon
1- 24" 1 1/2 ABS pipe
1- ABS glue
Roll of 14g a galvanized wire
Poly thread(6lbs fishing line)
Wire cutters
Sewing machine(if you have one)





Next step is to find the dimension of the pipe. The pipe OD measured 6 3/16"








After you find the OD, divide it in half. Which in this case is 3 1/8" rounded up. Once you find that measurement out, you can fold the hygolon on that mark.




I chose to sew the hygolon at this point(with bright thread so ya'll can see it). 



Than I cut it out....




Folded it inside out....







Than I test fit it....




Cut the pipe about 1/4" shorter the "sock".




Drilled some holes for the hanger. It helps if you have a bit that can go through both ends of the pipe.


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## keithrs (Apr 29, 2013)

Than I made the hanger. I cut off a piece about 18" for the spool I have. Half way straightened it. Found the center and fold the wire in half with pliers and bent it over a 1" piece of pipe to make the hook.




Twisted the wire so i have a nice looking hanger.







Introduced mount to hanger:clap:




Here it is hanging...




I glued the top with ABS glue.... I think if you wanted you could just glue the hygrolon on instead of sewing it.





There are many ways, shapes and sizes to make these mounts. I think I may of spent $30 total but I can get about 10 mounts this size out of one sheet.

IF YOU IDEAS ON HOW TO MAKE THESE MOUNT... LETS HEAR ABOUT IT.

FYI... I have not decided on which plants to mount on them.


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## Stone (Apr 29, 2013)

I'm confused, Whats going to hold the moisture? Whats that pink backing in the first pic? Did you remove it? I would love to find an ever-lasting mount to put my Sophronitis on to. They do well on treefern for about 10 years but just as they are reaching maximum development, you have to tear them apart to get rid of the rotten mount. Would it be possible to establish live moss on this stuff before you mount your orchids?


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## keithrs (Apr 29, 2013)

Stone said:


> I'm confused, Whats going to hold the moisture? Whats that pink backing in the first pic? Did you remove it? I would love to find an ever-lasting mount to put my Sophronitis on to. They do well on treefern for about 10 years but just as they are reaching maximum development, you have to tear them apart to get rid of the rotten mount. Would it be possible to establish live moss on this stuff before you mount your orchids?



Mikey, Mikey, Mikey....:rollhappy:

Hygrolon holds 280% of is own weight. The other mount is Epiweb lined with Hygrolon. 

Folius
This is the US supplier


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## Rick (Apr 29, 2013)

What plants are going on this first?

Not as pretty as a "hydrolog" but looks interesting.


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## Ray (Apr 30, 2013)

Hey, Keith. What would you think of a thicker version of hygrolon?

I also bought some from Folius, then got some samples from different manufacturers so I could do a comparison.

I immersed the fabric in room temperature water for 30 seconds, then suspended them vertically from two corners for 30 seconds, allowing them to drain, then weighed them again to compare with their dry weights.
In that test, the Hygrolon held 180% of its weight in water (that is, the weight of the wet piece was 280% the weight of the dry fabric), and I found thinner pieces that did much the same, and some thicker ones that held as much as 500% of their weight in water.


Ray Barkalow
Sent using Tapatalk


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## EdenSprings (Apr 30, 2013)

Curious as to whether there are any negative effects to the orchids from using pipe cement. If you put grommets in the hygrolon and ran your hanger thru it as well as the ABS, would that not suffice to hold it to the form instead of using glue?


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## keithrs (Apr 30, 2013)

Rick said:


> What plants are going on this first?
> 
> Not as pretty as a "hydrolog" but looks interesting.



I made this as a sample for a terrarium I'm building. I think I'm going to div. a masd. hybrid I have but I'm going to get the moss growing first.


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## keithrs (Apr 30, 2013)

Ray said:


> Hey, Keith. What would you think of a thicker version of hygrolon?
> 
> I also bought some from Folius, then got some samples from different manufacturers so I could do a comparison.
> 
> ...



Honestly Ray, I have very little experience with it as of yet. With that said... I think a thicker ver. would be good for using these types of mounts outside.

I was just relaying info from Dusk on the % of water retained.


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## keithrs (Apr 30, 2013)

EdenSprings said:


> Curious as to whether there are any negative effects to the orchids from using pipe cement. If you put grommets in the hygrolon and ran your hanger thru it as well as the ABS, would that not suffice to hold it to the form instead of using glue?



It maybe.. Ill have to look into it... This is a mount I made in 30 min with stuff I have. I don't think it will have an effect as people drink water from pipe glued with this stuff.


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## NYEric (Apr 30, 2013)

I'll take 10! :evil:


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## Ray (May 1, 2013)

Plastic pipe cement is mostly solvent to "melt" the plastics so they can fuse, then resolidify once the solvent evaporates.

Keith - the water holding is definitely affected by orientation. If I immerse any of the samples, then immediately lay them flat, they all hold a great deal more water. I just figured that most of the time, we'd be using the stuff as vertical mounts, so I tried to come up with a standard way to test it in that orientation.


Ray Barkalow
Sent using Tapatalk


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## Ozpaph (May 3, 2013)

EdenSprings said:


> Curious as to whether there are any negative effects to the orchids from using pipe cement. If you put grommets in the hygrolon and ran your hanger thru it as well as the ABS, would that not suffice to hold it to the form instead of using glue?



As a slight adjustment - just push the wire through the sides of the Hyrolon, then through the holes in the pipe (drilled a little lower). No glue.
Did you use nylon thread or fishing line to prevent the sewing join from rotting?

Great project!


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## keithrs (May 4, 2013)

I used 6 lbs monofilament and standard thread so it would show up in the pic.


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## Ray (May 12, 2013)

Here are the results of my fabric evaluations:







The G1 and G4 samples held the most water, but the first was so thin, that in terms of the mass of water held, it's low, so probably would take a lot of watering. I am working with the manufacturer to come up with a brown color version of the G4 fabric (the sample was white), and it may be available in the next few weeks.

Anyone got a suggestion for a brand name?


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## ZWUM (May 12, 2013)

How about Aquamesh


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## Ray (Jun 4, 2013)

I suppose I can claim it was due to my business travel schedule, and my inability to repot frequently enough (or maybe it was just laziness), but I have been intrigued with inert media for a long time. Hence my development of S/H culture using LECA, and the use of recycled polyester fiber pads for media and mounting.

More recently, I read about inert polyester fabrics as a mounting and potting material, so acquired some for experimenting, and found that I like that idea too. The commercially available product dried out a little too fast for my liking, so I worked with a domestic manufacturer to develop a thicker version, which I call "AquaMat".

I'm happy to announce that it is now in stock and available.

Read more HERE.


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## SlipperFan (Jun 4, 2013)

Looks interesting, Ray.


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## ALToronto (Jun 5, 2013)

ABS pipes don't carry drinking water, only waste. But it's probably ok for plants, once the solvent is gone.


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