Sourcing silicone tubing...

[zxro]

I am on a tight budget, and want to upgrade from the stock vinyl tube that is the default Arizer whip. I intend to use silicone, and so far I haven't been able to find a physical retail source for it. Online is prohibitively expensive, as shipping triples the price of the product if you buy in consumer quantities.

Any suggestions for places that would deal in this type of product? I've had no luck at my local medical supply stores, and the pet store only sells the real skinny tubing, not the 5/16 I'm looking for.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[max]

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23884&catid=799

Don't think you'll find a significantly better price than Silcon or this seller unless you can find a local supplier selling retail. Silicone tubing isn't really a popular consumer item so your options are limited. Your shipping will be about $16 whether you buy the minimum 10' or 30', so it doesn't triple your price. 10', including shipping, is $2.35/ft, and other brands can cost that much per ft. before adding shipping.

 

[zxro]

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23884&catid=799

Don't think you'll find a significantly better price than Silcon or this seller unless you can find a local supplier selling retail. Silicone tubing isn't really a popular consumer item so your options are limited. Your shipping will be about $16 whether you buy the minimum 10' or 30', so it doesn't triple your price. 10', including shipping, is $2.35/ft, and other brands can cost that much per ft. before adding shipping.

Yeah that's exactly what I thought. I didn't know if there was some kind of retail outlet that would carry it for a purpose I'm not thinking of. Restaurant supply, etc. Oh well, guess I have to drop like 25 bucks or more just to upgrade the whip. Drag. Thanks for the reply.

 

[IamBenito]

local home brew supply store here sells high temp silicon 1/2" id and 3/4" by the foot for 1.50 per.

 

[zxro]

local home brew supply store here sells high temp silicon 1/2" id and 3/4" by the foot for 1.50 per.

Good lead, I'll follow up on that. The glass pieces I have require 5/16 ID evidently, but that doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[zxro]

So the few local brewer stores I called do carry silicone tubing, but apparently nothing small enough for my needs. It seems these vapos are one of the few consumer products that would call for such an item, thus making it inaccessible in real life. I ended up purchasing 10' of it from an online retailer, cost me 26$. Raises the overall price of my initial investment that much more. At least I scored the V-Tower at 25% off, so in the end it might all even out.