Wacky idea for sinking driftwood...

[Mean_Chlorine]

This is totally off the wall, I haven't tried it, but...

I'm told that when wooden boats sink to a depth greater than about 10
meters, no wooden debris floats up from the wreck. This because at
about 10 meters depth the water-pressure is sufficient to rupture the
air-filled cells of the wood, forcing water into them.

So - an express way to waterlog the driftwood might be to tie it to a
stone, and sinking it in a lake to a depth of at least 10 meters!

It will be no picnic hauling the wood + stone up from the deep,
though, as the wood, if the experiment is successful, will have lost
its buoyancy. Especially as one'd probably mainly want to do this to
pieces of driftwood too large to boil... Still, it might just work.

[Jonno]

You forgot that lakes harbour parasites and disease, and
this may transfer!

[RedForeman ©®]

Yeah, sure, in theory, your driftwood would be water logged, and it would
sink.... but you'd be bringing home all kinds of things and putting them in
your tank.... and in that case, it's not the best idea....

I usually drill a hole in it, usually as big as I can get without
sacrificing the wood, then I melt some lead into the hole, cool it, and then
cover it with some silicone, then put some wood shavings over the silicone,
so that you never even see the lead, or the silicone....




"Mean_Chlorine" > wrote in message
om...
> This is totally off the wall, I haven't tried it, but...
>
> I'm told that when wooden boats sink to a depth greater than about 10
> meters, no wooden debris floats up from the wreck. This because at
> about 10 meters depth the water-pressure is sufficient to rupture the
> air-filled cells of the wood, forcing water into them.
>
> So - an express way to waterlog the driftwood might be to tie it to a
> stone, and sinking it in a lake to a depth of at least 10 meters!
>
> It will be no picnic hauling the wood + stone up from the deep,
> though, as the wood, if the experiment is successful, will have lost
> its buoyancy. Especially as one'd probably mainly want to do this to
> pieces of driftwood too large to boil... Still, it might just work.

[levittd]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> "Mean_Chlorine" > wrote in message
> om...
> > This is totally off the wall, I haven't tried it, but...
> >
> > I'm told that when wooden boats sink to a depth greater than about 10
> > meters, no wooden debris floats up from the wreck. This because at
> > about 10 meters depth the water-pressure is sufficient to rupture the
> > air-filled cells of the wood, forcing water into them.
> >
> > So - an express way to waterlog the driftwood might be to tie it to a
> > stone, and sinking it in a lake to a depth of at least 10 meters!
> >
> > It will be no picnic hauling the wood + stone up from the deep,
> > though, as the wood, if the experiment is successful, will have lost
> > its buoyancy. Especially as one'd probably mainly want to do this to
> > pieces of driftwood too large to boil... Still, it might just work.
>
> In theory :o) .... then to avoid lake pathogens, wrap the wood in a thick
> plastic bag. When putting the wood/bag in the water (keep your stone
> anchor in the boat), fill the bag with clean tap water. Tie & seal the
> bag so there is no air and no lake water can get in. Now slowly drop
> anchor. You could optionally use a container to tie the anchor to and to
> contain & protect the bag. Something like a plastic garbage can (with
> holes), lobster trap, Ferret cage etc etc (you get the idea). In theory
> ;~) the pressure will cause the tap water to fill the wood pores.
>
><snip>
>
> NetMax
>
>
Sounds like a good idea, but a huge PITA. For small pieces I just weight
them down right in the tank, but this isn't very practical for larger
pieces. For those, I put them in a big 30gal Rubbermaid container with some
big chunks of granite for a few weeks, change the water once in a while, and
you're good to go.
levittd

[Mean_Chlorine]

"NetMax" > wrote in message >...

> In practice you might become a statistic in the obituaries cause you
> slipped while hauling this contraption out of a dingy while repairing a
> puncture in the bag and the stone anchor wrapped around your ankle while
> you were in the deepest part of the lake, - but that's a risk inventors
> face. Take someone along with you. If they can't rescue you, at least
> the story of your passing will become legendary ;o)

LOL!
Well, if you gotta go, why not go Darwin Awards-style!

[>]

Here's what happens (enter basic scuba class). At 10 meters, the pressure
increases by one atmosphere(doubles). This increased pressure compresses
the air molecules and lets water take up the voided space. Cool, you have
introduced more water into the space the air took up. When you return to
the surface, the air will expand to it's normal size and I would assume it
would force the water back out.

Archeologists don't just raise wooden objects from the deep. They fall
apart on the way up.

Nice experiment, while you are diving to the bottom take a tennis ball with
you!
JOhn :-)


"Mean_Chlorine" > wrote in message
om...
> This is totally off the wall, I haven't tried it, but...
>
> I'm told that when wooden boats sink to a depth greater than about 10
> meters, no wooden debris floats up from the wreck. This because at
> about 10 meters depth the water-pressure is sufficient to rupture the
> air-filled cells of the wood, forcing water into them.
>
> So - an express way to waterlog the driftwood might be to tie it to a
> stone, and sinking it in a lake to a depth of at least 10 meters!
>
> It will be no picnic hauling the wood + stone up from the deep,
> though, as the wood, if the experiment is successful, will have lost
> its buoyancy. Especially as one'd probably mainly want to do this to
> pieces of driftwood too large to boil... Still, it might just work.