Long and short of it. My bathtub’s spring stopper has deteriorated. Building manager solution was to use a rubber stopper. I looked for a replacement part, couldn’t find one outside of an outright replacement. So I modelled and printed this one in TPU.

It works!

PXL_20240216_192037973

EDIT: 2h30m later, the I’ve lost ~20mm of water in the replacements tub. Probably should increase the width of the Part to get a better seal. Nothing I can do about it tonight

EDIT: 12h later, the tub was pretty much empty. Trying again with a wider plug since I think the fit wasn’t tight enough before. As for those who think a regular stopper would be better, you are right. But for the $0.16 of material and a learning opportunity for TPU I don’t see it as a waste of time

  • technomad
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    5 months ago

    That’s really cool man. Now, the real test will be if it lasts longer/shorter than the original :)

    • the16bitgamer@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 months ago

      The original is dead. But I do have another tub with another stopper in it (my apt is so luxurious), both tubs are now filled. I will be able to tell if they drained by the morning… hopefully.

      The plug already lasted an hour so it’s a win by my books already.

        • the16bitgamer@lemmy.worldOP
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          5 months ago

          It works but has a leak somewhere. Without seeing where that leak is, clear tube or seeing the underside, I’m just guessing but it’s so slow it doesn’t matter.

          Wider didn’t help as predicted in this thread.

          Good for a stopgap, not good if you need to hold water for over 8 hours