They Should Make Plumbing Fixtures From Christmas Tree Stand Parts

[DerbyDad03]

This is the Christmas Tree stand that I have been using for at least 2 decades:

The spike is held into the base with a rubber grommet like this one:

The spike can be wiggled and twisted and moved all around. I typically put the tree on the spike while it is lying down and then lift it by the tree until it's vertical. This puts significant sideways pressure on the spike and grommet.

In the >20 years I've had the stand it has never leaked a single drop of water. I know that there is no pressure other than gravity, but it still amazes me that the grommet seals so well, completely submerged in water for weeks at a time. It has to seal around the spike as well as the plastic basin, which is simply held inside the grommet's slot.

Of course, I still put a plastic sheet under the stand, and I check the bottom of the basin when I add water, but so far (>20 years!) I have not had a single problem with the stand.

Faucets and other fixtures, with all their fancy connections, develop leaks on occasion. Maybe they should all just use a simple rubber grommet. ;-)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

[The Daring Dufas]

Happy Horror Days! The rubber parts in the faucets are being squeezed and released repeatedly which is why they wear out. The small rubber grommet in your tree stand has only been squeezed about 20 times. ^_^

TDD

[DerbyDad03]

Well, with all the turning and twisting that occurs when I'm positioning the tree, hanging the lights, etc., I'm sure it's a large multiple of 20 times, but I hear what you are saying. That's one of the things I love about the stand. You can simply spin the tree to position correctly and to make it easier to put the lights on and take them off. If drilled correctly, it's perfectly straight even if the trunk is twisted and bent.

In any case, my suggestion about plumbing parts was all in fun, thus the smiley. ;-)

True, happy holiday story about this year's tree: we usually go to a Christmas tree farm and cut down a fresh tree. We've been doing it with the kids since they were babies. This year, with the boys out of the house and the girls away at college, time slipped away from us. SWMBO decided to stop by Christmas tree farm last Thursday night just to see what they had, thinking she might just grab a pre-cut tree. She got there at 4:30 and found out that they closed at 5. She was about to leave when the owner said "Hey, if you want to cut down a tree, let's go find one." They climbed into a Gator and off they went into the fields. They walked around a bit and found a really nice tree. The owner cut it down for her, brought it back, trimmed it to the 7 feet we need, drilled the hole and tied it to the top of her car. $35 and he wouldn't accept a tip.

We will be going back there next year for sure.

[The Daring Dufas]

Oh man, it's been so many years since I had a had a Christmas tree, real or fake, where I was living. If I ever have one it will be a Bonsai sized one that sits on a table or the bar. ^_^

TDD

[DerbyDad03]

Real tree every year, lights on the house, front and rear.

SWMBO and I color eggs at Easter, Easter morning there's a huge egg feaster.

Halloween means graves in the yard, spooking out the place isn't all that hard.

Winter, fall or early spring, I like the joy that holidays bring.

[The Daring Dufas]

Every Halloween, I take a big bag of candy to my next door neighbor for his kids and their cousins if they show up. I do it because I'm disabled but not in a wheelchair and it's very painful for me to get up and down to answer the door which is something I don't do during Halloween. My neighbor's three little girls and 4 year old nephew came by to thank me for the candy and sing a Halloween song for me. The 4 year old has the coolest nickname of any little kid and it's, "Bop Bop". The kids watch out for me and my roommate and let us know if anyone is snooping around when we're both away from the house. ^_^

TDD