Sandbags

Are sandbags, as in flood control, really full of sand? Seems like you would have to have some clay content in order to stop water flow. Maybe they should be called 'dirt bags' and not 'sand bags'.

Filled a five gallon bucket with clean sand. Cut the bottom out of the bucket (it was busted anyway). Ran a garden hose full blast over the top and never could get it hold water. Now I know if I had used plain old soil the results would have been different. 'Sandbag' must simply be a misnomer.

Ivan Vegvary

Reply to
Ivan Vegvary
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Sandbags reduce the flow by a dramatic number. They do not stop it completely, but it is as good as if they did.

Reply to
Ignoramus28897

You can fill them with whatever you want. I use them in the back of my vehicles during winter to increase rear wheel traction. They are filled with gravel. Less mess to clean up if one is busted open, and they don't hold as much moisture. If the ice is really bad and i am in a hole, I can open one and spread it in front of the wheels.

Reply to
Stupendous Man

They are filled with sand or very loose soil. They don't stop ALL water but they cut down the flow a lot. If you look at a typical sandbag wall you will find that they are laid 3-4 rows thick and tamped down.

Reply to
Steve W.

They do a good job stopping lead though. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Reply to
Gerald Miller

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in news:wItil.1136$ snipped-for-privacy@nwrddc02.gnilink.net:

You're forgetting one very important factor, Ivan: flood water is NOT clean.

While sand is a standard water filtration medium due to its porosity, the fact that flood water contains a high level of silt [think thin mud instead of what you get from a garden hose] means that the front wall of a stack of sandbags will quickly be covered by a layer of dirt/clay/???/manure/??? that will permit the channelling of the flood water elsewhere.

You're also forgetting the force exerted by the moving flood water - a force that is far more than enough to wreck bridges, buildings, and nearly any other man-made structure in its path. [Surely you remember the levees in New Orleans.]

The deflection of this force is the primary function of the sandbag walls.

Reply to
RAM³

Think of a hole, say a foot by one foot inches.

How much floodwater can flow through this hole? Possibly a cubic foot per second or much more.

Now close the hole with sandbags. How much would flow now? Probably a lot less than a cup per second.

Reply to
Ignoramus3187

Ignoramus3187 wrote in news:ftSdnWL31riYvBbUnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

And when backed up by 3-5 added layers quite a lot less.

Reply to
RAM³

On Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:14:20 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking, "Ivan Vegvary" wrote,

You fill them with whatever you have. However, you do *not* use them to stop water flow. You use them to channel water to where you want it to go, away from your structure. You *must* provide an outflow. Try to dam it up and you will fail.

Reply to
David Harmon

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