How did homemade pits turn out

[qsemergency]

I know last year a few people were hot on the idea of making homemade Mud Pits...

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=18269

Anyone come up with good solutions?
What suppliers and materials worked best?

[mud_dreamer]

Thanks for asking qsemergency.

I am a little more than half way done with the digging. One or two more workdays and the pit will be dug. Then I will need to line it. It has a hinged cover which is complete and installed. The cover doubles as a deck. It is in a remote part of our woods and looks out over a lake through dense trees.

I did this work while my wife was away on a vacation. She did not know about what I had planned but now she does. After I told her about it she asked if it will be heated. I said yes.

One of the triggers for me to feel comfortable discussing the mud spa with her was an episode of Jane the Virgin where 4 women are in separate mud baths. We love the actresses so seeing them up to their necks in mud completely bypassed the kinky taboo nature of it. I told my wife that I thought that looked very relaxing and sensuous. She agreed so I have the green light on the mud spa.

I plan to have several steps in the spa for different levels of vertical sinking up to at least 5 feet. It will also be possible for up to two people to lay lengthwise in it as it is 4x8 feet. The mud will be bentonite clay that can be purchased for about $11 for a 50lb bag from a local supplier who sells it for HDD (Horizontal Directional Drilling).

I have plans to heat it with hot water flowing through a long black hose laid on the ground in the sun. There will also be a backup electrical heater. I have a lot of work to do but since I no longer have to sneak around to get it done it should progress well.

I have to decide if I make the heat exchanger out of copper or just use more hose. I am pretty good at sweating copper tubing together. In the winter I will force the water out and put RV antifreeze in the exchanger.

I'll add some pictures at some point. We still have snow on the ground here so it will be awhile. I do not plan to resume work until the leaves provide privacy from people fishing along the shore.

[qsemergency]

How many bags of Bentonite did you need for a pit that large??

[mud_dreamer]

How many bags of Bentonite did you need for a pit that large??

I have not finished digging the pit aka "The Mud Spa". I have purchased 3 - 50# bags of Bentonite. I plan to make a test batch in a large tub soon. From that I will know the water to bentonite ratio that I am after. I will also know what is involved in order to mix it with the water. I have a cement mixer if needed but I want to avoid the dust hazard. I could just cover the mixer. Lots of options.

I have attached several progress pictures. The last picture is where it is currently at. I need to dig a few more feet then insulate and install a liner. I plan to put 3/4 copper pipe in there for heating.

Thanks for the interest.

[mud_dreamer]

I finally mixed a batch of the bentonite clay that I purchased. I am kind of concerned that this is not what I want for the mud spa. It is very gelatinous at a ratio of 5 lbs clay to 3 gallons of water. I added another gallon of water and it seems a little creamier and less "wiggly". The color is not very appealing ... light green grey, blahhh.

Maybe a miracle will occur overnight. I have done a fair amount of mixing using a drill attachment for mixing joint compound. This does not look like the nice stuff at Studio 588.

At least I only have $33 invested in the weird "jello" bentonite. If this is a fail, I am not sure where I will go at this point. Any input, advise, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[dlodoski]

I finally mixed a batch of the bentonite clay that I purchased. I am kind of concerned that this is not what I want for the mud spa. It is very gelatinous at a ratio of 5 lbs clay to 3 gallons of water. I added another gallon of water and it seems a little creamier and less "wiggly". The color is not very appealing ... light green grey, blahhh.

Maybe a miracle will occur overnight. I have done a fair amount of mixing using a drill attachment for mixing joint compound. This does not look like the nice stuff at Studio 588.

At least I only have $33 invested in the weird "jello" bentonite. If this is a fail, I am not sure where I will go at this point. Any input, advise, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

These things always involve a bit of trial and error - perhaps preferably in a five gallon bucket.

In any case, if you're looking for a 'spa' feel, I recommend ball (pottery) clays. Nice and creamy, with good plasticity (something utterly lacking in Bentonite).

[Fred588]

Give it several days. Even a week. Bentonite takes time to absorb water to saturation. As for color there are concrete colorants that can be used. These are simple minerals and so not harmful. The black, for example, is just carbon black and the red is just iron.

I finally mixed a batch of the bentonite clay that I purchased. I am kind of concerned that this is not what I want for the mud spa. It is very gelatinous at a ratio of 5 lbs clay to 3 gallons of water. I added another gallon of water and it seems a little creamier and less "wiggly". The color is not very appealing ... light green grey, blahhh.

Maybe a miracle will occur overnight. I have done a fair amount of mixing using a drill attachment for mixing joint compound. This does not look like the nice stuff at Studio 588.

At least I only have $33 invested in the weird "jello" bentonite. If this is a fail, I am not sure where I will go at this point. Any input, advise, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[mud_dreamer]

Thank you very much for the input gentlemen.

Last night I added and mixed a 5th gallon of water to the 5 lbs of bentonite. In the morning, the consistency was more to my liking but still a little wiggly and not self-leveling. Those are two qualities that do not appeal to me personally. We are what we are. Hey, I only have one shot at this. You guys have plenty of options to experiment.

The other thing that I am not liking about this HDD bentonite (at 5 gallons water to 5 lbs bentonite) is that it really does not coat. It's more like slime or glop. Very WAM-y but not what I had in mind for the mud spa. Also a little slow to rinse off. Very clumpy/clingy.

I must admit that if a person sank to their neck in this they would probably be very stuck.

UPDATE: The bentonite is starting to self level and coat after 3 full days of hydrating. I did my first "step in" and it was enjoyable. It coated a little clumpy but maybe in a few days it will coat more evenly. The color has less green hue. It is now more of a tan that I associate with Elmers contact cement. It did scrape off reasonably well and it rinsed off fairly quickly. Like Fred588 said, give it time. I definitely will.

Very interesting experiment!!

Also, I did a some research on local pottery clay distributors and it turns out that I can purchase 50lbs of white ball clay for $11 so comparable to pure bentonite. I can pick it up myself which will save the shipping cost except for my fuel but I can run some errands while I am there to nullify the pure fetish expense of the venture . I plan to evaluate this soon.

I am impressed with how much water the bentonite can absorb which makes it more cost effective than other clays. I have read that the ball clay will have some of the characteristics of bentonite (elasticity), but because there is kaolin in the mix it should have the creamy coating properties that I want to experience. Color ... we will see. Colorant ... more reading.

Fred588, I note that your bentonite pit is very creamy and the color is a solid medium grey. With so much variability in bentonite, this HDD clay from WYO-BEN could be on the other side of the creamy and color spectrum. Like you have said, maybe that will improve with time.

Sorry for the long post. I am a night person.

[Fred588]

The bentonite from WyoBen is the same material used here. If it is actually sticking to your skin it is not fully wet yet. Give it more time.

[mud_dreamer]

I purchased two 25 lb bags of pottery (ball) clay. I considered kaolin but it is just too expensive. The two bags are of different types but they were about the same price.

I mixed 5 lbs of the slightly more expensive type with 3 quarts of water. I am thinking that it might take a 4th quart. The ball clay mixed easily. Little to no clumping. This would work well in a cement mixer. I prefer the color of the pottery clay.

I used my hand to feel the pottery clay. Very nice however, it did feel slightly abrasive (gritty) compared to the bentonite which is and slippery. Pottery clay is like paste and the bentonite is like a gel. I like how the pottery clay coats more evenly.

I need to determine the volume of each mix before being able to estimate the cost of pottery clay vs bentonite. I know that the bentonite will be less expensive. The finished the design of the pit. The volume of the pit will be around 2.75 cubic yards. I hope to finish digging tomorrow.