Material Specifications – What’s it made of?

The Original Rainwater Pillow is manufactured for long term water storage usage. The Pillows are made from first grade materials and all are provided with a certificate of fitness upon request.

• The Material is a reinforced polymer alloy (polyester scrim coated on both sides with a PVC polymer). The same heavy duty industrial strength fabric commonly used by the military and fire departments.
• Ultra violet radiation inhibitors are incorporated in the manufacturing process of the polymers to provide excellent ultra violet radiation resistance.
• Fabric weight 6.5 oz sq yard
• Total weight 30 oz sq yard
• Its abrasion resistance is > 2,000 cycles. This means that an independent ASTM lab has determined that every square inch of the Original Rainwater Pillow can withstand friction more than 2,000 times before it begins to abrade.
• The breaking strength of our material is 550 lbs per inch, which means a one-inch strip of it can hold 550 lbs.
• Tear 80 lbs
• Adhesion 35 lbs/inch.
• Seams are radio frequency welded, which means that we use electromagnetic energy to heat and bond materials together under pressure, ensuring strong, leak-proof seams. Each pillow is pressure tested before shipping.
• It is severe-weather tolerant, able to sustain extreme temperatures, ranging from -30 to +160 Fahrenheit.
• Easily repairable with heat or cold bonding.

The Original Rainwater Pillow is exceedingly durable and shows excellent resistance to ruptures, abrasions and leaks.

It has also been shown to be impervious to rodents in 30 years of experience using these pillows in crawlspaces, under decks, in yards and a wide variety of other spaces that rodents tend to like, our manufacturer has never seen any rodent damage. And neither have we ! We have installed pillows outside in areas infested with cats, racoons, armadillos, rats, squirels, and mice. These animals have shown no interest in the pillows.

Case Histories on the Material’s use:

• After over 17 years as a holding basin at a large oil company in the Texas desert, the material has shown no signs of environmental stress cracking, thermal expansion/contraction, or strength problems. Temperature ranges from near zero to over 100 degrees F.
• The material was exposed for over 12 1/2 years in Sarasota, Florida, on a weathering rack, facing the southern direction. No significant color loss, cracking, blistering, or adhesion delamination failure of the coating was noted.
• In service approximately 17 years in a solar pond application at a researh facility in Ohio, UV exposed samples, as well as immersed samples, retained over 90% of the tensile strenght. Examination of the material determined there was little effect on the coating compound.
• Mammoth Cave National Park. Installed in 1984, the material is performing as well today as it did 25 years ago. Our fabric has the highest tensile strength and puncture resistance in the industry!