# We build a gunge tank.

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Wet Clothing Forum - Beach Club ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Luke on April 14, 2021 at 20:14:26

We had a busy Easter weekend and school hols as my cousins and I were building a gunge tank at the request of our younger cousins. Will, Simon and Annie have been fans of the kids TV show Saturday Mash-Up and the gungeing of a celebrity at the end of the show in particular – to be honest that is the highlight for us all really.

We managed to scrounge materials from around the farm – scaffolding poles, metal gridwork for a floor, a couple of old water tanks and some downpipes, an old pump and generator and some plastic sheeting. We also bagged the use of the farm workshop and its tools for a day from our uncle Frank (he is extraordinarily protective of his various tools usually and we are ordinarily refused access never mind the use of it). Sam, Tony and myself have been schooled in the safe use of cutting and welding tools so we know how to use use them all even if the results are not all that professional.

We designed the rig to be a basic platform, with a fixed seat for the victim, high enough of the ground to allow a tank to be fitted underneath with the gridwork floor allowing the gunge to drain through and then be pumped back up to a second tank at the top of the rig. The top tank would have a water supply – from a garden hose attached – an old power drill with paint mixer attachment to keep the gunge mixed properly and a release valve that allowed the gunge to gravity pour down pipes onto the victim. The back and sides of the structure to be clad in plastic sheeting so that the gunge did not splash all over the place outside of the rig but would run down the sides, through the floor and into the collecting tank. We made the floor the largest we could with a single sheet of the gridwork, so it ended up being eight feet wide by five feet front to back, we fixed the chair in the centre of the width and just behind the centre line for the depth as we wanted to ensure the victim was properly covered and that any gunge that hit the rear would splash forward onto them. We had decide that there would be three feed pipes from the tank so that the victim would be hit from the front and both rear three-quarters to give full coverage. We ended up fixing wheels to one side of the rig so that it could be easily moved by pushing it like a wheelbarrow.

It took a full day to actually build the rig what with cutting the scaffold poles to length and welding the gridwork floor to the metal collecting tank and then fixing the feed tank on top. We used a simple pull-the-rope to open and close the valve to release the gunge, simple and easy to clean when required. We had ordered a couple of tubs of Xanthan powder food thickener (as recommended by Kayne) to make the gunge itself – great stuff, it comes up as thick or thin as you like and can be easily coloured by adding a water-based emulsion or paint. Whilst we built the rig, the youngsters Will, Simon and Annie set about mixing the gunge, they did a great job and we ended up with almost fifty gallons of a lemon yellow mix that nicely stuck to a hand before slowly dripping off. They also had fun whilst mixing it by trying out the different consistencies on each other, the boys ganged up on Annie and she ended up soaked and covered by the end of the task, but loving every minute.

The next day was Easter Saturday, so after breakfast we invited the adults out to see the first demonstration. Will, Simon and Annie drew lots to see who would have the dubious pleasure of being gunged first, but then uncle Frank suggested that we do it like the TV show and throw buckets of gunge over the victim if they got questions wrong and only using the tank full of gunge on the last most difficult question, one that no-one would get right. So we spent a few more minutes doing that and getting six buckets of gunge mixed up.

Will had drawn the short straw and was first up. He managed to answer two of his questions correctly so only had four buckets of gunge thrown at him, but they still covered him pretty well, soaking the front of his jeans and tee and leaving him sitting with a lap full of gunge and his face, hair and chest well splattered. The final question was, as in the TV show, for twenty extra points.

“You’re pretty interested in farming statistics, aren’t you Will?” uncle Frank asked “so given that we farm 2,269 hectares of wheat on the farm here, what would you say was the total yield in tonnes for every harvest that you’ve been alive? The nearest 1,000 tonnes would be good enough.”

Well, there was no way you’d be able to work that out without a calculator if even you knew the actual figures. Will made a wild guess at 111,111 tonnes; which was more than I’d have guessed. It was wrong of course, so we gunged him with the entire 50 gallons from the tank and the remaining few buckets that we had left. It worked brilliantly as he disappeared for a few seconds under a torrent of lemon yellow gunge that poured nicely over him, onto the floor and into the tank below. Will was absolutely drenched in the stuff and just sat there afterwards stunned at how much he was covered. Eventually he stood up and wiped as much of the gunge off himself as he could and then at uncle Frank’s suggestion, he pulled off his tee and jeans – incidentally revealing a yellow gunge covered body and sodden underpants – before wringing out his jeans and tee and then pulling them back on again. We set the pump going to refill the top tank (it worked too!) whilst Will tried to chase after everyone and give them a gungy hug. We repeated the process with Simon and Annie with equally good success and then hosed the three of them clean. The afternoon saw Adam, Saul and Steve take their turns after which we topped up the tank and re-filled buckets with more freshly made gunge. We waited until Easter Sunday afternoon for Tony, Sam and myself to have a go. It also gave uncle Frank some time to come up with some more fiendish questions. I’ll write about that in part two.

Follow Ups:

- Re: We build a gunge tank. Pete 00:36:27 4/16/2021 (1)
  - Re: We build a gunge tank. Luke 19:30:33 4/16/2021 (0)

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:

Optional Image URL:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Wet Clothing Forum - Beach Club ] [ FAQ ]