failed corrugated waterline

[SE18]

my corrugated line, just a year old, failed pretty dramatically. There was no water in it. It just completely failed. I think in the past I read that this has happened to some of you.

The darned stuff is pretty expensive and I intend to replace it with white PVC. Does anyone have experience with PVC and can you tell me how PVC holds up? I understand that PVC is prone to become brittle over time with UV light. The line will be above-ground.

Appreciate any insights

 

[Big Lou]

Sorry your line failed. PVC is good but I do not have any experience with it above ground. Might want to goggle "above ground pvc durability".

 

[Lisak1]

Wow! I've never personally seen that happen. The flex pipe we used is so strong we had to cut it with a saws-all. And "flex" almost seems like a suggestion, not a real possibility. It's some tough stuff. There must be different grades that you can buy.

We have some white PVC that we used also - it's not technically above ground, but it's less than 4 inches under with just wood mulch covering it which in our climate is basically above ground. It's the line that comes from our sump pump into the rainwater storage and it's been fine for five years now. And we walk over it all the time, too, as it's under the path along the pond.

 

[SE18]

I suppose I could paint the PVC to eliminate UV, but if I ever had to make a line change, I'd need to sand the paint down before applying primer and PVC glue. Reason I don't want to bury it is b/c our yard is full of trees and nearly the whole area has roots I don't wish to cut through.

BTW, the section that failed was not walked on or exposed to light b/c it's under the deck beside the house. Also, there was no bend in the line within about 2 or 3 feet

 

[Meyer Jordan]

As Lisak1 suggested, Flex-PVC may be your best bet. This stuff is practically indestructible. I have used it exclusively on installations and upgrades for the past 10+ years. Never a problem.

 

[sissy]

I hate that garbage had it on my pond and it only lasted 1 year .I changed to sump pump hose and run all of my hoses inside the pond and even up to the waterfalls any leaks and no biggy .If you want the pipe above ground you could always run a pipe inside a pipe or you could cover the pipe with that foam pipe insulation to protect it .IO have foam pipe insulation around my sump hose where it runs to the filter .

 

[Dave 54]

I have a friend in Essex who almost lost all his koi though a PVC line going , we have one on ours but its protected from the elements such as sun intense and cold so far so good its lasted 6 years so far with no problems but I do know its the weakest link , thus its checked periodically .

Dave

 

[slick]

Im in the process of swapping all my flexi pipe work with black solvent weld pipe its pvc very easy to work with, just dry fit everything together before glueing once its set it will never leak the only way to part it is to cut it with a saw. i had a very big moment last year with flexi pipe i got up at 2am one morning for a drink, looked out of the window the pond was all but dry, the koi were in 2 inch of water there had been a split in the pipe on the dry side of the system, the only thing i could do was completely refill the pond with the hose pipe the next day i was dreading going to the fond fearing all fish would be dead due to the chlorine levels so that is why i use solvent weld

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Are we all talking about the same product?

This is Flex-PVC.

This isn't.

 

[Tula]

Wow, almost looks like someone stepped on it when it was frozen? We have a section of this from skimmer to filter and it's held up for years....but think I'll use you experience as a warning to replace, prior to Spring start up

 

[slick]

That bottom photo is the bloody stuff available in the UK should be banned!!!! that nearly cost me around £2;000 in koi the pipe work i now use is pvc rigid solvent weld im my eyes the only way to go

 

[Lisak1]

Are we all talking about the same product?

This is Flex-PVC.

This isn't.

Yup - flex PVC is tough as nails.

 

[SE18]

just spoke to a neighbor who recommended gray PVC used for outdoor electrical. It doesn't need painting and can be glued with purple primer and PVC glue. For special fittings like ball valves it actually mates with white pvc. I'll have to go to the big box store and take a look and try fitting these all together to get ideas.

Fortunately, I don't have koi or any fish, just wandering frogs that use the waterway to mate and lay tadpoles so I didn't lose anything.

At this point I'm skeptical about any type of corrugated hosing.

Btw, I don't walk on the section that broke but my 2 hounds walk over it. One weighs 20 lb and the other 30 lb. Perhaps that was enough to cause failure. They don't chew or anything like that.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

just spoke to a neighbor who recommended gray PVC used for outdoor electrical. It doesn't need painting and can be glued with purple primer and PVC glue. For special fittings like ball valves it actually mates with white pvc. I'll have to go to the big box store and take a look and try fitting these all together to get ideas.

Fortunately, I don't have koi or any fish, just wandering frogs that use the waterway to mate and lay tadpoles so I didn't lose anything.

At this point I'm skeptical about any type of corrugated hosing.

Btw, I don't walk on the section that broke but my 2 hounds walk over it. One weighs 20 lb and the other 30 lb. Perhaps that was enough to cause failure. They don't chew or anything like that.

There is a difference between grey electrical conduit and grey Schedule 80 PVC. Most electrical conduit has the same wall thickness as Schedule 40 PVC. Schedule 80 PVC has a thicker wall. Schedule 120 has an even thicker wall. If you want to use PVC, make sure that it is at least Schedule 80. Personally, I would still recommend the Flex PVC. You can put an axe to it (I have) and the axe will just bounce off.

 

[snoozer]

I don't know if I would trust rigid PVC. I used the flex PVC for my pond ans haven't had any problems.