WHAT IS PVC?
PVC or Poly Vinyl Chloride Pipe is a plastic pipe used to plumb swimming pools and various other components used in modern day living. PVC Pipe has a unit of measurement used to measure the thickness of the walls of the pipe. Modern Pool should be plumbed using a minimum of schedule 40 pvc.
Rigid Schedule 40 pvc can withstand pressure of 135 to 450 psi while flexible schedule 40 pvc has a burst rating of 175 psi according to www.flexpvc.com.
PROS OF FLEX PVC
It is easy to store as it comes in large rolls versus 20' long sticks of rigid pvc.
Flex Pipe requires fewer fittings since it can be bent and curved reducing or eliminating the need for glue joints and fittings.
Quick and easy to use. Its as simple as unrolling it and gluing in your fittings. It requires little plumbing skills
CONS OF FLEX PVC
It is not rated for use underground use
Flex PVC has a plasticizer in it to make it flexible. Overtime that plasticizer degrades
Flexible PVC attracts rodents and termites underground that like to eat it.
Flex PVC is susceptable to being crushed or cave in on itself, especially if used on a suction line
Flexible PVC is susceptable to punctures since flexible pvc is soft it can be punctured by fractured clean stone backfill creating small pin hole leaks in the flex pipe.
Flex PVC has a lower burst rate (175 psi) according to www.flexpvc.com
PROS OF RIGID PVC
Rigid Schedule 40 PVC is rated up to 450 psi accoriding to www.pipeexpress.com
Does not contain plasticizers taht will break down
Does not attact rodents or termites
Is not suscpetable to crushing or cave ins
Is rated for direct burial underground
Is not affected by type of backfill used around the pipe
Creates a higher quality, structurally sound and longer lasting plumbing installation
CONS OF RIGID PVC
Rigid PVC takes more time to install
Rigid PVC requires more fittings to complete a plumbing circuit
Rigid PVC comes in 20' sticks so its not as easy to transport or work with
Rigid PVC require a higher plumbing skill level to install
WHY WOULD ANYONE USE FLEXIBLE PVC
The answer is simple. Its quick and easy. A pool builder can save hours per pool by using flex pipe. While this is great when it comes to speeding up the process, it is not great for the long term of your pool project and the potential headaches the use of flexible pvc can bring to you as a pool owner. Another reason is skill. Quite simply it takes more skill to properly plumb a pool with rigid pvc and there are alot of pool builders that just dont have it. Lastly it could be lack of knowledge of your pool builder. Maybe they dont know they are using an inferior product by using flex pipe. Maybe they don't know the pros and cons. If thats the case, should they really be building your pool!
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
At Pool Pros we use rigid schedule 40 pvc on all of our pool builds. This gives us piece of mind that our clients are not going to experience the potential issues that arrise with flexible pvc. At Pool Pros our goal is to keep all of our customers for life, so we are not going to cut corners and use inferior products just to get your pool done a few hours quicker. If your pool pool builder is using flexible pvc ask them why. Regardless of there answer insist they use rigid schedule 40 pvc. If they won't it may be time to find a different pool builder.
SHAMELESS CALL TO ACTION
If your builder insists on using flex pipe or flxible pvc it may be time to look for a second opinion on how a fiberglass pool shoul be built. Better yet call Pool Pros in house designers today to go over how we build pools The Pool Pros Way! Pool Designers are standing by @ 1-920-771-0107.
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