Sch 40 vs Sch 80?

[dahenley]

i know what the difference is, but when i redo all my plumbing for my 240, should i go with one over the other and why? i know a lot of the larger tanks use the grey Sch 80, but my questions are why.
i will say that all my bulkheads are standard ABS if it makes a difference.
thanks.

(i wanted to ask the large tank owners beacuse most of the smaller tank owners just use white SCH40)

thanks again.


oh, and all comments are appreciated.

 

[Reefer Brian]

Sch80 is a heavy duty pipe. For reef applications its a cleaner look. Dosent affect the performance of anything. Cost in nearly double and a sch 80 bulkhead will not fit in a standard ABS bulkhead hole. Good luck on your plumbing job.

 

[Swoop]

Well I suppose if you like throwing money away and like spending money on stuff that only you will see then go with Schd 80.

If you like keeping money in your pocket and your not concerned with having fancy looking pipe in areas most people will never see then go with Schd 40.

Schd 40 far exceeds anything we need in our low pressure plumbing systems. 1" schd 40 is rated at 450 psi. Should be okay me thinks.

Anyway, save some money to use on other things and go schd 40, an added bonus of schd 40 is its more readily available at your big box stores. Oh did I mention its cheaper too.

 

[dahenley]

Anyway, save some money to use on other things and go schd 40, an added bonus of schd 40 is its more readily available at your big box stores. Oh did I mention its cheaper too.

Sch 40 is what is currently being used with no problems, and i was going to go back with it, but just wanted some other opinions. (there is no fish room so everything is hidden under my stand.)

i did have 2 pieces for returns that go over the top and were painted with Krylon Fusion Black over a year ago, with no problems. (and my two dursos are painted black to blend in with no problems or chipping so i might just go back with sch40 and paint it if i dont like it.)

Keep it coming
thanks

 

[rkaires]

You could purchase gray sch40 pipe at US Plastics. Nothing we use in this hobby will exceed the working pressure of sch40 pipe.

 

[DEERE G]

Sch. 40 is plenty strong enough. As mentioned above you can get grey sch.40 if that is the "look" you are after. The I.D. of the 40 is slightly larger which doesn't hurt either.

 

[oscar.millan]

I've been doing a lot of research on PVC and the consensus is that for reef plumbing applications SCH 40 is actually over engineered. I'm not sure if anybody out there has test data, but I don't think any reef tank out there is pushing the 400psi limit, let alone the 800psi limit of SCH80.

I personally like the gray color pipes, but as mentioned in a previous post - you can find grey SCH 40 pipe.

I'm curious to know what PSI we are pushing even with the most extreme reef applications. I would guess that we aren't even close to 100PSI.

I would welcome any input from anybody who has any data.

Good luck.

 

[Mr.Biggs]

Well I suppose if you like throwing money away and like spending money on stuff that only you will see then go with Schd 80.

Anyway, save some money to use on other things and go schd 40, an added bonus of schd 40 is its more readily available at your big box stores. Oh did I mention its cheaper too.

IMO this is not true with the all of the schd 80 line.

The valves are one area that the 80 are a great value.

Why would I pay $35 for a schd 80 ball valve when there are $3 schd 40's?

Put that $3 valve on your line let your system mature have your pump fail and twist off the handle of that valve and see how much fun you'll have and all that money you save.

The valves can be used with the schd 40 pipe and fittings but I feel there are money well spent in the long run.

 

[dahenley]

i honestly think that a quality valve is well worth it.
i have sch 40 Spears ball valves and are well worth the extra money. i would put a lowes or HD American Standard valve on anything i own. (the spears valves are extremely smooth and easy to use.)

just another opinion.

 

[Dejavu]

Like alot of ours have said sch80 is not needed. If you want gray PVC us plastics sells sch40 in gray. Valves are the only thing that I would go sch80 on. Good luck.