PVC Piping for DC - prices VERY high

[Larry Fox]

I am looking to pipe my new (to me) cyclone with 6" PVC sewer-pipe as has been recommended here and elsewhere. However, I did some calling around this morning and was SHOCKED at the prices that I am seeing. Not the pipe per-se but the fittings. Pipe is about $2.00 / ft which, while a lot of money, does not seem out of scale. However, what does seem out of scale are the fittings.

Average price for;

"Y", $~35.00
Coupler, $~12.00
45, $~18.00

I am asking about non-coregated PVC sewer-pipe (specifically specifying "the thin stuff, not schedule-40").

Do these prices seem reasonable? If not, am I asking for the wrong stuff or does anyone know a place in the Philly metro where I can score some at a reasonable level?

Thanks in advance for your time . . .

Larry

[chris weir]

Larry- I just bought 6" SDR35 from Modern Precast in Ottsville, PA (just north of Doylestown 610-847-5112). They have a huge selection.

The standard 6" sewer and drain fittings will work with the sdr35 and are a bit less expensive.

6" pipe was $31.95 for 1 14' section
Y $16.54
45 $8.86
6" to 4" bushing $7.46

[Larry Fox]

Larry- I just bought 6" SDR35 from Modern Precast in Ottsville, PA (just north of Doylestown 610-847-5112). They have a huge selection.

The standard 6" sewer and drain fittings will work with the sdr35 and are a bit less expensive.

6" pipe was $31.95 for 1 14' section
Y $16.54
45 $8.86
6" to 4" bushing $7.46


Chris - now this seems more reasonable and in-line with my expectations. Thanks for the information.

[Chris Padilla]

Try www.mcmaster.com (http://www.mcmaster.com) and do a search on "PVC Sewer Pipe Fitting" and see how their prices compare. I use two 45 degree fittings to make a long radius 90 degree since the long radius 90 degree is quite spendy.

Fittings are just pricey at the 6" level.

[JayStPeter]

Chris' prices were more what I've seen at Lowes. Make sure you look at the SD fittings, not the regular Sched 40.

[Larry Fox]

I use two 45 degree fittings to make a long radius 90 degree since the long radius 90 degree is quite spendy.


Thanks Chris - that is my plan exactly. I inquired about a long-radius 90 this morning and the guy said that he didn't have one and that I would NOT like the price (enough information for me). :)

[Larry Fox]

Chris' prices were more what I've seen at Lowes. Make sure you look at the SD fittings, not the regular Sched 40.

Jay - thans for the tip, I didn't even know Lowes sold it. As I was reading your post I was on the phone getting another price, this one set a record at $4.95 / foot. :eek::eek::eek:

[Jim O'Dell]

I got my 6-6-6 wyes and 45 els from McMaster Carr. Prices have gone up some since I purchased mine. Some Lowes were closing their stock out of these fittings for a very attractive price. Shame I couldn't get in on that. Lowes is about the only place I've seen the 6-6-4 wyes, and they were about 20.00 with tax.
At MC now, 6-6-6 wyes are 15.40 and 45 els are 11.29 each. Their web site does not give you shipping prices, nor can you get them to tell you what it will be, which is a little disconcerning, but I've found their prices are always more than fair. Jim

[Jim Becker]

Keep in mind that plastics are made from petroleum...there is bound to be some cost escalation...

[keith ouellette]

I think you are gettig prices for sched 40 fittings because thats what they want to sell you. I would keep looking.

[Matt Lentzner]

I thought PVC for DC was a no-no. Why the change?

Matt

[Chris Padilla]

What is wrong with PVC for a DC, Matt?

[Doug Shepard]

Larry
What are you using the couplers for? I only ask because by the time I'd made a 3rd trip for more pipe/fittings I eventually returned all the couplers bought on the first trip.

[Chris Padilla]

Larry
What are you using the couplers for? I only ask because by the time I'd made a 3rd trip for more pipe/fittings I eventually returned all the couplers bought on the first trip.

Maybe he has some REALLY EXTRY long runs? ;) I, too, bought 1 or 2 couplers and ended up not using them but since mine was mail order, I decided to get a little bit of everything. Also, the S&D pipe I bought came with a "coupler" built right into the 10' pipe. Sometimes that was nice, sometimes it was a waste of 4-5" of pipe. YMMV

[Doug Shepard]

... Also, the S&D pipe I came with a "coupler" built right into the 10' pipe. ...

Mine too and none of the bell ends on mine got used either. Cant recall now why I thought I needed them. Maybe Larry will jog my memory.

[Rob Will]

The high prices for large PVC fittings are one reason I am using spiral steel pipe. I just purchased a 10" diameter x 10' long section of spiral steel for $37.
I also can get good static dissipation, better airflow and longer radius elbows in steel.

Another problem with PVC is that if you glue the fittings --- you are done. With the steel pipe, a few 1/2" sheet metal screws are all it takes to hold everything together ----and they are easy to remove for any future changes.

Rob

[Jamie Buxton]

I can't figure out why people use PVC or even spiral steel pipe. I used standard HVAC snaplock ducting from HD on my cyclone setup. It works fine. It is also much less expensive, and readily available.

[Alan Lilly]

I plan to use metal heating and cooling duct, because I assume it will be cheaper. The "fire hazard" has been debunked for many years now. Choose whatever is cheapest!

[Alan Schwabacher]

The $16 and the $30 prices for 6" diameter PVC elbows may not be so much a difference in vendor as in item. USPlastic (http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fname=8762&Page=1) carries them, and charges $16 for a street elbow (one each male and female coupling) but $30 for an elbow with two female couplings of the same size. It's worth distinguishing them.

[Larry Fox]

Nothing particurally long or crazy about my install. I priced couplers "just in case" as my past experiences with running pipe have looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Going to try and avoid that here but not making any promises. :)

[glenn bradley]

Thanks Chris - that is my plan exactly. I inquired about a long-radius 90 this morning and the guy said that he didn't have one and that I would NOT like the price (enough information for me). :)

For your long 90*, consider a 45* a bit of pipe and another 45*.

[Charlie Plesums]

I plan to use metal heating and cooling duct, because I assume it will be cheaper. The "fire hazard" has been debunked for many years now. Choose whatever is cheapest!

A friend used metal heating pipes and the first time he turned on his dust collector the pipes collapesd. He then put wooden frames around the pipe every couple feet, and the pipes were okay... apparently the frames keep them from squishing wider as they need to in the process of collapsing.

[Rick Gifford]

Lowes prices here locally for the 6" S&D pipe is expensive. Something like $32 for a 10' peice.

I bought mine at Jabot - a local contracters supplier for piping. The 14' long 6" S&D was around $18 a peice.

They were limited on fittings, but I took what they had. Still had to goto the Borg to get the last few I needed, but overall I saved by not buying their piping.

So my recommendation is check with any regional contractors supply company and see if you find it cheaper.

[Jim O'Dell]

I ended up using 5 sections of 10' 6" PVC for my set up. The first two I bought at 1.86/foot. The last three sections the same place sold for .95/foot! I've sent others to this company in different cities, none were able to get it for the lower price, even with my receipt #.
I've also read that some have used the thinner snap lock successfully by making some plywood "donuts" that fit tight around the outside of the pipe. They put one every 2 feet of pipe, maybe 3 per 5' section. It helps keep the pipe from being able to flatten out to collapse on itself. Would be a pain cutting that many of them though! :D
The other thing about the PVC, even the thin wall gravity fed (that's what you want to ask for, don't mention SD 2729), is it's crush strength is very high. You can bang a lot of 2X4s off of it with out damaging it. You can step on it and not crush it. You might turn your ankle, though. DAMHIKT :o
Rick, what Lowes has here is the SDR35 sewer pipe. It has a thicker wall than the SD2729, and is heavier. More plastic, more price. You have to find a supply house. the guy that the plumbers buy from in bulk. Jim.

[Robert Payne]

I recently ordered a ClearVue CV1800 http://www.clearvuecyclones.com/Bullentin/images/smilies/smile.gif and needed to upgrade my PVC ductwork to 6". As others have found, it can be a challenge to find 6" S&D (ASTM D2729) pipe and fittings. We've found that some Lowe's stores carry several fittings (6"x6"x6" and 6"x6"x4" wyes; couplings; 22-1/2 and 45 degree elbows and 6"x4" reducers at my local Lowe's in Hendersonville, NC), but they don't carry pipe or the 90 degree sweep elbows that I could only find at McMaster-Carr for more than $28 http://www.clearvuecyclones.com/Bullentin/images/smilies/mad.gif . Thanks to a tip from a fellow woodworker, I found good prices for pipe and sweep elbows at McRey Distributors, Inc. at 1201 Boiling Springs Rd. in Spartanburg, SC (phone 864-582-8106).

I bought 10-foot lengths of 6" D2729 pipe for $15.50 per length, 6"x6"x6" wyes for $16.89 each, 6"x6"x4" wyes for $15.17 each and 6" sweep 90's for $15.34 each. Very nice folks and well worth the 45 mile drive each way to get a good price! There is a key difference in two types of S&D PVC pipe -- the green variety is SDR35 and the white is D2729. The D2729 is 3000# crust strength and has thinner wall (both are 6-1/4" OD). An earlier post in this thread asked why couplings. I use some for making machine ports (cut them in half and glue into hole in MDF with Gorila Glue) and others for coupling odd lengths where bell ends are not available.

[Gary Ratajczak]

If you feel more 'do it yourself" oriented, you might want to give this a look. I spotted this page a while back - have not built any myself.

Gary

(No affiliation - just a saved link to pass along)


http://harderwoods.com/pipe.html

[Russ Filtz]

I thought PVC for DC was a no-no. Why the change?

Matt

Confused with air compressor piping!

[Michael N Taylor]

Make sure you get schedule 20, this is used for foundation drains etc and is much cheaper than schedule 40.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Typical thin wall sewer and drain pvc pipe is designated as ASTM D2729. The 10 foot pipe lengths have this spec written right on them.

I also bought my fittings from McMaster-Carr, but I was able to pick them up locally because I live in NJ where McMaster-Carr is located. They had pretty good prices on fittings, but the 10' pipe lengths were more pricey. Also, I don't see the viability of shipping the long pipe lengths either...most likely will require common carrier.

McMaster also offers a 'long radius' elbow with is much better for air flow than the standard plumbing elbow.

Home Depot and Lowes may carry this stuff. However, these stores vary their stock regionally. Here in NJ, neither chain doesn't carry 6" thin wall...only 4".

I prefer working with PVC versus metal. Some of the heating duct provided by the big box stores has a very thin metal guage. Some as thin as 26 gauge. Also, heating fittings (like wyes) have the 'wrong' end crimped because dust collection systems flow opposite. The result could be additional snags within the duct, and reduced performance. I also like the smoothness associated with pvc, and the fittings are essentially leak tight, even at the joints, without the need of glue, tape or mastic.

Happy hunting...Jeff

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Not for nuthin but most all of these things can be made right in the shop. About the only thing you can't make yourself are the flexible drop tubes.
All that round pipe looks slick and cool but it seems to me that if you'd rather, you can make all of it from the cheapest material you can get: OSB or MDF or even ply if you want to pay a little more. It's indoors so, you can seal the joints with the cheapest cheap caulk you can get. Even the transitions from square to round can be fabbed from up galvanized metal sheet stock or if one is feeling the muse - yup wood.

Depending on whether you are the sort of person who pours all manner of love and care into building their shop furniture (unlike me) you could make it look more cool than all that round stuff.

[Josh LaFrance]

I priced out the 6" pvc in my area (SE VA) and found the prices about the same. I determined that it was just a cheap to order the HD snap lock from Penn State. I'm going to be ordering soon. I couldn't find anything but the 30ga snap lock locally.

[Chris Padilla]

Another problem with PVC is that if you glue the fittings --- you are done. With the steel pipe, a few 1/2" sheet metal screws are all it takes to hold everything together ----and they are easy to remove for any future changes.

Rob

Agree but one shouldn't glue the PVC. I simply fitted them together, tossed a screw or two through the fitting into the pipe, and then caulked around the opening for an air-tight fit.

LOTTSA ways to skin the ducting regime for your dust collection system!

Another place to look for PVC: an irrigation warehouse.

[Larry Fox]

Update on this. I found the pipe and fittings very reasonably priced within easy driving distance from my house. For anyone looking for same, US Supply in Coatesville has the stuff I need with the following prices.

Pipe: $21.54 for a 10' length.
"Y's": $12.21 per
"45's": $5.93 per

They were VERY nice to deal with and cooperative AND they actually called me back when they said that they would with prices. Yep, you read that correctly - they called me back. They are open in the mornings on Saturdays and the order should be in by Friday.

All this being said, I don't have it yet so there is still a chance it could go south on me but I have my fingers crossed.

[Brian Backner]

One option to avoid the high cost of 6" pvc fittings is to make your own! The following website has a tutorial and software to make templates for T's and Y's of ANY size, angle and offset - need a 2.5" y coming off a 6" trunk at 37.4^o with a 3.5" offset so it will sit flush against the back wall? No problem.

See: http://harderwoods.com/pipe.html

Brian

[Prashun Patel]

Static electricity buildup. Risk of explosion.
Yr supposed to properly ground yr system if you use pvc.

Shoot, I have a clearvue minicyclone that's ungrounded and the hair on my arms stands on end when I'm near it.

[Chris Padilla]

Static electricity buildup. Risk of explosion.
Yr supposed to properly ground yr system if you use pvc.

Shoot, I have a clearvue minicyclone that's ungrounded and the hair on my arms stands on end when I'm near it.

Shawn, this topic has been beaten down pretty hard. There is essentially no risk of explosion despite the static electricity build up...not for hobbiest shops, anyway.

Trying to ground PVC is a lesson in futility for the most part. If the concern keeps you up at night, by all means go metal...no problem! :)