Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations 6 inch sewer drain pipe.

Does anyone know the amount of weight this type of pipe could hold in the water? Say I made a platform 5x5x5x5 with 6 inch pipe and put 90 degree elbows on it. How much weight would that hold give or take a few pounds? I can't really seem to get an answer on line anywhere and was just wondering if anyone has experimented with this at all? I am thinking of making a platform to set my feeder on and float it. I would say about 100 pounds a food plus 20 lbs for the feeder. So around 120 pounds of weight?

Thanks for any help on this,
RC

RC,

The weight the pipe structure will support is equivalent to the weight of water displaced. So in your case, the 6 inch pipe structure will displace about 3.9 cu ft. Water weighs about 62 pounds per cu ft. So The PVC structure you describe will support about 240 pounds minus the weight of the pipe (PVC has a specific gravity greater than 1 so it will sink by itself). If you are using schedule 40 PVC, the pipe structure will weigh around 75 pounds. So I would say with a 120 pound load + 75 the weight of the pipe, or total load about 195, you will be fine and the pipe will still stick up a little above the surface.

Note: I threw in a fudge factor here. To be on the conservative side, I used the inside diameter of the pipe for the calculation. Technically, I should have used the outside diameter so the pipe structure will actually carry a little more than stated.

Hope that helps.

Bill D.

RC, just throwing ideas out there, and not knowing how deep the water is where you'll place your feeder, but would it be possible to drive (pound, screw, etc.) the drain pipe into the pond bottom, then building a platform on top to hold your feeder? The majority of the weight would seem to be centered over the pipe for stability.

It would eliminate anchor ropes and or "legs" like you're currently dealing with (I'm thinking of when your mom caught that nice HSB and trying to keep it from wrapping around the legs).

It would also eliminate wave action on your floating platform, the impact of water level fluctuations (starts drifting in low water conditions), and again, no snags on fishing line!

I'm imagining a pedestal of sorts. Maybe needing a larger pipe for stability?

Bill thanks, that's why I thought I would go with the sewer pipe as it's not quite as heavy as the regular PVC and I would think still be just as buoyant I will only be putting about 100 pounds of food in it the feeder is about 25 pounds sewer pipe is maybe 60 pounds when put together. So I should still be good if said pipe will hold 240 lbs. I can always put a little less food in the feeder. Thanks for your help!!

RC

LL thanks for your thoughts. Yeah I always have issues with them feeder legs it seems. I'll take one rope vs 3 legs tho any day. Plus I want the ability to be able to move it if I want to some so a fixed pipe wont really work for me.

RC

SDR 35 pipe is lighter and thinner than Sch 40 and weighs 2.36 pounds per linear foot in the 6 inch size. It is also considerably cheaper than Sch 40. I used three inch SDR to make my fish feed containment rectangle which is about 10 ft by 2.5 ft. It floats high in the water, and is staked to two steel pipes driven into the bottom out from my little dock.

Don't forget to take into account not only the pipe weight but if making a platform on top the board weight as well.

Also Bill's numbers are accurate using inside diameter. Just an idea/tip though, if you require more displacement just use two T unions with a pipe down the center. Looks like every ~5' of pipe gives roughly 60 pounds of lift for 6".

Be careful if you try using SDR 35(6.275 O.D.)green sewer drain pipe it is not very compatible with Schedule 40 fittings designed for white pipe(6.625" O.D.) which is what most box stores stock. I feel it will cause headache and heartache when trying to make the floats watertight.

Hope some of this helps or makes sense running on little sleep.

Yeah thanks everyone I was wondering about the fittings.... hopefully I can find the right ones. Thanks again!!

RC

Get the specific tees and elbows for SDR 35. It needs the same glue and primer as Sch 40. Or, use DWV pipe, which is thin wall and will take standard Sch 40 fittings. I looked again at my float made from 3 inch. It is DWV. A pipe feeding into my pond is SDR 35, and it has hubs on the ends and did not need couplings. My mistake....