Originally Posted by Frogger
Provided I had a bit of a slope at the top of the hill back down to the pond.....what about using solid corrugated drain pipe in either 4" or 6"? I feel that would be more durable than the blue layflat hose but I'm not sure about how it would handle the pressure. Also being ribbed I'd likely need to go with 6" to account for the friction loss if I was pumping a 4" flow into it?

Frogger,

I was doing a project very similar to your project - and reached the same conclusion that black corrugated drain pipe was far better on price and diameter than blue lay-flat.

However, whenever I think a product is better than the common solution, I start worrying that I am missing some important physical parameter. I actually called the distributor for Menard's black corrugated drain pipe and asked about my application. He said that their product is definitely NOT DESIGNED for that application. Once he determined that I (sort of) knew what I was talking about, he said there was a chance of making it work, but he again stressed that was way out of their design.

As I recall, he thought the biggest problem would be connections. Their "soil tight" connections in the drain pipe application are designed to keep the water in and the soil out at pressures very close to 0 psi. Once you start pumping uphill, your head pressures are no longer near the 0 psi design parameters for drain pipe. (Even though I am pretty sure it has a "burst strength" far above your head pressure.)

I ended up using PVC and blue lay flat. That was a no-drip combination in my application, and I just have to do a little work with the lay-flat when I need to pump water on that "occasional use" system.

Good luck,
Rod