Schedule 40 conduit for vac line?

[gearpump]

I think I saw someone post something about this before, but can gray pvc electrical conduit work for the line from the vacuum pump to the releaser? I just got my pump pulled into place this weekend and with all the snow it ended up 400ft from the tank and releaser. My plan if this can work is to just place the conduit on top of the snow for this distance. Also working with 35-10' lengths of 1-1/2 pipe seems easier then 4-100' coils of pipe. Any advice at this point would be great..

[markct]

Why not 18 lengths of conduit? It comes in 20ft too less glues less leaks less time. It should work great as its sunlight resistant and more flexible than pvc

[Russell Lampron]

Have you used it for vacuum before? If not test a piece to see if will hold the vacuum without collapsing. If it doesn't collapse it should work good.

[morningstarfarm]

I use it for that all the time!...no fittings...sun resistant and just as flexible as reg PVC...works excellent in that application!

[mellondome]

Be prepaired for then the snow melts under the pipe and it sags to the ground. Also, what is the expansion rate for the pipe... 400 ft could have a lot of length expansion on a sunny day.

[markct]

It wont expand any more than black poly. I would guess much less due to the light color

[BreezyHill]

It will work fine for a vac line. Just be certain to start with the bell end away from the pump for less turbulence in the air transferal.

Expansion should not be an issue as it can flex easily as long as it is not tied solidly to a metal or wood rail for support.

If not gluing the joints use the black gorilla tape and do an x wrap to connect and get a near perfect seal. You can also use blue silicon on the joint on the outside and pull it apart later. If you coat the pipe with a little it will seal 100% but very hard to get apart. Benn there done that. That was a temporary line that was up for a couple years and came a part with two ratchet straps.

Use a 500' coil of pipe, a pallet and some 2x4s with braces to make a coil pay out unit. Then stretch the pipe with two ratchets and forget about it. With the other you will be constantly checking for leaks and wondering. Easier at first but a hassle later on.

You will have to do what ever works for you and fine tune your system to your bush...that is the art of making Maple Syrup. It is all about what is in the jug!

Ben

[gearpump]

Thanks for all the info. This is only temporary for this season. We had some horses pull the vac shed down the hill but the teamster driving the horses got a a little leary of the snow depth and wanted to turn around before the spot I had planned. The gray pvc is cheaper then the black roll so this set back shouldn't hurt the budget too much!