The difference between outdoor and indoor sewerage systems is obvious. The first includes all piping inside the building. The second network is laid outside the building and connected to a sewage treatment plant or the central city system. For each sewer complex, polymer pipes with suitable technical characteristics are selected. Outwardly, they differ in color.
Features of gray pipes
I use gray pipelines made of polymeric materials in the internal sewerage system. It is laid along the contour of the house and removes the drainage liquid, along with fatty inclusions and residues of household chemicals, to the external system, and then to a centralized citywide network or a local treatment plant.
Pipes of a grayish shade, used for installation inside the house, are inferior to red ones in strength. Their walls are 2.7 mm thick, but the temperature maximum is 95 degrees.
Usually, products are made with a cross section of 50 and 110 mm, which allows you to lay sewer lines from any sanitary and household appliances.
Pipelines of this type are fire resistant and not susceptible to corrosion. But they are not rigid enough to be laid under the ground. When installed outside the house, highways can burst under frozen ground. However, they cope well with the stresses that arise when operating inside a building. Such pipes are mounted with a slope to the walls.
Technical characteristics of red pipes
The walls of such products consist of several layers, so they are much stronger than their gray counterparts. The depth of the sewer installation depends on the wall density indicator. The SN4 class pipelines have a density of 3 mm and are approved for installation at a depth from the surface of 0.8–6 m. The SN8 class with 3.2 mm walls can be laid at a depth of more than 6 m. This option can be installed under busy traffic arteries.
Most often, brick-colored pipes are produced in diameters of 110 and 160 mm.
Red-colored highways are installed in the direction of the drains. They are also immune to chemicals and other destructive processes associated with corrosion. But under the influence of low temperatures, even strong plastic products become fragile, so they are installed with extreme caution in the cold.
If more strength is required, orange corrugated pipes should be chosen. Due to the waviness, such products have a larger outer surface area, as a result of which the load created by the soil is redistributed. This means that the red corrugated pipeline will withstand the greatest pressure.
Manufacturers offer two types of corrugated pipes:
- Having only one layer. Ribbing here goes both inside and outside. Products are cheaper, they can be made of PVC of different colors. Their disadvantage is that due to the lack of smoothness of the inner surface, they quickly become clogged. Their throughput is also lower than that of the two-layer version.
- Consisting of two layers. On the inside, they are smooth, usually gray-white, and on the outside they are corrugated and reddish. Due to the different layer structure, a minimum of resistance to the flow of the drain fluid is ensured.
Manufacturers guarantee that the service life of red sewerage pipelines is at least half a century. In practice, this period is doubled.
The disadvantages of orange highways are considered to be their high price. It can be explained by the increased operational characteristics due to the special structure of the products.
Assigning pipes of a different color
Sewer lines may not necessarily be painted reddish or gray. There are pipes in other shades:
- Green sewer pipelines. They are usually used in the creation of subsoil drainage systems. Products of this color are durable, not afraid of corrosion and resistant to temperature extremes. They are most often perforated so that water can easily enter the drains.
- White sewer pipes. This is the rarest option. In all respects, they practically do not differ from their grayish counterparts and are used to drain wastewater inside the house. White color is given to them for decorative and aesthetic functions, if sewer nodes cannot be hidden. Gray pipes stand out against the background of the walls and visually spoil the interior of the bathroom.
- Black options. They are also quite rare. They are made from high density polyethylene. Black products are used for laying highways both inside and outside the building. But they, despite their strength, do not tolerate serious temperature changes. They also cannot withstand excessive loads, so laying under highways is impossible.
Black pipes are commonly used to protect communication cables or to arrange drainage systems. The latter can be easily distinguished by the presence of holes in the walls that allow moisture to enter the network.
Not only pipe sections differ in color, but also connecting fittings. They must be selected in the same shade as the main pipeline. This avoids possible leaks due to pressure drops and maintains the overall appearance of the system.
The main differences
The main difference between grayish and brick pipes is resistance to external influences. Both those, and others easily withstand a one-time discharge of high temperature water. But if hot drains are constantly running, the gray options will increase in size, which will lead to deformation.
- Thermal conductivity. For grayish products, it is higher. Brick-colored PVC layers have a porous structure, which reduces their ability to transfer heat.
- The ability to create a large number of branches and connections. Gray products are also in the lead here. With their use, you can create sewer lines of almost any configuration.
- Soundproofing. Gray polymeric pipelines well dampen the sounds of water, which is important when laying them inside a building. There are options with an additional layer of wall for sound absorption, but their cost is slightly higher than usual.
- Pressure from transport routes. If the installation is under a highway, only orange pipes can be used. But even they should be protected with metal sleeves.
- Cost. Red products are almost twice as expensive as gray ones.
The difference between pipelines is easy to determine in practice. It is impossible for an adult to pass through pipes of a gray shade. The product is deformed immediately. Orange withstands such an experiment without consequences. However, if only gray items are available, they can be placed in sleeves. So the integrity of the pipes will not be affected by soil loads.
This is not to say which sewer pipes are better: gray or orange - they differ in purpose. Each option is good in its place. An incorrectly selected material for the line in shade can cause a decrease in efficiency, a deterioration in the performance of the sewage system. If you correctly calculate all the conditions for placing the pipeline, you can do without unnecessary costs.
