You’re putting in some new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes as part of your irrigation system. PVC fittings only come in two angle sizes: 90° and 45°. And for your purposes, this isn’t sufficient. You need a smaller bend. The pipes themselves are fairly flexible so you start to wonder if you can curve them without causing any damage.
You can indeed bend lengths of PVC pipe. However, you need to be very careful not to overdo it so that the angle is too sharp. Every manufacturer has its own recommendations for the degree of curvature you can give a pipe based on its size and type. But looking up that information takes time and trying to work out in practical terms what the bend percentages those manufacturers give you can be frustrating.
A quick and easy way to determine the maximum amount of bend to give a length of PVC pipe is to hold it so that one end is in your hand and the other is just off the ground. Look at how the pipe falls: the amount it bends on its own is just about the maximum you should allow.
You can also make any angle you want by using two 45° PVC ells. Gently push them onto either end of a small piece of PVC pipe and glue them into place. Once the ells are dry, you can begin twisting them in different directions. You can make any angle curve between 0 and 90° and if you attach another 45° ell, you can create even more angles.
South Austin Irrigation specializes in offering creative solutions for all your irrigation repair needs. We can help you maintain and repair existing systems to maximize water output while saving you time and money. When you need expert irrigation advice and service, contact us!
