Why Corrugated Pipe is Better than PVC Pipe for Yard Drainage

Purchase Baughman 8 Slot Corrugated Yellow Pipe and Baughman High-Octane Blue Pipe at:

Anybody that tells you that yard drains are a one size fits all, they are their own fool. Unfortunately, homeowners are put into a tailspin and they feel like, with their water problem, they're stuck on an island because of all the gimmicks that are out there. Well, you're not stuck on an island because Baughman Tile heard your needs and Baughman Tile made the first pipe just for yard drains and foundation drains.

I've been wanting to do this for quite some time. I want to show you how corrugated pipe, that single wall is self-cleaning. I want to explain it and I want to show you it's something that you really need a visual. So this is Baughman, single wall, four-inch corrugated square. You can see how it's kind of squared here. That's for strength. This pipe is incredibly strong and the inside is rounded really nice. I'm going to show you how this pipe is self-cleaning, how it was designed to work. And here's the Baughman High-octane. It's rounded on the inside, squared on the outside for strength. Man, look at those inlets. This pipe is just incredible.

So here's a clear piece of four-inch corrugated pipe. What I'm going to do is I'm going to run water through it and I'm gonna show you guys how the turbulence that's created because of the ribs, the rounded ribs, this pipe is self-cleaning. I'll start by putting pine cones through it, tree bark, all kinds of stuff.

Now when I talk about turbulence, like this bucket of water, those waves, that's not the turbulence, that's no turbulence. The turbulence is a true mixing and this mixing, this turbulence that occurs when the water's running, that's what makes the debris, just collects the debris, suspends it in the liquid and carries it out to the discharge end of whatever kind of system you have. Whether it's for downspouts, whether it's for yard drainage and you're using the High-octane. This rounded interior creates this self-cleaning turbulence and I can't wait to get the water flowing and show you.

I deliberately set this up to where the discharge and is in a pothole. You can see the water, you can see all the turbulence. Look at that, look at that action, That's going to remove any sediment. But I did deliberately put a belly in at the end of a 50-foot run. Most downspouts don't have a 50-foot run, but I wanted to use a 50-foot piece of corrugated clear four-inch pipe just so that we could see it in probably the worst-case scenario. [...]

French Drain Man – Michigan’s Yard Water Drainage Experts. Masters in the art of constructing contained French drain systems & curtain drain systems that and fix your yard drainage problems for years to come. Over 30 years’ experience in solving yard water drainage problems in Oakland, Macomb, Lapeer and St. Clair Counties.

French Drain Man / Sherwood Landscape Construction, LLC
122 S Rawles St
Romeo, MI 48065
248-505-3065

[jmurphy]

If someone is looking for a long term test, my 40+ year corrugated pipe gutter/sump combo drainage still works good without any plugging. The gutter downspout and sump pump discharge empty into 4" corrugated pipe buried about 3.5' deep (below frost line in northern Illinois). It runs slightly sloped for about 40', and then there is about 20' of slotted corrugated line for drainage, which later was tied in to empty into the street storm sewer. I have a large 40 yr. old tree planted about 10' from the underground line, but have not had any invasive root problems. As I write this, there is a house on the next block having a drainage company excavate and install a system around his house, all with solid PVC pipe.

[jvcyt]

It's pretty straightforward, for corrugated pipe, the trench has to be damn near perfect, and if for any reason it clogs, your digging it up, but for PVC pipe, it lays down and keeps pitch easy, bellies are rare, and cleaning is easy too.

[narendranbhaskar]

Why don't you compare this to PVC. Does stuff get stuck in PVC? What happens if you reduce flow rate? Or increase it? Is there a cost factor? A single data point means nothing.

[JustEnjoyingLife]

The clear pipe is of a different design. What you should try next is to cut open an actual corrugated drainage pipe, like cut it in half lengthwise so that we can see how it handles sand, dirt and shingle debris and run it next to a PVC pipe also cut in half. This way you can show whether one is superior to the other. You also should show varying degrees of flow including one that is much slower. I think corrugated is used simply because it is cheaper, otherwise you'd see it in plumbing if it was superior.

[dapperlink]

I’ve now watch several of your videos for no apparent reason other than how interesting you make French drains and corrugated pipe. Never in my life would you could’ve convinced me I’d be getting hyped on French drains. So much so that I’ve been surveying my yard looking for a French drain project. No, im not lying!! Thank you for the education and the enthusiasm!

[veenified]

How is throwing a bunch of floating debris an accurate representation of the pipes "self-cleaning" capability? I want to see a test with dirt, sand, and sediment.

[jamesedwards]

One of the reason the stuff is not staying in the pipe is because the velocity of the of the fluid in the pipe is above the scour rate. The scout rate is typically more than 2’ per second the velocity of the water that was flowing through the pipe is well in excess of 2’ per second.

[onomatopoeia]

Take a drink every time he says " turbulence " . 🤪

[cmsheth]

Needed a side by side with pvc to be honest

[stonelark]

A bunch of little roots penetrated my corrugated drain pipes so they clogged up. Just replaced with PVC. I like it because its a lot stronger, but you do have to slope it right.

[bobK]

Theory supports your assertion. Tripping streamline turbulence to parallel channel normal vector will improve turbulent mixing and reduce propensity to sedimentation. Good observation!

[JPumpkinKing]

🤦🏼‍♂️ That debris isn’t getting stuck because IT FLOATS! Try adding some fine dirt or roof shingle particles to the water. See how much comes out and how much stays in the grooves.

[colomacountry]

I agree with others from experience. Its the sediment that is the killer over time and can't be cleaned out. Also that sediment creates a nice little place for roots to follow and grow, eventually chocking the pipe off completely. Thanks for the video, but time and experience is the true master on this rather delicate subject. Good luck everybody, whatever you choose.

[davidschmucker]

But what about for slow flow situations, such as seepage from a subterranean curtain/french drain? Wouldn't it be possible for sediment to catch and slowly build up and bind up, eventually clogging the pipe?

[avk]

Okay guys, take a shot everytime the man says "turbulence"

[sardomnumspa]

You should have had a piece of PVC beside it to show that stuff would stay in it...

[terrybyrd]

In a properly designed sub surface drain system, the flow rate would rarely be greater than a trickle; meaning the flow rate would be too slow to create turbulence needed to carry trash down stream - but then trash shouldn't be an issue if the system were properly constructed. Try again with smooth wall.

[Goldhunter]

Keeping the trench at a constant slope is key. The old timers used a 1x6 in the center of the ditch to run their pipe along. PVC is ridged and easier to keep to a consistent grade but I usually use corrugated. I always run the high end up to the surface so I can use a hose. The last 10 should be tight line so you can cap it and fill the ditch with water to flush out. It's like developing a water well screen. The fines must go into the pipe and get flushed out. The more fines you remove the bigger the collection are around the pipe.

[donaldlee]

I love your experiment, however I'm curious if the dry wood and leaves would have simply floated on the top of a bucket of water too. Would a fistful of dry sand or dirt dropped into a bucket of water float to the top or would much of it sink to the bottom?

[robertgregory]

You have a lot of drop in your demo. If it is used in standard situation of say a quarter inch per foot drop, it would not be so turbulent thus dirt and sand would in my pinion would fall into the slots and eventually inhibit the flow.