Sorry, I didn't mean to indicate that all schedule 80 PVC was gray in color, I was just refering to what I have on hand that I got at the local home improvement center. I do know that the pipe I have is definitely intended as plumbing pipe and not electrical conduit. I got it because of it's superior rigidity to shcedule 40. Obviously this is the case because it is thicker walled tubing. 73, Michael
Robin Midgett wrote:
Schedule 40 & schedule 80 are simply different wall thicknesses for pressure ratings. I believe the gray PVC is intended for electrical conduit purposes, and it is more resistant to UV, but the color has nothing to do with the schedule grade.
The white stuff can tend to get brittle out in the sun. Painting it will help with this somewhat. My 70cm antenna was modeled after the cheap yagi design and had a white PVC boom that had been painted gray. When lowering the mast to do some rotator maintenance the antenna brushed a nearby dogwood tree that the XYL refuses to let me cut down. The boom snapped right at one of the elements. This could have been brittleness or just the fact of where it struck. I can't comment on the tan (CPVC) pipe as I haven't used it. My replacement antenna will be using schedule 80 which is gray in color and much more rigid for the boom. 73, Michael, W4HIJ