What the Heck is Funny Pipe?

Have you ever heard a lawn sprinkler contractor refer to something called "funny pipe"? Do you know what kind of pipe this silly name is referring to? "Funny pipe" is a flexible black tubing usually 1/4" thick made from Polyurethane or PE pipe.

This type of pipe is not glued, but attached on barbed fittings and sometimes clamped. This type of pipe is now used to connect the lawn sprinkler heads to the PVC lateral line, through a "swing joint", which is made with about 1 foot of PE pipe with barbed spiral fittings at the end so it can thread into a threaded PVC fitting and sprinkler head.

Older irrigation systems use hard PVC (usually schedule 80) nipples (threaded risers) to attach the sprinkler heads to the lateral line. Most irrigation and lawn sprinkler contractors do not build systems this way anymore. They now use swing joints, which are far better than the old way.

The use of PE pipe has saved many sprinkler heads and PVC pipes from breaking. If a lawn mower were to run over a slightly raiser sprinkler head that is attached by a hard riser it will usually break the riser, the sprinkler head and sometimes the pipe.

When this same case happens to a head that is attached by a swing joint, most often the pipe gives way because it is flexible, thus preventing the pipe from breaking and many times the head as well. If you have an older system, you can convert all of your heads by removing them, digging a small hole near each head, and installing a swing joint. Then screw the head on and set back in the dirt.


Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com