Last year I must have gone through a few miles of PVC piping due to pigs biting pipes etc. I am having isues with my Thai family about puting in metal pipes to save us money. They say that this is not possible but can not give me a good reason apart form metal is too expensive.

Is there any reason not to use metal piping for delivering water to pigs? (or other animals). I know that some antibiotics and vitamin solutions cant be delivered through the medicator, when you use metal piping, but this is not a major issue as we would just change brands.

For many years houses were fed water from various sources by metal pipe. They can in time rust but I lived in a house over 50 years old and the pipes never caused any problem. Oh! you also have the advantage of being able to thaw them if it ever freezes. Good enough for people good enough for pigs. They will be more expensive.

The soil in most of Thailand (if not all of it) is acid. The soil in my rice paddy is acid enough that it dissolves the zinc off of galvanised barbed wire in less than one season and major corrosion is noticeable after one year.....it could be that if you put galvanized iron pipes on the ground or in the ground near the surface that they will corrode very quickly....I don't know, this is just a guess based on my observations of barbed wire.

Chownah

The soil in most of Thailand (if not all of it) is acid. The soil in my rice paddy is acid enough that it dissolves the zinc off of galvanised barbed wire in less than one season and major corrosion is noticeable after one year.....it could be that if you put galvanized iron pipes on the ground or in the ground near the surface that they will corrode very quickly....I don't know, this is just a guess based on my observations of barbed wire.

Chownah

Chownah,

I think that may be the reason they are not wanting to use metal pipes. Thanks for the input.

The galvanised metal pipe used in Western countries is GWI or galvanised wrought iron whereas the metal pipe commonly seen here in LOS is tinned rolled hollow section steel. Two entirely different metals..

Maybe a combination of the black pressure type poly tubing (not the irrigation series) coupled to metal sections where the porkers can get at it like at the drinking nipples will do the trick.

Global stock fittings to join the two ..

Why not either bury the plastic pipe, or run it overhead?

The galvanised metal pipe used in Western countries is GWI or galvanised wrought iron whereas the metal pipe commonly seen here in LOS is tinned rolled hollow section steel. Two entirely different metals..

Maybe a combination of the black pressure type poly tubing (not the irrigation series) coupled to metal sections where the porkers can get at it like at the drinking nipples will do the trick.

Global stock fittings to join the two ..

Ozzy,

This sounds like a good idea I'll try this out.

I agree with Ozzy. Black pipe couples easily with plastic so anywhere the pipe is open to pigs gnawing can be replaced with black metal pipe. It should last at least fifteen years.