For each mobile pump, we offer a portable piping solution for water transfer. We supply HDPE discharge pipes with quick couplings ranging from 4" to 12". For wellpoint dewatering systems we manufacture HDPE header pipes with ports to connect the filters (see wellpoint systems). Our quick release couplings are developed in-house to offer the best quality and optimal ease of use. Good reasons to use HDPE pipes »​​

BBA Pumps has been manufacturing and supplying portable piping systems for more than 70 years. Our expertise is largely focused in HDPE piping systems. The most common sizes are 4, 6, 8 and 12 inches. 10 inch is also available but has a much smaller demand.

What are the important considerations when designing a temporary pump installation?

• Minimizing installation time;
• Selecting lightweight pipes to make handling easier;
• Minimizing friction loss in the pipes to reduce energy consumption.

For these reasons the Bruin family decided to start working with HDPE pipe systems with quick couplings in the early 1960s. HDPE pipes are lightweight, have minimal internal friction resistance to prevent unnecessary energy loss and a very long working life.

The quick couplings designed for use with these HDPE pipes are manufactured from galvanized steel. This means they are very robust and can be disconnected and reconnected for many years. A rubber O-ring ensures a liquid tight seal between each quick coupling.

In order to make handling much easier, BBA Pumps manufactures HDPE pipes in standard lengths of 5.8 meters. Manufacturing in standard lengths offers great benefits as the pipes can be easily shipped overseas in 20-foot containers. Small diameters of 4 and 6 inches are light enough to be carried by one person. Even the larger pipe diameters can still be handled with just a few people due to their low weight. Due to this ease of handling, a complete pipe system can be installed very quickly on the job site.

Saving energy is the most important theme of our times. One of the great advantages of HDPE is its minimal friction loss properties in the pipe. Reduced friction is key to minimizing energy consumption when large amounts of liquid flow through the pipes. This results in significant cost savings during the working life of the pipe. (See an example calculation at the bottom).

What is HDPE?

The abbreviation HDPE stands for High Density Polyethylene. Let's start with the PE part. That stands for polyethylene, a material known for its flexibility and strength, making it a perfect choice for use in pipe systems. HD stands for high density of polyethylene.

HD provides the pipes we use for mobile pump systems with the following advantages:

• High tensile strength, the material is strong and is able to withstand a lot of force without cracking;
• Impact resistance, it can withstand knocks and rough treatment, even at low temperatures;
• Weatherproof, with good resistance to UV radiation and a lower expansion coefficient;
• Long lifespan, HDPE decays very slowly, especially outdoors or in wet environments.

HDPE pipe sizes

We mentioned earlier that standard lengths supplied from BBA Pumps are 5.8 meters. The table clearly presents the specifications of various HDPE pipe sizes, all in standard lengths of 5.8 meters.

Art.	HDPE pipes	Outer diameter	Wall thickness	SDR	Pn-value	Weight inc. fittings
1050916	4 inch system B	110 mm	5,3 mm	21	6 bar	17 kg
1050816	4 inch system C	110 mm	5,3 mm	21	6 bar	17 kg
1223387	6 inch system B	160 mm	4,9 mm	33	5 bar	25 kg
1051085	6 inch system B (USA)	168 mm	10 mm	17	5 bar	48 kg
1050856	6 inch system C	160 mm	4,9 mm	33	5 bar	25 kg
1051063	8 inch system B	200 mm	7,7 mm	26	5 bar	48 kg
1301954	8 inch system IT	200 mm	7,7 mm	26	5 bar	48 kg
1301961	10 inch system IT	250 mm	9,6 mm	26	5 bar	58 kg
1301956	12 inch system IT	315 mm	9,7 mm	33	4 bar	101 kg

Quality HDPE pipes

HDPE piping is produced in multiple material grades, with PE80 and PE100 being the most widely applied in pump system installations. When selecting discharge pipes for use in mobile pumping projects that will run for many years, you need pipes that can guarantee you the longest service life. To ensure this, we use the higher quality PE100 pipes.

PE100 performs better than the lower class PE80 due to its improved chemical resistance and also its Rapid Crack Propagation (RCP) being much lower. PE100 offers a higher strength, a longer life and therefore fits perfectly with our company goal, which is to build the world’s best portable pump solutions.

The working life of HDPE PE100 pipes is extremely long. When used in a mobile pump system this can be decades of usage. However, the length of its working life is influenced by a number of factors. If exposed and unprotected for long spells to sunlight PE100 pipes can become brittle after time, which reduces their mechanical strength.

What does SDR stand for?

The abbreviation SDR stands for Standard Dimension Ratio. SDR indicates the ratio between the outside diameter and the pipes wall thickness. By simply dividing the pipes outside diameter by the wall thickness, you can obtain the SDR number. Read more about this in the blog SDR and wall thickness.

What does PN value stand for?

PN stands for Pressure Nominale (French for "nominal pressure") and is an international abbreviation used to indicate the pressure class in piping systems (e.g. PN10, PN16, PN40).

Pump professionals frequently reach out to us with questions on this subject. The permitted pressure of HDPE pipes depends on the pipe dimensions and wall thickness, this is the SDR value. Pipes with a lower SDR value can withstand higher pressures. However, the limiting factor for pipe systems with quick couplings is the connection between the quick coupling and the HDPE pipe. If the pressure becomes too great there is a chance that the coupling will be forced out of the pipe. For this reason, BBA Pumps attaches a heavy duty hose clamp on each quick coupling that is connected to discharge pipes. This ensures that HDPE pipes are suitable for pumping liquids up to 5 to 6 bar.

What does RCP mean?

RCP stands for Rapid Crack Propagation. PE100 material is highly crack resistant. When the pipe is underground, the chance of damage caused from impacts with sharp materials is zero. For above-surface applications such as temporary pump installations deployed on construction sites, we rarely see cracks developing. This is despite the very rough treatment that pipes can receive on the job sites.

Energy savings when using HDPE pipes

We mentioned previously that HDPE pipes have minimal internal friction resistance. A major advantage of this is the reduction in pump energy consumption. We can best demonstrate this and present the advantages with a simple example calculation as follows.

A temporary sewer bypass with a pumping capacity of 300 m³/h has a total pipe length of 200 meters with a pipe diameter of 6 inches. The calculated resistance per pipe system is:

• Pipe resistance when using HDPE pipes is 20.36 mwc
• Pipe resistance when using steel pipes is 23.24 mwc

This results in an enormous difference in pump energy consumed between the two pipe systems. To illustrate this, lets calculate using a 6-inch BBA Pumps sewage pump type BA150KS D285 with a pump efficiency of 70%.

In this case the difference in pump power consumed between HDPE pipes and steel pipes is no less than 3.3 kWh (see Pump calculations).

Would you like us to calculate your energy cost savings during the lifespan of a mobile pump? Please contact one of our account managers.