What Does
Heavy Wall Pipe Mean?
Heavy wall pipe is described as pipe with dimensions equal to or greater than the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Schedule 80 pipe.
Pipe schedules begin with Schedule 10 pipe. As the schedule number increases so does the thickness of the wall of the pipe. It’s possible to have two 1/8 inch pipes of different wall thicknesses with different pipe schedule numbers due to the thickness of the pipe wall. The diameter of the pipe or weight per foot does not influence the schedule number. For example, a heavy wall Schedule 80 pipe that’s 1/8 inch in diameter has a 0.135 inch wall thickness and an 1/8 inch light wall. Schedule 40 pipe has a wall thickness of just 0.068 inches.
Trenchlesspedia Explains Heavy Wall Pipe
Heavy wall pipe is specified for applications where greater volume is carried, where greater internal pressures exist within the pipe or where the pipe walls must be stronger to support the external burden such as the cover under which they are layed.
Heavy wall pipe is also known as Extra Strong or Extra Heavy pipe. There’s also a Double Extra Strong designation for pipe that’s heavier than Schedule 120 pipe.
Generally, light wall, heavy wall and double extra strong pipe is clearly marked with schedule numbers near the ends of each pipe segment as follows:
Light Wall Pipe
- Schedule 10 (Sch/10, S/10)
- Schedule 20 (Sch/20, S/20)
- Schedule 30 (Sch/30, S/30)
- Schedule 40 (Sch/40, S/40)
- Standard Weight (ST, Std, STD)
- Schedule 60 (Sch/60, S/60)
Extra Strong (Extra Heavy, EH, XH, XS)
- Schedule 80 (Sch/80, S/80)
- Schedule 100 (Sch/100, S/100)
- Schedule 120 (Sch/120, S/120)
- Schedule 140 (Sch/140, S/140)
- Schedule 160 (Sch/160, S/160)
Double Extra Strong (Double extra heavy, XXH, XXS)
- Greater than Schedule 160