Pump plumbing - Straight Pipe Important???

[jaimslaw]

I am wondering how important is it to have a sufficient length of straight pipe at the feed end of the pump. As I understand it, you want/need/should have 4 to 5 times the diameter of the pipe as the length for straight pipe going to the pump intake port. Doesn't the presence of a pump basket negate the beneficial effect of having, say, 8" of straight pipe feeding the pump?

I never did find a post that resolved this question for me. Seems like the potential beneficial effects of having this straight pipe would not occur with that pump basket in place.

[madwil]

straight is always best, but as you stated with a basket the added benefit I think is minimal; I actually have flex hose attached to the basket, which curls around the pump (one of these days need to swap hoses and get one the right length!)

[CarlD]

I'm a BIG fan of TigerFlex, the flexible PVC. When it's too long I just cut it and splice it with a double female Schedule 40 connector. You glue it up just like hard PVC. When I re-plumbed my pump and filter this season (moved it about 15 feet laterally because I extended my deck) I was able to use the excess TF to add to the sections where it was now not long enough. I figure it's temporary...in 5-10 years I'll have to make some changes again! :)

Carl