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tishadee25 · Nov 9, 2011, 06:14 PM

The pitch of a pipi 240ft long that falls 3ft 9infrom inlet to outlet is?

Formula given is pitch in in /ft= total change in height(in)/total change in length (ft)

massplumber2008 · Nov 10, 2011, 07:29 AM

Hi Tishadee25

You need to convert the numbers so you can work with them, right?

The first step is to convert the 3ft 9in. Over to inches.

So, 36" + 9" = 45"

Now, given that you have a 240 foot length of pipe and 45 inches of pitch (fall from inlet to outlet) what is the actual PITCH PER FOOT OF PIPE?

Check the reasonableness of your answer and if satisfied then that is your answer... :) If you post your answer I can confirm if you are correct, OK?

Let me know if you have issues here... can direct you to a couple of websites that can help more, OK?

Mark

tishadee25 · Nov 10, 2011, 10:06 AM

The answer I got is 5.33

massplumber2008 · Nov 10, 2011, 11:18 AM

Does that really seem reasonable to you?

Check this way:

If you need to figure the pitch PER FOOT OF PIPE and you give an answer of 5.33 in./ft then you would have a total pitch of

240 ft. x 5.33 in./ft = 1279.2 in. of pitch (or 106 ft 6" of pitch)! That certainly isn't 3ft 9in... ALWAYS CHECK YOUR ANSWER BY PLUGGING IT IN REVERSE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER.

Try reversing your equation and then check back with your answer, OK? PLUG IN THE ANSWER AND WORK IT BACK AND FORTH TO CONFIRM ALL NUMBERS ADD UP.

Back to you...

tishadee25 · Nov 10, 2011, 03:21 PM

Can you direct me to the helpful website please?

massplumber2008 · Nov 10, 2011, 03:32 PM

Sure, give me until tomorrow to post them though, OK?

Did you figure this one out?

In this case, you have 240 feet of pipe and 45" of total pitch so you would simply divide the pitch (45") by the 240 feet, so,

45in./240ft=0.1875 in./ft

The answer is therefore 0.1875 inches per feet of pipe. To check this we multiply 240ft x 0.1875 in./ft =45" of pitch or 3ft 9" overall, right?

I'll post the sites in the AM, OK?

Mark

mygirlsdad77 · Nov 10, 2011, 05:16 PM

Hi all. I assume Mark will be posting sites not that will give you the anwers, but will help you understand the equation. However, I believe you should have this information in your training books. I realize, from experience, that these can be hard things to wrap a mind around, but you need to study, and get a good grip on the math of plumbing. I know, who ever thought math would actually play a part in our lives, right? Well, in plumbing, it is actually a big part. Not exactly calculus, mostly just basic math (I never was real good at that either:). I guess what Im saying, is once you get the math down, and the actuall hands on experience to make the two fit together, its really not all that bad. Good luck on your testing, and please let us know how things work out.

jlisenbe · Nov 10, 2011, 06:07 PM

Interesting thread.

massplumber2008 · Nov 10, 2011, 07:20 PM

Hi guys...

I think Lee said it quite nicely here, Tishadee25. I think you are best to spend some time with the books you have... learn the basics before jumping into plumbing mathematics, you know?

We're glad to help when you get in a jam, but you have a lot of work to do if you had trouble with the question you originally presented here and I'll tell you the math/problems only get harder as you go along here.

Take a step back... revisit order of operations, converting methods, and cancellation methods of notation so you can keep track of things as you work through the problems (just plug this stuff into the google search engine).

Glad to discuss more if needed...

Mark

tishadee25 · Nov 11, 2011, 06:38 PM

Thanks guys! The thing is I didn't receive any books to cover the math aspect of plumbing. Only a study guide with 60 math questions and a sheet of paper with 11 formulas. I have formed a study group with a few of my classmates, and we are all running into problems. The main problem is not enough information given on how to work the math problems and the formulas are all over the place I really appreciate the feedback.

massplumber2008 · Nov 11, 2011, 07:02 PM

Given that you have the 11 known formulas you'll want to try to focus around them when answering the questions, for sure.

We could send you all over the internet reading up on stuff, but if you have the formulas this shouldn't be too bad if you guys just pick up a book on basic mathematics at the local library and look up formulas you aren't real familiar with.

They real key to this stuff is understanding your formulas and being able to manipulate each formula to solve for any unknown, right?

Here is a decent site showing basic formulas (it's an actual calculator, too)... may help a bit:

Calculate volume of a cylinder and its surface area

You can also post here and over at the math section of this site if you have any real issues you run into. I would point you mostly over to the mathematics forum on site as these guys enjoy math and I really don't, at least not the last decade or so... :rolleyes:

Keep us posted as you go, OK?

Good luck!