Pipe Fence 14 Gauge

[jwimberly]

I've come up on a deal for 14 gauge 2 3/8" pipe. That seems kind of light duty to me. Do y'all think this would work on with posts spaced 10' apart, 4 or 5 pipes high?

 

[greybeard]

14 ga is generally accepted to be 0.083 wall thickness but can vary anywhere from 0.075 to 0.085... closest whole fraction to 0.083 is 5/64" or...somewhere between 5/64 and 3/32.

For comparison, Priefert's Premier panels are made from 16 ga, which is a little lighter (thinner) than 14 ga.
I've cut some of those panels apart for different reasons before and I can bend a single 16ga tube pretty easy if it's 4-5' long.

Fenceman would be the one to ask, but to me, it seems 14ga with 10' post spacing might be a little light.

 

[callmefence]

You know I'm not going to say it wouldn't work for pipe fence. It's definitely to light fo braces.

If it's truly cheap enough it could certainly be used. It's heavier than most moveable pens and certainly stronger than a wood 2x6.
But ....you need to put your post closer. 8' Max on a fence. If you don't you will see considerable bowing are warping of the pipe during welding. Especially on the top rail. On pens I would go 6 ' on the post and fill them with concrete. On very high pressure spots weld a stay of heavy rebar or sucker rod in between each post...... might be better off just getting some good heavy 27/8 huh...

 

[jwimberly]

You know I'm not going to say it wouldn't work for pipe fence. It's definitely to light fo braces.

If it's truly cheap enough it could certainly be used. It's heavier than most moveable pens and certainly stronger than a wood 2x6.
But ....you need to put your post closer. 8' Max on a fence. If you don't you will see considerable bowing are warping of the pipe during welding. Especially on the top rail. On pens I would go 6 ' on the post and fill them with concrete. On very high pressure spots weld a stay of heavy rebar or sucker rod in between each post...... might be better off just getting some good heavy 27/8 huh...

I could do the 8' post spacing pretty easy and weld some stays on. I was actually thinking of doing it similar to that Priefert Ponderosa fence if it'd work. It's about .33 cents per foot for the galvanized tubing which I think is a pretty good deal. I just don't see much of that 2 7/8" rod up here in north Georgia. It's for catch pens but no crowding is done in it.

 

[callmefence]

You know I'm not going to say it wouldn't work for pipe fence. It's definitely to light fo braces.

If it's truly cheap enough it could certainly be used. It's heavier than most moveable pens and certainly stronger than a wood 2x6.
But ....you need to put your post closer. 8' Max on a fence. If you don't you will see considerable bowing are warping of the pipe during welding. Especially on the top rail. On pens I would go 6 ' on the post and fill them with concrete. On very high pressure spots weld a stay of heavy rebar or sucker rod in between each post...... might be better off just getting some good heavy 27/8 huh...

I could do the 8' post spacing pretty easy and weld some stays on. I was actually thinking of doing it similar to that Priefert Ponderosa fence if it'd work. It's about .33 cents per foot for the galvanized tubing which I think is a pretty good deal. I just don't see much of that 2 7/8" rod up here in north Georgia. It's for catch pens but no crowding is done in it.

That's certainly cheap enough

 

[BRYANT]

You know I'm not going to say it wouldn't work for pipe fence. It's definitely to light fo braces.

If it's truly cheap enough it could certainly be used. It's heavier than most moveable pens and certainly stronger than a wood 2x6.
But ....you need to put your post closer. 8' Max on a fence. If you don't you will see considerable bowing are warping of the pipe during welding. Especially on the top rail. On pens I would go 6 ' on the post and fill them with concrete. On very high pressure spots weld a stay of heavy rebar or sucker rod in between each post...... might be better off just getting some good heavy 27/8 huh...

I use to build quite a few corrals and pipe fence personally I would not use it , to much of and investment to pinch pennies and cut corners when a pipe corral/fence is built right it will out live the builder. Just my :2cents: but I am real picky about my pipe won't use oil field pipe that's had salt water ran through it either.
What do you think about rusting out with pipe that thin like right at or just below ground grade?

 

[callmefence]

You know I'm not going to say it wouldn't work for pipe fence. It's definitely to light fo braces.

If it's truly cheap enough it could certainly be used. It's heavier than most moveable pens and certainly stronger than a wood 2x6.
But ....you need to put your post closer. 8' Max on a fence. If you don't you will see considerable bowing are warping of the pipe during welding. Especially on the top rail. On pens I would go 6 ' on the post and fill them with concrete. On very high pressure spots weld a stay of heavy rebar or sucker rod in between each post...... might be better off just getting some good heavy 27/8 huh...

I use to build quite a few corrals and pipe fence personally I would not use it , to much of and investment to pinch pennies and cut corners when a pipe corral/fence is built right it will out live the builder. Just my :2cents: but I am real picky about my pipe won't use oil field pipe that's had salt water ran through it either.
What do you think about rusting out with pipe that thin like right at or just below ground grade?

Rust isn't much of a problem here and steeI rust no matter the thickness. If rust is a issue you should either paint or use galvinized. Period..can agree with you on that on a good set of pens it would be my choice to not. I said that at the end of my post. But I would still take it over wood. 14 gauge is just short of ss20. It's used quite common in privacy fence. Which catches considerable wind load. Again it's not ideal.
We use about half and half new structural reject. And drill stem. It's the same price. All things equal good drill stem is much better than most new pipe. Simply because it is a much higher tensile steel. You drive enough post or cut enough, you'll see the difference.

 

[bird dog]

Its a lot tougher to weld with stick. You will need someone good with a torch to cut the saddles.

 

[BRYANT]

Its a lot tougher to weld with stick. You will need someone good with a torch to cut the saddles.

when I was doing a lot of pipe fence my helper , which is my Father in law , can cut a saddle where you won't have to grind it and one pass with a stick welder is all it takes. He was very good still helps me some but he is now 77 and went through a 5 bypass but he is one of them ol Men that can do about anything and do a good job of it.

 

[Brute 23]

A lot of people dont knock the inside of the hump on the saddle off and dont get near as good of a fit.

 

[jwimberly]

I decided to pass on it, I want to do this once and done.