soil pipe: cost of

[Fred]

Hi,

What's so special about 110mm soil pipe in black or grey compared to the orange underground version? Am I right to think the underground version is sensitive to UV so will eventually go brittle in sunlight? Is the only difference that they add something to stop this and a colour to the "above ground" version?

It seems that the above ground costs twice the price of the underground pipe (£20 vs. £9) and I can't understand why. I only wanted a small section to make a pre-filter for my water butt! I am tempted to use the u/g pipe. How quickly would it deteriorate in the sun? Would a layer of paint help protect it?

TIA

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Fred saying something like:

It doesn't deteriorate quickly, but sometime in ten years it might crack. Yes, a coat of paint will extend its life quite well.

[Fred]

Thanks.