PP-R Pipe Length: What Actually Ships, and How It Loads
PPR pipe ships in 4 m and 6 m standard lengths, 5.8 m for large bore. No international standard fixes one; national standards and the container do.
Most PP-R pipe ships in 4 m straight lengths, and 6 m is the other standard length — the one that will not fit a 20 ft container. Large bore switches to 5.8 m; small bore also comes in coils. No international standard fixes it: ISO 15874-2:2013 never uses the word “length”. Two national ones do: GB/T 18742.2-2017 at 4 m or 6 m, IS 15801:2008 at 3 to 6 m. Length is a commercial term, set by your purchase order and the box it must fit.
Key takeaways
- No international standard fixes a length; national ones do. ISO 15874-2:2013 and DIN 8077:2008-09 set cross-section only. GB/T 18742.2-2017 §7.3.3 says 4 m or 6 m with no negative deviation; IS 15801:2008 §7.4 says 3 to 6 m with a +10 mm tolerance.
- 4 m and 6 m are 40-foot lengths; 5.8 m is the 20-foot one. 3 × 4 m and 2 × 6 m both make 12,000 of a 40 ft HC’s 12,032 mm; 6,000 mm will not go lengthwise into a 20 ft box.
- In a 20 ft box 5.8 m carries 45 % more metres — both load one pipe deep, so 5.8 / 4.0 = 1.45. In a 40 ft HC it reverses.
- PP-R never weighs out. 9,000 m of DN20 PN20 at 0.172 kg/m is about 1,550 kg against a 28,130 kg payload.
On this page
Does Any Standard Set a PP-R Pipe Length?
The two your supplier quotes do not. ISO 15874-2:2013 fixes only mean outside diameter and wall thickness — Clause 6.2, where DN20 class A series S2.5 is 20 to 20.3 mm outside with a 3.4 mm wall — and its Table 12 marking list has eight items, none of them length. The word appears nowhere in it. DIN 8077:2008-09 covers dimensions, tolerances and weights.
National standards do fix it, and they are the exception that proves the point. GB/T 18742.2-2017 §7.3.3, which most Asian-made stock is built to, says length is generally 4 m or 6 m or as agreed, with no negative deviation. India’s IS 15801:2008 §7.4 says the straight pipe “shall be 3 to 6 m or as agreed between the manufacturer and the purchaser”, with a +10 mm tolerance on total length. Both are commercial conventions written down, not hydraulic requirements — and they are where the numbers on your quotation come from.
What Length Manufacturers Actually Ship
Catalogues converge on a short list.
| Supplied form | Diameter (mm) | Where you meet it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 m straight | 20–125; all sizes at some makers | De-facto global standard; first GB/T §7.3.3 length | Wastes 1,900 mm of a 20 ft box |
| 6 m straight | Any | Second GB/T length; usual on Asian quotes | Will not load a 20 ft box lengthwise: 6,000 vs 5,900 mm |
| 5.8 m straight | 160–630 at some makers; North America | North American stock, though ½"–1" SDR 11 coils | Rarely catalogued below ø160 elsewhere |
| 3 m straight (2 m is cut-to-order only) | 20–125 | A standard length under IS 15801 §7.4; ATP stocks PN20 ø20×3.4 | Worst 20 ft length: two need 6,000 mm, wasting 2,900 mm |
| Coils, 50–100 m | 20–32 | Thin-wall small bore; a real PP-R form, not only PE-X | Only some wall series coil; ask by code |
| Source: GB/T 18742.2-2017 §7.3.3; IS 15801:2008 §7.4; aquatherm 09/2024 and NA Parts Guide 03/2025; ATP. Bundle counts are not standardised. | |||
Length tracks handling, not hydraulics. For the cross-section, our PP-R pipe sizes chart in mm and inches carries the DN and wall tables.
Why 4 m Is a 40-Foot Length and 5.8 m Is a 20-Foot One
Pipe loads lengthwise, so the geometry that matters is internal floor length against cut length. Hapag-Lloyd publishes 5,900 mm for a 20 ft Standard, 12,032 mm for a 40 ft High Cube:
- 20 ft, 4 m: 2 × 4,000 = 8,000 > 5,900, so one pipe; 5,900 − 4,000 = 1,900 mm dead, 67.8 %. At 5.8 m the gap is 100 mm, 98.3 %.
- 20 ft, 6 m: 6,000 > 5,900 — will not load lengthwise.
- 40 ft HC: 3 × 4,000 and 2 × 6,000 both = 12,000, 32 mm spare, 99.7 %; 2 × 5,800 = 11,600, 96.4 %.
| Cut length (m) | 20 ft GP, pipes end to end (5,900 mm) | Floor used (%) | 40 ft HC, pipes end to end (12,032 mm) | Floor used (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | 1 (two need 6,000) | 50.8 | 4 | 99.7 |
| 4.0 | 1 | 67.8 | 3 | 99.7 |
| 5.8 | 1 | 98.3 | 2 | 96.4 |
| 6.0 | 0, not lengthwise | — | 2 | 99.7 |
| Source: internal dimensions from Hapag-Lloyd; percentages our arithmetic. Boxes vary and bundles need dunnage; treat as ceilings. | ||||
Read the 20 ft column again. The cross-section does not change, so the box takes about the same number of pipes either way — but 5.8 / 4.0 = 1.45, so 5.8 m carries about 45 % more metres for the same freight. In a 40 ft HC that reverses. The lever is often not yours to pull, though: aquatherm publishes 4 m for ø20–125 and 5.8 m only from ø160 up, so below ø160 it is a special run. Both national standards allow any agreed length; the mill’s changeover cost decides.
IFAN’s own measured loading is 8,000–9,000 m of DN20 PN20 in a 20 ft box — our figure, measured not calculated, and it moves with diameter and wall. At a published 0.172 kg/m (RAKtherm SDR 6 PN 20; geometric nominal about 0.16 kg/m) that is roughly 1,550 kg against the 28,130 kg payload. PP-R never weighs out; voids and dead floor fill the box — see PP-R container loading.
The Offcut You Pay For Twice
Site waste runs the opposite way, and is a property of your floor module, not the pipe. Against a 2.9 m riser drop, 4 m gives one drop and a 1.1 m offcut (27.5 % waste) while 5.8 m gives exactly two drops. At a 3.0 m floor it inverts: 4 m leaves 1.0 m (25 %), 5.8 m leaves 2.8 m (48 %). Divide your floor height into each candidate length before ordering.
Access decides the rest. A 5.8 m or 6 m bundle has to round the stair turns and reach the level where it is welded; no passenger lift takes it. If the site cannot move it whole it is cut at the gate — a long length shipped to make a short one. See PP-R riser sizing.
What to Write on the Purchase Order
Four things belong in the contract, not an email: the cut length in millimetres; the length tolerance, for which there are ready-made words — IS 15801 §7.4’s +10 mm on total length, or GB/T §7.3.3’s ban on any negative deviation; pieces and metres per bundle with the bundle’s outer dimensions; and whether bundles may be broken to fill a container. ISO 15874-2 requires marking at least once per metre, so a short bar shows up when you count marks — see PP-R export packaging.
Manufacturing since 1993 in a 120,000 m² Zhejiang smart factory, exporting to 120+ countries: 3,000+ PP-R SKUs, DN20–DN160, PN12.5–PN25, 100 % virgin PP-R, batch certificate every lot, to DIN 8077/8078 and ISO 15874.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a standard length of pipe?
The standards that name one are national, not international. GB/T 18742.2-2017 §7.3.3 says 4 m or 6 m or as agreed, with no negative deviation; IS 15801:2008 §7.4 says 3 to 6 m with a +10 mm tolerance. ISO 15874-2 and DIN 8077 name none — 4 m is the de-facto global length, 5.8 m for large bore.
How long is a PPR?
A single PP-R pipe is normally 4 m long, with 6 m the common second option. Large bore from ø160 mm is usually 5.8 m, North American stock 19 ft, and 3 m bars and DN20–DN32 coils exist for small sizes.
What is the length of a 1/2" PPR pipe?
The same as any other small-bore PP-R pipe: 4 m as standard, 3 m or a coil where the mill stocks them. Length does not vary with diameter below ø125 mm. In PP-R, 1/2" is DN20, whose outside diameter is 20 mm under ISO 15874-2:2013.
What are the standard PPR pipe sizes?
ISO 15874-2:2013 class A runs DN12 to DN160 outside diameter, with wall thickness set by the pipe series, not the diameter. The full DN, inch and wall mapping sits on our PP-R pipe sizes chart.
Sources
- GB/T 18742.2-2017 §7.3.3 — 4 m or 6 m, no negative deviation
- IS 15801:2008 §7.4 — 3 to 6 m, +10 mm on total length
- ISO 15874-2:2013 (ed. 2; confirmed 2023, revision flagged 2025), with Amd 1:2018 and Amd 2:2022. Full text consulted; zero hits for “length”
- DIN 8077:2008-09 — Dimensions
- Hapag-Lloyd — 20' Standard and 40' High Cube
- aquatherm catalogue 09/2024 and NA Parts Guide 03/2025
- Peštan PP-R catalogue
- ATP PP-R PN20, 3 m bars
- RAKtherm SDR 6 PN 20 (0.172 kg/mt)
