The most common correlations for calculating the friction factor in rough and smooth pipes are reviewed in this paper. From these correlations, a series of more general equations has been developed making possible a very accurate estimation of the friction factor without carrying out iterative calculus. The calculation of the parameters of the new equations has been done through non-linear multivariable regression. The better predictions are achieved with those equations obtained from two or three internal iterations of the Colebrook–White equation. Of these, the best results are obtained with the following equation: