Advice wanted on water line to house

[pharmvet]

Im running new water line to my future house location. The mgr of the local water coop is a good friend of mine. The line Im tying into is 2". I am currently planning to run 2" all the way to my house (approx. 200 yds off the road). Another friend of mine advised me to use a larger meter than the standard 3/4". The coop mgr said that would be fine, so long as I paid the difference in the larger meter. Any advice from you guys? Is this a good thing, or a waste of money? thanks

 

[sailfast]

Where is the meter located? What is the cost difference? How much water do you plan to use?

 

[pharmvet]

Meter will be located along road frontage, approx. 200 yds from house. I just want to make sure I have plenty of volume and pressure. I have 3 kids and plan to build a 4 BR 3 bath house. I will also have a shop with plumbing and someday plan to have a small orchard and annual garden. Also, unless its detrimental, Im all about overkill !! LOL

 

[dex3361]

Im running new water line to my future house location. The mgr of the local water coop is a good friend of mine. The line Im tying into is 2". I am currently planning to run 2" all the way to my house (approx. 200 yds off the road). Another friend of mine advised me to use a larger meter than the standard 3/4". The coop mgr said that would be fine, so long as I paid the difference in the larger meter. Any advice from you guys? Is this a good thing, or a waste of money? thanks

How many bathrooms? How many people live in the house?

What is the pressure at the meter?

How much higher or lower is the house than the meter?

You will not loose much pressure to friction loss through the 2" plastic pipe until you get to higher flow rates.

If you have good pressure at the meter and your house is on the same elevation as the meter, I do not see much gain with a larger meter unless you are going to have a high flow rate then the smaller meter would become a restriction. A 3/4 meter will lose about 7 PSI at a max flow of
20 GPM. If you need more than 20 GPM or you can't tolerate up to 7 PSI pressure loss then go up a size.

 

[tmeadows]

why would you need a larger meter? 1 1/2" line from the meter would be more water then a normal household could use. I ran 2600 ft. from my meter to my house using 1 1/2" and then had to put in a pressure control valve. Tim

 

[Artisan]

A larger meter will permit more "Volumn" of water to flow at any ONE time.
The rule of thumb is your meter should not be more than one pipe
size smaller than your service, in your case a 1.5" meter is required, if
you have sized the main correctly. If your guessing you could be spending
money you do not need to spend...

With a larger meter you are less apt to get things like Shower Shock, as
in perhaps when the sprinklers come on, and your in the shower a few
seconds of starved hot or cold water.

That lil 3/4" meter is a bottleneck on a HUGE 2" line. You will never squeeze
more water thru it then it will allow, thus you will see what most refer to
as a pressure drop, when actually the volumn drops. As soon as all
taps are closed the "pressure" will return to max.

 

[Artisan]

why would you need a larger meter? 1 1/2" line from the meter would be more water then a normal household could use. I ran 2600 ft. from my meter to my house using 1 1/2" and then had to put in a pressure control valve. Tim

Thats a whole different story...It is things like that that dictates why
professionals should do designing and sizing... It is not simple.

Anything over 80PSI is TO MUCH and
you WILL spend needless money over the years repairing plumbing if
you allow the pressure to exceed 80 PSI...Believe it.

 

[Artisan]

There is no such thing as a "Normal" house. Every water usage tap, sprinkler head, toilet, faucet washer etc et al all have a value , a value
expressed in fixture units. You NEED to size it PROPERLY or potentially
have problems...

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Just a guess, based on some experience, but don't be surprised if you find the pressure at your meter is not constant throughout the day, and throughout the year.

 

[Artisan]

Generally it will rise at night and drop during peak usage hours.
If you buy a water pressure gauge w/ a tattle tale you can see
what it does / see the higest it gets while your not watching
it.