Pipe plowing with poly (roll) roll pipe vs. pipe pulling with PVC pipe

[gabby]

It seems that poly (roll) pipe is the default choice for anyone wanting to install pipe with a subsoiler. I have installed both poly and PVC with my subsoiler and PVC wins hands down.

Here is a picture of my pipe puller in action with 3/4" PVC pipe. I have installed about 2 miles of pipe on my farm with it.

Here are some uninterrupted run lengths that I have installed without problems:

3/4" PVC pipe - 1200 feet

1" PVC pipe - 900 feet

2" PVC pipe - 400 feet

All it takes is a ring at the base of the subsoiler foot to tie the rope to. You pull the pipe underground like a long rope instead of feeding it through a tube. It has surprisingly little resistance.

I think PVC is much better pipe with much better fittings, and the last time I compared prices there was very little difference.

Gabby

 

[heehaw]

how do you fasten to the pvc pipe? lets say you have 200ft of 1" pipe glued and laid out on the ground: you tie one end to the subsoiler, stick it in the ground and start pulling the pipe?? is that how it works?
heehaw

 

[gabby]

Hey Heehaw,

Make a pulling head out of a 1" cap with a hole drilled in it. Run a rope through the hole and knot it so it can't pull out. Then just glue it on the pipe, tie it to the subsoiler, and start pulling. It helps to dig a starter hole with a sharpshooter shovel. At the end, cut off the cap with about 2 feeet of pipe attached for next time.

Another tip - put a sharp knife edge on your subsoiler shank to slice neatly through the sod.

If the ground is hard or your tractor is small, you will need to make a pass or two with the subsoiler before pulling the pipe to get full depth.

You won't believe how easy it is to lay pipe this way. I have also pulled electrical cable the same way.

gabby

 

[6or7dazeaweek]

Now you've got me wondering if this method would be good for laying in pipe for an underground sprinkler system? How do you determine how deep the pipe is getting buried ahead of time?

Thanks!
Jon

 

[RonR]

Good question Jon!

When I get around to laying sprinkler pipe, I'll have several areas where the lines will cross other lines.

I'm planning on putting a gage wheel consisting of a jack stand with a swivel wheel on my subsoiler, and hopefully in our hard ground, the shank will pull hard enough down to keep the gage wheel on the surface. Then I'll have to plan out my system so I can run the first lines deepest, and where they cross, raise the shank 2" to clean.

I might chicken out and hand dig where they cross to insure I don't mess up and break them.

Ron

 

[gabby]

Now you've got me wondering if this method would be good for laying in pipe for an underground sprinkler system? How do you determine how deep the pipe is getting buried ahead of time?

Thanks!
Jon

Hey Jon,
Usually I'm running it as deep as the shank will allow or as deep as it will penetrate. If you have a small tractor you will have to be careful about spinning your wheels and tearing up too much grass. You can control the depth with the lift arms if it wants to run too deep, but that's not usually necessary. Getting it to run deep enough might be more of a challenge unless you make a dry pass first.
gabby

 

[heehaw]

i like this idea a lot better than trying to feed the pipe thru a tube as your going: thanks
heehaw

 

[WVBill]

Sounds very interesting. I'm trying to visualize the set up just before you drop the sub-soiler down and start pulling.
For your 1200 foot run, did you make up 1200 feet of pipe and lay it out on the ground straight for 1200 feet on the opposite side of your starting hole?
Meaning - did you have 2400 feet of space to work in. Or did you glue - pull - glue - pull ....etc.?

 

[gabby]

Hey WVBill,
I've pulled it stop-and-go one stick at a time, several sticks at a time, and hundreds of feet at a time. The 1200 foot run was about 300 feet at a time. It depends on the space available. 3/4" and 1" pipe is flexible enough to curve it around if necessary in order to pre-assemble it or feed it into the hole.
gabby

 

[flusher]

Hey WVBill,
I've pulled it stop-and-go one stick at a time, several sticks at a time, and hundreds of feet at a time. The 1200 foot run was about 300 feet at a time. It depends on the space available. 3/4" and 1" pipe is flexible enough to curve it around if necessary in order to pre-assemble it or feed it into the hole.
gabby

Question: have you ever pulled PVC pipe that had tees and risers inserted in the line for sprinkler heads? Just wondering if this is possible without shearing off the risers when pulling the pipe into the trench.

The other option is to pull the PVC pipe the standard way with unions connecting the sections and, once the line is in the trench, to use saddle tees to connect the risers. Problem here is possible leaks in these joints.

 

[gabby]

Question: have you ever pulled PVC pipe that had tees and risers inserted in the line for sprinkler heads? Just wondering if this is possible without shearing off the risers when pulling the pipe into the trench.

The other option is to pull the PVC pipe the standard way with unions connecting the sections and, once the line is in the trench, to use saddle tees to connect the risers. Problem here is possible leaks in these joints.

No I haven't and I'm sure it wouldn't work with tees attached. You will have to dig up the tee locations and install them. You can use regular tees because small pipe is flexible enough to work the tees in, and in short runs you can slide the pipe back and forth in the dirt by hand.
gabby

 

[texasjohn]

Interesting discussion. It encourages me to try PVC one of these days. I have pulled lots of poly (roll) pipe...but only 20 ft lengths or so... to take an electric fence charger wire under gates using a subsoiler.

I would add that I learned to do everything related to a pipe segment in one day. Once I pulled half way, got stopped and didn't get back for a week. If done immediately, the pipe slides easily back and forth in the subsoiler trench. However, waiting a while allows the soil to grip the pipe.... I pulled the pipe in two when I sought to contnue pulling the pipe and had to start over.

 

[6or7dazeaweek]

Gabby: I bought the subsoiler at TSC today while they had an in store discount on tillage equipment. The first thing I noticed when I got it home is that it is not I-Match compatable...probably with a little work it could become compatable.

I think I'll research the underground sprinkler sites for additional info on just what I'm going to need to buy and then have a go at it. Poly or PVC is still a question that need more research.
Thanks!
Jon

 

[gabby]

Once I pulled half way, got stopped and didn't get back for a week. If done immediately, the pipe slides easily back and forth in the subsoiler trench. However, waiting a while allows the soil to grip the pipe.... I pulled the pipe in two when I sought to contnue pulling the pipe and had to start over.

The only tme I pulled PVC apart was pulling 2" pipe. At 480 feet it broke just behind the puller.
gabby

 

[texasjohn]

My boo-boo was with poly pipe which had set in the ground for 1 week and gotten rained on... clay soil clamped down on it and wouldn't let go... have pulled lots at one time and it never froze up... but about 25 ft is longest poly pull I have done.

 

[Kays Supply]

I am a plumbing contractor. I have had experience with poly pipe splitting. I have just finished a class on PEX pipe. I learned that the black poly pipe has a weakness. It is made with carbon chains that run length wise in the pipe. The PEX is cross linked for several reasons, but it resists the length wise splitting. Dragging poly through rocky soil could speed up the length wise splits. I am passing this on just to help in your efforts.

 

[burhil]

Thanks Gabby,
The information and picture were very helpful. I am going to install
400 feet schedule 40 1/2 inch pvc pipe according to your instructions.

 

[BXpanded]

Question: have you ever pulled PVC pipe that had tees and risers inserted in the line for sprinkler heads? Just wondering if this is possible without shearing off the risers when pulling the pipe into the trench.

The other option is to pull the PVC pipe the standard way with unions connecting the sections and, once the line is in the trench, to use saddle tees to connect the risers. Problem here is possible leaks in these joints.

I pulled in most of my irrigation system. 1" and 1 1/2" PVC. In some areas I pulled as much as 200 feet WITH tees installed. I'm sure I could have pulled farther but that was all I needed. Make sure you put the pipe together, then lay it on the ground where it's going. Carefully, mark on the ground, the end your pulling to, and the location of each tee . If you skip that step, you'll get a real work out with the shovel trying to find them. I wouldn't try it with the risers.

 

[Bdavis]

The only tme I pulled PVC apart was pulling 2" pipe. At 480 feet it broke just behind the puller.
gabby

I know about PVC pipe for water lines but I am completely ignorant on roll
poly.

I have a camp I bought and I am renovating it. I think the water line that runs from the well to other end of the cabin is what you guys call roll poly.

It is black thin wall tubing either 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
It actually ran to an old trailer and is not in use at this time.

I have been trying to decide whether I should use it to supply water to my
cabin or replace it with PVC.

From the well to the start of the cabin is 40 feet . THen it runs underneath the cabin another 40 feet. So about 80 feet in total. The portion underneath the cabin is in a shallow trench not even covered with dirt but I could easily throw some dirt on it. The portion from the well to the cabin appears to be buired well and because of pine trees and other obstacles I would have to dig by hand and make some bends in the water line before I could reach the start of the cabin.

So here are my questions
1. Is this probably roll poly ? Is water supplied through roll poly - potable water ?

2. My camp is in lower southwest Mississippi so we do get some freezing in winter but basically pretty mild winters. Would covering it with 4 or 5 inches of soil be enough to keep it from breaking during the winter ?

Really appreciate any and all comments or suggestions. It certainly would be alot easier on me to hook back into the existing tubing and cover it with dirt.
However , I do want to do it right and do not want to supply non potable water to the cabin or have a problem every winter with this stuff breaking.

Thanks for your help

 

[Wnc3]

I know about PVC pipe for water lines but I am completely ignorant on roll
poly.

I have a camp I bought and I am renovating it. I think the water line that runs from the well to other end of the cabin is what you guys call roll poly.

It is black thin wall tubing either 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
It actually ran to an old trailer and is not in use at this time.

I have been trying to decide whether I should use it to supply water to my
cabin or replace it with PVC.

From the well to the start of the cabin is 40 feet . THen it runs underneath the cabin another 40 feet. So about 80 feet in total. The portion underneath the cabin is in a shallow trench not even covered with dirt but I could easily throw some dirt on it. The portion from the well to the cabin appears to be buired well and because of pine trees and other obstacles I would have to dig by hand and make some bends in the water line before I could reach the start of the cabin.

So here are my questions
1. Is this probably roll poly ? Is water supplied through roll poly - potable water ?

2. My camp is in lower southwest Mississippi so we do get some freezing in winter but basically pretty mild winters. Would covering it with 4 or 5 inches of soil be enough to keep it from breaking during the winter ?

Really appreciate any and all comments or suggestions. It certainly would be alot easier on me to hook back into the existing tubing and cover it with dirt.
However , I do want to do it right and do not want to supply non potable water to the cabin or have a problem every winter with this stuff breaking.

Thanks for your help

We have it running 200 feet from our well to cabin.
Buried about 6 to 8 inches. It has been there for at least 35 years and we drink from it. We only have about 2 freezes per year on average. Sometimes we drain it sometimes we don,t. If I was to replace it, I would go to PVC.