Ditch prep for Water Line service ?

[G McCall]

I am preparing to install a water line 175 feet long.

I have the ditch dug and plan to use Schedule 40 etc pipe or etc.
Mot sure of the correct pipe name. I prefer a pipe that comes in 100 foot rolls.

Does the ditch need any special preparation such has sand base ?

Would it be better I place the water line pipe inside another pipe if I were to use shorter pipe lengths with glued joints ?

 

[koop]

Sounds like maybe you are coming from well to a building?


Schedule 40 usually refers to PVC pipe which comes in 20' (max) lengths.

1" Black plastic water line is what you describe and want for your application. There are no joints to fail underground.

I have never done any special prep for water line other than depth below frost line.

Good luck

 

[EddieWalker]

Schedule 40 is the good stuff. I don't have a clue what you mean by "etc" or what it is.

Black Poly come sin different grades. If you buy it at Home Depot or Lowes, you will end up with the thin stuff. That's pure junk and not even good enough for sprinkler systems. If you go to a plumbing supply house, you can get the better stuff. I forget the ratings on it, but one is rated for around 100 psi and the better is 300psi. You might think that's fine since you don't think you will ever have that much preasure, but water preasure is a small part of what a pipe does.

A good pipe resists damage from the soil. In some places, it's code to have one foot of sand all the way around the pipe. I spent a season in California doing this, and it's a real pain in the but.

The next thing to consider is your fitting. Poly relies on hose clamps. It's famous for failing. It takes years, or it happens right away. From what I've been told by those in the water districtst that I've worked with, it always fails. There are crews working 24/7 to deal with those failures in black poly and those fittings. It was used for allot of neigborhoods way back when, and now they are regretting it.

Nobody regrets using Schedule 40 PVC pipe for their water lines. You didn't say what size water line that you are putting in, but if it's 2 inches or larger, then you want gasketed pipe. It might come in smaller sizes, I'm not sure what size you can get it in. If it's smaller pipe like one inch, then your next best bet is 20 foot sticks with a bellhousing. The bellhousing is longer and stronger then a PVC coupling that you glue on.

Always use purple primer. It's softens the pipe and allows the glue to melt the PVC together.

Of the different colored glues, the clear glue is the only one that the water districts that I've worked with will allow. It's the only color that I've been told does not have a problem of failure. All other colors of glue will fail.

Pipe in the ground moves. Depending on your local soil conditions, decides how much movement that you will get. It's probably allot more then you realize. Most people don't have a clue how much their soil moves.

Putting a pipe inside another pipe is likely to increase the movement of the water pipe. It is built to handle normal movement with what is considered the proper amount of resistance. If you change this, you change what the pipe is designed to be capable of doing. It's anybodies guess what the results will be.

Keep it simple, do what is proven and what is code.

Eddie

 

[smitty9266]

There is a new PVC pipe on the market that is standard sized and comes in roll's called flexible PVC. It used standard fittings comes in 50 100 and 250 foot lengths. Try this link Product Listing - 3_Flex_PVC_Pipe_1_inch.

I used this to run 250 foot in the woods worked great no couplings no joints no problems!!!

Jeff

 

[ray66v]

You want a coil of water service pipe. This is the plastic pipe that is standard installation material for this purpose, (300 psi). I would go at least 1". It comes in rolls long enough to go all one piece. And is not real expensive.

Don't forget the compression fittings and the sleeves that go inside the pipe to prevent it from being crushed by the fittings. The sleeves come in plastic and stainless. Get the stainless if you have the choice.

Make sure that there are no voids under the pipe. They will potentially cause tension on the pipe if it gets pushed into them as everything settles.

 

[CurlyDave]

I am preparing to install a water line 175 feet long.

I have the ditch dug and plan to use Schedule 40 etc pipe or etc.
Mot sure of the correct pipe name. I prefer a pipe that comes in 100 foot rolls.

Does the ditch need any special preparation such has sand base ?

Would it be better I place the water line pipe inside another pipe if I were to use shorter pipe lengths with glued joints ?

If you are doing this yourself all the way, let me tell you about the correct pipe size to use. Most people think that if pressure drop through the system is low enough, the pipe sizing is correct. This is mistaken.

Using the pump curve for your well pump, the head of the well, and the desired water tank pressure determine the GPM your pump is likely to produce. You want the flow rate from the well to the pressure tank, not the amount you will use inside the house at any given time. The pipe from your well to the house should be sized so that the flow velocity is between 2 and 5 feet/second.

This is fast enough to prevent sediment from settling in the pipe, and slow enough to prevent pipe erosion. Pipes sized this way are frequently much larger than those sized on pressure drop alone.

On your other issues, PVC is about a "standard" as you will get, no special ditch preparation, other than keeping it below the frost line, is necessary, and a double pipe is not usually necessary, except in special circumstances.

I used conduit to sleeve my pipe on the run from the propane tank to the house, and I used conduit to sleeve a section of PEX run underground.

 

[ampsucker]

definitely stay away from the cheap black plastic pipe. i have dug one of our water runs up in various places so many times i can't count. it is always a sharp rock that has punctured it. usually every year or two i have to dig up and patch a section of that stupid pipe the previous owners put in 30 some years ago. if there wasn't so much landscaping on top of it, i would have replaced it long ago. probably will still have to do it some day, just dreading it....

amp

 

[SLOBuds]

I used conduit to sleeve my pipe on the run from the propane tank to the house, and I used conduit to sleeve a section of PEX run underground.

Haven't considered running PEX underground. I like the conduit sleeve idea. Any elaboration on how that worked out for you or other constraints relative to that approach?

These water line threads are interesting to me. I'm a California boy and it all seems to be PVC out here. Can't imagine it being done any other way! Now I'm checking into these black lines, and the flexible PVC mentioned above.

With PCV you just throw it into the ground. Below frost line if applicable. Yes, you need to properly glue the joints according to instruction. It's not difficult at all, but it has to be done.

I set about 2500 feet of PVC on my parcel about 2 years ago. Had help from someone who taught me to minimize connectors. My original design had several places with 45 degree connectors to shift course. The guy who helped me instead ran the trench in gentle curves which minimized connectors (eg, failure points) down to the minimum. Ran some 4" fire hydrant PVC that didn't care much for those gentle curves!

 

[Charlesaf3]

As an aside to the excellent advice above, I like to check pipes with an air compressor before I put water in and hook them up. Leaking air seems easier to fix for me....

Less of and issue in the ground than it is in a building of course.

 

[SLOBuds]

As an aside to the excellent advice above, I like to check pipes with an air compressor before I put water in and hook them up. Leaking air seems easier to fix for me....

How do you do that? How do you know there is a leak, and how do you find out where it is then?