DIY Digging trenches for Geothermal

buckeyefarmer · Dec 2, 2018

LD1 said:
Yea, that's another gripe I have with hvac contractors in this area....they like to undersize the units. And rely on backup heat in the winter. It kinda defeats the purpose of installing Geo and going "green" and all. Then claim it has to do with dehumidifying the house, and if the ac doesn't run long enough it won't dehumidify and it won't "feel" as comfortable.

Don't buy into that bs either.

Wanting to keep a home 70 when it is 95 outside....that's a 25 degree temp change.

Wanting to keep it 70 when it's 20 outside is a 50 degree Delta. Takes twice as many btus.

So a unit sized for ac....quickly becomes too small once temps drop below 40 in my area.

2-stage helps solve this issue too.

They are actually right on the dehumidification issue. Geo is designed using BIN data for your area. Their arguement is why pay for another ton on the unit if your only expected to run in that range for a few hrs in an avarage yr. Two stage does help the issue.

Gofast · Dec 2, 2018

We had to deal with a lot of rain on Saturday and Sunday a couple morning showers. But after lunch we were able to dig. One 270 trench 3 wide 6 foot deep is done.
I have started digging from the house to the fence 4' wide 5'-6' deep.
I sure wish I had bought a 16" bucket but I am getting it done with the 10" bucket.

I guy that is digging has a day job digging for someone else so he will come after work to finish.

buckeyefarmer · Dec 3, 2018

Try to get some good topsoil in direct contact around the geopipe. Clay is not good.

Gofast · Dec 3, 2018

Clay is what we have here the top soil is very thin here just a couple inches. That is why we put in extra loop in because of the clay soil.
I am putting in 800' pre ton.

irvingj · Dec 3, 2018

Yeah, but... but... your dirt is RED!

Yes, I know, "in the south"... but it still gets me every time I see that! :laughing: First time was when I visited my brother at Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, in 1966. Had never seen red dirt before. :confused2:

Gofast · Dec 3, 2018

I grew up in PA about 1-hour north of Pittsburgh. We had top soil more than a foot deep and then the dirt looked like dirt.
It grew plants.
It took a while to get use to the red dirt here. It stains everything it touches.

buckeyefarmer · Dec 3, 2018

Gofast said:
Clay is what we have here the top soil is very thin here just a couple inches. That is why we put in extra loop in because of the clay soil.
I am putting in 800' pre ton.

That should be good, i have 500' per slinky per ton, plus another 100' each way out to the slinky, so 700 total. I put a layer of topsoil over mine, then filled.

LD1 · Dec 3, 2018

I used 800' per ton too.

Couple of reasons....800' was the longest continuous roll I could source locally, and because 4 loops of 800' each was only $200 more than 4 loops @ 600' each. (~$800 vs ~$1000)

The way I did my loops....I dug ONE trench ~ 80' straight out from the basement. Then perpendicular to that was the 4 trenches all coming off that main, each trench ~120' long. Each spaced ~20' apart....

So trench 1 actually has the most "slinky" to it. Since its only 20' out....20' back in the main part of the trench....so that one has ~760' slinky

Trench 4....being 80' away.....would have 160' NOT in slinky mode.

But all that is irrelevant....at the end of the day there is 4x800' of pipe in the ground doin' its thing.

This is my thread with pics of my plumbing/loops
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...geothermal-plumbing.html?highlight=geothermal