Installing SDR-21 pipe questions

[Nic3456]

Going to be install some 2 inch SDR-21 water pipe next week (about 600') and had a few questions.

- anyone have a preferred lube/grease they like to use?
- will the pipe have any flex/give? We need to shift the pipe about 30' over the last 200'
- do you put together the pipe on the surface and then roll in or just pull up the end and attach the new pipe? (I'm going to be about 42"+ deep)
-any other tips? (My builder will be connecting at house and water company will be connecting at meter)

I haven't been able to find any good YouTube videos - if anyone has any recommendations

 

[davesl708]

I am not sure about the best lube for the pipe. Maybe silicon grease. The manufacturer should have a preferred lube for water. At 2" there will be plenty of flex over 200' of run. Assembly on the ground will be easier. Be careful of over stressing the joints when putting it in the trench.

Others on here may have more experience with this than I. Good luck with the project.

 

[Streetcar]

Get the pipe lube where you get the pipe. Make sure it is food safe
I block the pipe with 2x4 over the trench. Remove board to lower in ditch

 

[Nic3456]

Thanks for the tips

 

[EddieWalker]

I forget the lettering or numbers on my gasketed water line, but I'm guessing assembly is the same. The place I bought it from supplied the lube. They also supplied granules of bleach. At every section of pipe, a scoop of bleach was put into the end of the pipe. I dug a 2 foot wide trench for my pipe and assembled it in the trench. The big requirement was to make sure the bottom of the trench was smooth. I failed that inspection the first time and had to go back over it again with a shovel to get it perfect. Of course, a snake fell into the trench during the night and surprised me pretty good!!!!

I used a combination of a 2x6 and a pry bar to get it together. You don't want to damage the ends of the pipe, but it takes a bit of effort to get them to slide in to the marks on the pipe.

I had one fairly sharp bend that required a very large cast iron elbow, and a wide gradual bend that I was able to just bend the pipe to install. Be sure the pipe is tight up against the walls of the trench at the bends.

How are you terminating the line? In my case, a cast iron valve was installed with a T was installed to flush out the line. Then I think it was about a dozen 80 pound sacks of concrete where put at the end of the pipe to make sure it didn't pull apart. The concrete was very important, that's another thing they inspected very closely.

After the water was turned on, we waited a day or two, then flushed out the line for at least an hour. Then the water department took a sample, tested it to make sure it was safe to drink. It was. I was told that if I didn't use the bleach, it could take weeks to get all the contaminants flushed out of the pipe.

 

[LD1]

I guess I am unsure what the lube and grease is for? IS it for installing the plastic or brass barbed fittings?

What type of SDR 21 pipe are you using? SDR21 is just a reference to its wall thickness. But no indication of what type of pipe?

Assuming you are using PE pipe? the black stuff? IF so, why not just get a 600' roll and have no joints? And if you do have to make a connection, socket-welding is the preferred method as opposed to fittings and clamps. OR are you using a PVC pipe with a SDR of 21??

Also, who decided on the 2". 2" Might be right on, or it might be overkill. I mentioned this earlier in the year, in your other threads.....but did you contact Delco? I assume thats what you have. THere is minimum charges based on meter size. And the bigger the meter, the more the charge. Same goes for tap fee. The potential cost for hooking up a 2" meter/tap is MUCH MUCH more expensive than 3/4 or 1" stuff.

MINIMUM charge for a 1" meter is ~$20
MINIMUM charge for a 1.5" meter is ~$77
MINIMUM charge for a 2" meter is $193

Water lines are one thing you want to make sure you have sized right. You want to have adequate flow/pressure.....but oversizing can cost you ALOT of $$$ month after month.

 

[EddieWalker]

Since he asked about lube, I figured he was installing gasketed pipe. The lube is to grease the rubber ring on the female side so you can force the male side of the pipe into it. It's so tight that when under pressure, it wont leak, even when the earth moves and the pipe slides in and out. It is impossible to get them together without using the lube.

 

[LD1]

Just wondering why one would want to go to that trouble, and expense, for a residential hookup.

Again, our tap fees are by size. And the price skyrockets exponentially as you increase capacity.

Sizing and installing should not be a seat-of-the-pants, go big or go home, type of thinking. We here the phrase here on TBN all the time..."go bigger than you think you need" Now, planning on building a garage, or installing an electric panel in a garage or buying a tractor....that phrase holds true. But Oversizing your tap just for the **** of it is going to cost you more money, month after month, with no benefit at all.

 

[EddieWalker]

I can't answer to the size, or if it has anything to do with meter sizer or not. But for long runs, nothing is better then gasketed pipe. It's more money, but it will outlast any other type of pipe out there because it moves with soil.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Oversized pipe running from the meter to the project can cost extra for sure, but its a one time expense. If more capacity is needed at a later date your safe. No need to run new pipe. Larger pipe pretty well stops any worries on flow rates or pressure drops. Once you have the pipe ran its easy to adapt it down to the house connection pipe size and the size needed at the water meter. 2 inch pipe does not require a 2 inch meter.

 

[LD1]

Oversized pipe running from the meter to the project can cost extra for sure, but its a one time expense. If more capacity is needed at a later date your safe. No need to run new pipe. Larger pipe pretty well stops any worries on flow rates or pressure drops. Once you have the pipe ran its easy to adapt it down to the house connection pipe size and the size needed at the water meter. 2 inch pipe does not require a 2 inch meter.

Point taken. If that's the idea, thats all well and fine. But if the plan is to use a 2" meter along with that 2" pipe....that will continue to cost more, month over month.

At this point, we just don't know

 

[jw3]

I own a plumbing shop my father started over 50 yrs ago. We ran out of pipe lube out in the country. Dad said he'd be right back. This community had a small gas station/general store. He brought back a can of Crisco. It worked well, was food safe, but the durn dogs would leave us be. Good lord that was 30 yrs ago.

 

[jk96]

I did 5,400 feet of 2" gasketed water line about 3 years ago. Meter tap is 1". I can confirm most everything suggested. 30' over 200' shouldn't be a problem. There will be plenty of flex. Pipe lube from supply house works well. We connected about 80-100 feet at a time and laid it into the trench as we worked. 2x4 across the trench work well for supporting the pipe as part is in the trench and you connect additional pieces on the ground. Be careful as you lay it in so it doesn't pull apart, don't just roll it in. With the lube two people can easily push the pipe together and seat it properly. If you work by yourself a spade shovel works well to press one piece into the next. Push the spade in the ground just in front of the next piece and use the back of the shovel as a leaver to push it forward into the previous piece. Trenching 5,000+ feet is the slow part. The pipe goes together pretty fast.

 

[ultrarunner]

Wow... 5400' is quite an install... sure don't want to have to do that twice...

All these meter sizes makes it interesting in that 1/2 and 5/8 are the norm... but then we do have 160 psi

 

[EddieWalker]

In my part of Texas, you can get just about any sized meter you want, and you just pay for the cost of the meter, and there is a big jump in what they cost the bigger you go. The water supply utility cannot make a profit providing you these things. I also got my pipe from them, at their cost, and no added sales tax. I have a 1 1/2 inch meter. I thought about going bigger, but in all reality, will never have any need for all the water I can get right now. My bill is based on how much water I use, not the tap size.

One thing that I've found that surprised me is that inside the city limits, in the older part of town where all the big, old oil money houses where built, there are two water meters. Normally a 5/8's for the house drinking water, and then a 2 inch meter for watering the grass. This isn't 100 percent for every house, but common enough that I now look for both meters when working on a house in that area.

 

[LD1]

In my part of Texas, you can get just about any sized meter you want, and you just pay for the cost of the meter, and there is a big jump in what they cost the bigger you go. The water supply utility cannot make a profit providing you these things. I also got my pipe from them, at their cost, and no added sales tax. I have a 1 1/2 inch meter. I thought about going bigger, but in all reality, will never have any need for all the water I can get right now. My bill is based on how much water I use, not the tap size.

One thing that I've found that surprised me is that inside the city limits, in the older part of town where all the big, old oil money houses where built, there are two water meters. Normally a 5/8's for the house drinking water, and then a 2 inch meter for watering the grass. This isn't 100 percent for every house, but common enough that I now look for both meters when working on a house in that area.

Tap fees are a one time expense. ITs the monthly minimum charge that continues to get you month over month.

One-time tap fees as I understand them
5/8" meter.......$5200
3/4" meter.......$8550
1" meter...........$13000

Then a huge jump....
1-1/2" meter........$24,300
2" meter..............$38,900


Monthly minimum charge......

5/8"..........$11.85
3/4"..........$15.01
1"..............$20.91
1.5"...........$77.66
2"..............$193.60

Only appreciable difference between the 5/8" thru 1" meters is gonna be the one time tap fee.

I have a 3/4" meter and a family of 4. Outside spigots are hooked to well water so no garden watering or vehicle washing gets charged to my delco bill.

My monthly usage is usually ~4000 gallons and runs me ~$30

At my previous house, prior to having two kids, my usage was ~2500gal/month. And typical to see bills of $15-$20. There is no way I would want a 1.5" meter/tap and lock myself into a ~$80/month electric bill, even if the one time tap fee was the same price as a 5/8" tap.

Tap Fees – Del-Co Water
Water Rates – Del-Co Water

While I agree, that the size of the water line between the meter and the house being 2" or 1.5" isnt gonna be a big deal. I am only advising that some though be put into selecting which size tap you want to go with. And delco is very helpful. If one has questions or needs clarification on anything, they are just a phone call away.

 

[ultrarunner]

New homes here for the most part must be sprinklered which requires a larger meter... over the years the extra meter fees are very substantial for something most will NEVER use... no way around it.

My 5/8 meter service with sewer connection is roughly $90 per month before a drop of water flows.

Water bill use to be almost inconsequential... not any more.