OP
txdon
Super Star Member
<font color="blue">"...3.36 inches for every 100 feet..." </font>
Westonium, I can live with that expansion rate. The 2" PVC has a 5 1/2'" coupling with 4" past the O ring. That means each UNGLUED piece could expand and contract a easy 3" each 20' or 15" per 100'. That gives me an easy extra foot of security per 100'.
When my Dad and I installed the line on one cool morning and finished in the warm afternoon we looked back and saw that the pipe had expanded and looked like a snake and actually was coming out of the trench. We just waited till the next morning when it contracted and was laying flat in the trench and then we covered it up.
When I was checking the slip joints last week, and I checked about 50, they all looked good with no leaks. On several of the joints I could tell that they had slipped about an inch which is acceptable.
The problem is that I had put a big rock at the end and overtime (7 years) the expansion pushed the rock and when the contraction happened only the last slip joint stayed at the expanded position. That is why the last slip joint pulled out past the O ring this December. The moving of the glued joint as I worked the slip joint into place loosened the seal of the glue which cause the leak I discovered last week. A larger thrust block might have prevented the original leak. I'm hoping the 6' galvanized T post, 5' down, will.
The union I put in can slide back and forth about 4" without leaking so there is another expansion/contraction relief place.
I have check the meter about 20 times the last few days after water usage. I can now answer my own question with experience.
The question on a LONG 2" pipe fed by a 3/4" line: How long does the water go though the meter after use before the pressure is equalized?
The Answer: About 10 minutes. The meter wheel will continue to go slower and slower and then will come to a dead stop. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Westonium, I can live with that expansion rate. The 2" PVC has a 5 1/2'" coupling with 4" past the O ring. That means each UNGLUED piece could expand and contract a easy 3" each 20' or 15" per 100'. That gives me an easy extra foot of security per 100'.
When my Dad and I installed the line on one cool morning and finished in the warm afternoon we looked back and saw that the pipe had expanded and looked like a snake and actually was coming out of the trench. We just waited till the next morning when it contracted and was laying flat in the trench and then we covered it up.
When I was checking the slip joints last week, and I checked about 50, they all looked good with no leaks. On several of the joints I could tell that they had slipped about an inch which is acceptable.
The problem is that I had put a big rock at the end and overtime (7 years) the expansion pushed the rock and when the contraction happened only the last slip joint stayed at the expanded position. That is why the last slip joint pulled out past the O ring this December. The moving of the glued joint as I worked the slip joint into place loosened the seal of the glue which cause the leak I discovered last week. A larger thrust block might have prevented the original leak. I'm hoping the 6' galvanized T post, 5' down, will.
The union I put in can slide back and forth about 4" without leaking so there is another expansion/contraction relief place.
I have check the meter about 20 times the last few days after water usage. I can now answer my own question with experience.
The question on a LONG 2" pipe fed by a 3/4" line: How long does the water go though the meter after use before the pressure is equalized?
The Answer: About 10 minutes. The meter wheel will continue to go slower and slower and then will come to a dead stop. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
