LONG Water Line Question

[jinman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
Some people pay money to a gym to get the kind of workout I'm getting. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )</font>

Call it an "Exer-Shovel" and sell it on ebay as the next get-fit-quick craze. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[mikim]

Wish I could be there to give you a hand ......BUT I AIN'T RETIRED YET! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif good luck ...we'll be up this weekend - gotta clear a spot we picked out for a well....driller plans on doing it by end of month...... ~500 ft and $10K /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[EddieWalker]

Don,

I'm really suprised that you haven't found any wet spots with a steady leak like you have. I heard of stories of leaks running into gopher lines, but those are just stories.

I'm wondering about those 3/4 inch valves you have along your 2 inch main. What type of valves are they? PVC ball valves? Those are the worse. Are they brass gate valves? These are the best, but they have pipe threads on them that might be leaking.

I'd check those valves to be sure they are actually closed. Then I'd look at the valve itself to see if they are dry. Some valves will leak out the stem. Next step would be the T that comes off the 2 inch line. Is it glued in, or did you put a sleeve over it and tap it? My guess is glue since it's easier and cheaper on a new line. What type of glue was used? My water company only allowes clear glue with purple primer. Any other type has been known to fail according to them.

Sounds like you're enjoying your retirement!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Eddie

 

[cowboydoc]

I know things are different in different places of the country but why wouldn't a water line that long just be run with heavy duty pvc 1" pipe that comes in 300 - 1000' sections instead of numerous joints like that? We have water lines that are 30 years old like that. They have never gotten a leak. When there are problems you know exactly where to look as there are usually only a couple of joints. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[txdon]

Woooo Hooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Found it....

...not by accident but with an accident, Mom was totally wrong! got to fix it by sunset. I will post with details and pictures tonight!

 

[PSDStu]

Way to go TXDon!

I know you will be glad to get this repair over with!

Can't wait to hear the details!

 

[txdon]

Thanks TBN members! All the advice and thoughts you have given me have been going through may head as I was trying to find the leak. I checked about 50 slip connections starting with the ones closest to the cabin. This was the sandy hilly area with a slight turn and a tree and some rocks. Since there was a leak here 2 months ago it seemed the logical place to start.

I got down the first hill and saw all the connection, including the first slip joint past the cutoff box I had repaired 2 months ago, had not moved. I then thought it would be where the soil change and the beach sand becomes black gumbo. After the second hole in the hard hard black gumbo/red clay the wife told me to hook up the back hole or we would never finish.

Well On the fourth hole the last hole of the day on the last scoop of the day, just to clear out the hole, and not dig any deeper, I heard the wife scream.

Water came bubbling out of the hole. It was 7 PM. All the local stores were closed. Darn Darn Darn... I was cussing all the way to the front gate to turn off the water and all the way to the the hill to tun off the water at the cabin. See attachment for the damage I did to the water main. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[txdon]

It was about 10 PM when we got back from the closest Home Depot with a temporary union to install. (The cut off valve would have to be installed in the daylight.) As I was standing in knee high water bailing out the hole by flashlight I thought about what Jim said about liking the night sky. I looked up and saw the stars on this moonless night and then coyotes started yelping in the distant and I thought this is almost as bad as country life get and it is not too bad. In fact I kind of enjoyed the experience. At least it was 69 degrees and not 39 degrees. The wife and I flushed out the lines and I installed the union and stopped the leak by midnight. See Attachment.

 

[txdon]

When I cut off the water by the cabin, right after the backhoe incident, I heard a sucking gurgling sound. I moved some of the gravel from the connection and did not see anything and thought nothing of it at the time. When I woke up this morning I remembered that sound and went to investigate the connection at the cabin and this is what I found.

 

[txdon]

The area around the connection was filled with water and I could see the water moving from the pressure of the leak.

During the last 4 days this connection box lid has been open and I have walked by and inspected it many times. It was the FIRST place I checked. The box is on a high spot on the hill with about 3" of pea gravel over sand so the box appeared dry until I moved the gravel the night before when I cut my main with the BH.

The accident caused me to discover the leak.

After closely inspecting the GLUED joint I found only about 1/4 of the glue was actually holding the pipe together and when I started moving the box I had a major leak. The box was holding the joint together.