Run a water hose for about 75 feet

Dr_Zinj · Jul 9, 2013

Don't bury straight hose. Always encase it in hard pipe. Asphalt paper tube, ceramic, PVC, or iron.

Todd727 · Jul 9, 2013

You might as well run PEX to the outbuilding now and be done with it. Run it to a hydrant outside the shop. Later you can go back and run the water into the shop if you want. Probably only about a 10% increase in effort to do it right the first time.

grsthegreat · Jul 9, 2013

What i did for the wife is run a few water lines (1" pvc) about 6" below the ground along with her sprinkler lines. I then installed a separate hose bib next to all her planter areas. They really dont need to be frost free cause i dont need them in the winter, and i simply blow them out along with the sprinklers before winter sets in.

This saved me from having to tear up the lawn with a 4' deep trench to install water lines below frost levels.

jinman · Jul 9, 2013

I have a 100' high quality hose running to my garden. At the end of the season, I'll just roll it up, but it stays out all summer long. I use that hose daily when my garden is going. Otherwise all my other hoses are on reels. Believe me, if you feel up to washing a car, then reeling out/winding up a hose is nothing. If you put a hose underground, you instantly limit that hose to only a single job. If it's on a reel, you can use it for any job you can reach. I don't see a problem with what you are planning, but if you are going to that much trouble, I think I'd go ahead and run a permanent poly line. If you don't use it during the off season, you can open a spigot at both ends and blow out the water using a compressor or even a shop vac outlet so that it winterizes your line without having to put it below frost level.

stuckmotor · Jul 9, 2013

There are several youtube videos that make it look easy to bury both black flexible pipe and the more rigid white pipe using a subsoiler. Some thread the pipe from the tractor end and others pull it through from the beginning of the trench.

jimpen · Jul 9, 2013

cockeyedMFer said:
I'm interested in the subject too - have been thinking of running a line down to the garden just for summer use. Blow it out with compressed air in the fall and keep it dry to avoid freezing.

I'm going to try it with the fence post as the "harrow" and will let you know. I'm not planning on burying it other than in the sense that the edges are loose and may fall in. The way my house is set up is that the water faucet is in front of the house, but the pumps, tanks are on the rear wall. As is the circuit breaker panel. So when I run the permanent link, I'll formally go the four foot depth, probably PVC inside a very large PVC conduit with electric, etc. connected to/under the back of the house.

This is an informal to hose the tractor down, keep water near the burn "pit". That kind of thing. So I don't have to mess with the hose every time I want to mow.

joshuabardwell · Jul 9, 2013

JimRB said:
Won't that hose freeze this winter splitting the hose being buried so shallow? I just roll up hoses myself after use, no hose reel. Heck a hose reel at Lowes is $30 or so.

I don't think he means to actually bury the hose, just lay it down so it doesn't get cut when mowing. I do the same thing to get water out to where my animals are, but I don't even bury the hose. Just lay it on the ground and be careful not to mow it. As long as you blow it out with an air compressor when it's going to freeze, it's no problem. Down here in Tennessee, it doesn't freeze too often. Even the few times that I've missed the freeze and left water in it, the hose has enough flexibility not to burst, although it can be hard on the fittings and the nozzle.

dragoneggs · Jul 10, 2013

I have buried both hose and PVC. Hose should only be a temporary thing. 4ft seems deep! Is that really your frost line? If you purge the line before the winter, I don't see why you need to go that deep with a permanent line but it is the proper way to plumb. I am assuming you wouldn't be using it in the winter.

jimpen · Jul 10, 2013

dragoneggs said:
I have buried both hose and PVC. Hose should only be a temporary thing. 4ft seems deep! Is that really your frost line? If you purge the line before the winter, I don't see why you need to go that deep with a permanent line but it is the proper way to plumb. I am assuming you wouldn't be using it in the winter.

The hose is the summer line to get me through. The outbuildings are going to be built/shifted in the future. The freeze line is about 28-30 inches by code. But if I'm digging a trench, I have a backhoe and the time for the permanent setup. Why not dig to the 48 inch line? The permanent rig will be at the back of the house.

dragoneggs · Jul 10, 2013

jimpen said:
The hose is the summer line to get me through. The outbuildings are going to be built/shifted in the future. The freeze line is about 28-30 inches by code. But if I'm digging a trench, I have a backhoe and the time for the permanent setup. Why not dig to the 48 inch line? The permanent rig will be at the back of the house.

I say go for the hose for temporary. It works for me in a place that I drain at end of season (little vege garden off deck with simple HD timer). Eventually I will plumb this permanently like my Rainbird and other waterline once I have the arrangement I like. And with a BH, you have no excuse for not doing it right.

. Absolutely love my BH!