Water line and a steep slope

[LSmith]

I need opinions and advice on an ongoing project. I have a RV set up on our land. I am supplying water to the RV via a 1000 gallon tank set at about 120 feet above on a hill. A 320 foot run of insulated 1.5" poly pipe connects the tank to the RV. My problem is that I currently have the pipe running above ground. This is usually fine but with temps in the teens I have had the pipe freeze several times. ( The pipe has not burst but we don't have water then either.) I would like to bury the pipe but I have never run a trencher on anything but a shallow slope or flat land. Also this soil is very rocky. Should I swallow my pride and hire the local guy with a big trencher and be done with it. Or should I chance a rental trencher on a 30 degree slope? Or if anybody has a better idea i'm game. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Thanks

Lane Smith

 

[JerryG]

You would be better off getting someone else to do it. 30* is nothing to sneeze at and would be a real pain. I don't know if a small trencher would even handle that much of a slope.

 

[Egon]

If the soil is rocky the bigger equipment will work better exspecially for deeper trenches.

It may also depend on how smooth the ground is and the angle you must approach the slope at.

Also remember the trencher requires traction that is equal to the slope.

Also consider the economics of contractor versus renting and transportation.

Have you considered electrical heat tape?

Egon

 

[EddieWalker]

At a minimum, you'll rent a small trencher to run yourself for $200. If you hire an operator and a larger trencher, then you're looking at something closer to $500, but that's just a guess since I've never hired it done.

For a very small price, I'd wrap your pipe with foam or rubber insulation.

I'm also wondering what's the worse case situation if the pipe does break.

You will have to refill your tank, and patch the pipe. Both should be fairly easy and inexpensive to do. Much cheaper than burying the line.

 

[RalphVa]

Have you checked into the availability and price of some electrical heating tape? Put it along the bottom of the pipe and wrap with insulation or put that foam insulation over it. It's probably the best.

You won't need to bury it very deep if you're still in MS. I've used a 4" trenching shovel and dug long trenches to bury pipe to my barn when we lived in Baton Rouge and have done so here in Va. Only needed to be about 4 to 6" deep there, probably about the same in MS. I dug part of that line with regular shovels and then discovered the trenching shovels at Lowes or Home Depot. It makes digging trenches so much easier. In places, you might need to pick away the rocks.

Another thing to do would be to run a parallel line and use a small pump to just keep circulating back to the tank. You'd only need about a 50 psi pump. You'd only need a 3/4" line back to circulate a couple gpm. Insulated and all, it probably wouldn't freeze.

Ralph