Water line question

[Diggin It]

Early 90s sometime, i ran some 1/2" copper line at the ceiling level of the basement. I forget now, but I think it was going to an outside hose bib. One day I noticed some water on the floor and traced it to that pipe which had sprung a leak. I found I could squeeze it with my fingers nd crush it. Somehow, the inside had been eaten away and it was not much more than copper foil. I have no idea what happened or why.

 

[grsthegreat]

Mine are all compression fittings. Even back in 1996 they were ridiculously expensive. But i did not want to ever have to dig it back up.

 

[GSVette]

I ran 1 1/2 hdpe for my 200’ from well head to shop. Compression fittings were ridiculously expensive ( iirc ~$50 for 1 1/2, ~$80 for 2- I was considering 2” at one point).

Install can be a bugger-I used pallet forks for roll and pulled the line downhill (gently) using my UTV. Bedded in sand and backfilled.

 

[not2old]

I had planned to install 3" sewer pipe as conduit for 1" pex to my shop but after reading this thread I think I need to research more. I installed my own yard hydrants using 1 1/4" black poly that is used locally for well drops. I wish I had bedded it in sand but took care to keep away any rocks larger than 1/2". Also used plastic compression fittings. Been in for about 8 years now with no maintenance needed so far.

 

[cadale]

I vote for sch 40 PVC also. I think it would be least likely to sustain damage from rodents or rocks when backfilling. The bell end connections are stronger as they have more surface area to glue. But I would not backfill till I pressure tested. Flush the line, filling the pipe, then cap it and pressure test, then backfill. Maybe weight down the pipe every 10 feet to keep the pipe from moving first, but I don't recall having PVC pipe move much when initially filling. 1" sounds a little small, as your water needs might change in the future. I usually run bigger than I need and sometimes even then I have wished for more capacity. Good Luck. I am not a plumber, just been using the stuff for decades. Sure beats galvanized.

 

[RalphVa]

Early 90s sometime, i ran some 1/2" copper line at the ceiling level of the basement. I forget now, but I think it was going to an outside hose bib. One day I noticed some water on the floor and traced it to that pipe which had sprung a leak. I found I could squeeze it with my fingers nd crush it. Somehow, the inside had been eaten away and it was not much more than copper foil. I have no idea what happened or why.

Your water is likely acidic. Below 7.0 pH corrodes copper lines. We have copper house pipes. Had 8.0 pH when we moved here via one of those free tests. Continued at that level for nearly 10 years. Tests then showed it had dropped below 7.0. Put in a lime bed.

Test it every every week with a digital pH tester. Has been running above 7.0 for nearly a year or more. Had some troubles with air in lines every 6 days. Traced it to backwashing of the lime bed. Got it bypassed and turned off now.

 

[LouNY]

200 pound rated black poly is so much better then anything with joints,
1 1/4 will flow more then a residence will need.
1 1/4 at 19 gpm would lose about 2.3 psi per 100 ft.
Anyone on a domestic well will usually only be at 10-14 gpm, many are only 5-7 gpm.
Farm wells may be higher but depending on the area many will not exceed 20 gpm.

 

[jaxs]

Early 90s sometime, i ran some 1/2" copper line at the ceiling level of the basement. I forget now, but I think it was going to an outside hose bib. One day I noticed some water on the floor and traced it to that pipe which had sprung a leak. I found I could squeeze it with my fingers nd crush it. Somehow, the inside had been eaten away and it was not much more than copper foil. I have no idea what happened or why.

I remember grandpaw mentioning "copper worms" from his younger days in the 20s. I wonder if those could have ate your pipes.

 

[ljjhouser]

I originally ran my water line 700' in 3/4 pvc. 40 years ago. It did pull apart in only 1 joint. 5 years ago, I replaced it with 1 1/4 " Poly - Very thick walls and very stiff tubing. Came in 500' rolls. The fittings were offered in bronze and plastic. I choose bronze. This pictured is a union. I used one union and 2 end fittings on ends of pipe.

They are tough and very solid and watertight. I bought 3 fittings, I think they were about$45 each. Not too cheap, but good. Maybe I should also mention this in the Ozarks - Any hole deeper than 1 1/2 foot has been dug with dynamite. I bought this pipe at the plumbing supply. This is what the city uses for water lines. Best wishes, Larry

 

[grsthegreat]

Ya, those were like the fittings i used, but mine were 2” fittings.

 

[ljjhouser]

Ya, those were like the fittings i used, but mine were 2” fittings.

I'll bet they cost more than what I paid then. They are great fittings. After using them, would you ever use anything else for a long water line?

 

[grsthegreat]

I'll bet they cost more than what I paid then. They are great fittings.

All i remember they were more than $100 back in 1996.... don’t remember exactly how much. I actually think there cheaper now, cause back then we had 1 supply house. Now there are half a dozen.

 

[ljjhouser]

All i remember they were more than $100 back in 1996.... don’t remember exactly how much

That sounds about right. When I went to the contract supplier, he told me they were $73, but since he did a lot of business with me and knew me, he said - Pay $37, that is want I charge contractors. And that was not 2", only 1 1/4"

 

[PILOON]

I'll ad tricks I've incorporated from my pump experiences.

Always use brass barb fittings. (plastics deteriate, brass does not)
Always lightly heat the barbs B4 inserting.
Always use 2 hose clamps.

I discovered a few times that clamps simply rusted away. (clamp 'screws' tend to be steel and not stainless as is the clamp 'strap')
Light heating assures the barbs really get a good grip.

 

[Menagerie-Manor]

I'll ad tricks I've incorporated from my pump experiences.

Always use brass barb fittings. (plastics deteriate, brass does not)
Always lightly heat the barbs B4 inserting.
Always use 2 hose clamps.

I discovered a few times that clamps simply rusted away. (clamp 'screws' tend to be steel and not stainless as is the clamp 'strap')
Light heating assures the barbs really get a good grip.

The latest and greatest with the clamps are the Stainless crimp clamps like the pex application. They are fast. easy and a lot less expensive.

 

[3Ts]

Y'all have spent a lot of ink talking about the material the pipe is made of and the size that should be used. There are a couple comments about pressure as related to elevation and some about friction loss over long distances.

Something else to think about: there is only one comment about stale water (which really is an issue to be considered for health reasons) and none about the velocity of the water flowing in the pipe. (i.e. turbulent or laminar flow) The turbulent flow is capable of breaking apart pipe and fittings and is reduced by going to a larger pipe. I'm wondering if this has contributed to the damaged pipes requiring repairs? The stale water is a result of to large a pipe resulting in minimal movement of the water (essentially putting the water in storage without the sanitization procedures) with all the implications that entails. There is a possibility of to small a pipe and to large a pipe, you really do need to get an idea as to the flow rate you'll need to be sure the pipe is big enough, but not to big. After you get the GPM & pipe size you can figure the velocity.

 

[herm0016]

I originally ran my water line 700' in 3/4 pvc. 40 years ago. It did pull apart in only 1 joint. 5 years ago, I replaced it with 1 1/4 " Poly - Very thick walls and very stiff tubing. Came in 500' rolls. The fittings were offered in bronze and plastic. I choose bronze. This pictured is a union. I used one union and 2 end fittings on ends of pipe.

They are tough and very solid and watertight. I bought 3 fittings, I think they were about$45 each. Not too cheap, but good. Maybe I should also mention this in the Ozarks - Any hole deeper than 1 1/2 foot has been dug with dynamite. I bought this pipe at the plumbing supply. This is what the city uses for water lines. Best wishes, Larry




View attachment 705408View attachment 705409 View attachment 705395View attachment 705398View attachment 705399

this is what my utility uses as well, and what we replaced copper with. the fittings are expensive, but beefy. ours is 1 in i think, and has a stainless insert in the pipe at each fitting.

 

[PILOON]

this is what my utility uses as well, and what we replaced copper with. the fittings are expensive, but beefy. ours is 1 in i think, and has a stainless insert in the pipe at each fitting.

From your pics that sure looks like PolyB that I've used a lot of.
Our city also OK's its use.
For fittings I used brass barbed ones and double clamps and lightly heat the barb insert B4 clamping.
My thought was heated inserts would make it easier for the Poly to mold itself onto the barbs.
And it sure does as I once had to remove an insert and finally had to cut it loose.

(Lately I found that stainless fittings were actually less costly than brass.)

 

[herm0016]

its pex with a higher pressure rating than what you can buy at the big box.

 

[rickyb01]

I ran 11/4 pvc from meter to house which was about 270’ I then continued the run to shop with 1” pvc. I had purchased two can of blue cement and 2 cans of purple primer. I took the blue back and got the green. Always thought blue was the best. Thanks guys for your help.