1000 ft water line

[Billrog]

Where it's shallow you can sleeve the pipe in a slightly larger pipe and it will prevent it from freezing , in any traffic area even foot or animal same thing with 1" x 12" wide SM Styrofoam and it won't freeze.

 

[CADplans]

Where it's shallow you can sleeve the pipe in a slightly larger pipe and it will prevent it from freezing , in any traffic area even foot or animal same thing with 1" x 12" wide SM Styrofoam and it won't freeze.

They did that on an episode of "This Old House",,

That shallow water line was in New England,,,

 

[Tigershark]

Coming from city water line. Neighbor 50 ft away had his excavator spend several days digging out his water line and electric with a medium sized excavator with hoe ram, he has rocks the size of small cars in his yard. I think it took weeks to dig his basement, It's the same rock shelf, a full sized dozer couldn't break them when the entrance was built. I just need lots of dynamite

 

[Tigershark]

One problem is our farmer farms over this area so I need to get it down some because I have 18 wheelers coming in along with big tractors and combines so I think even if I sleeved it there is no way it could withstand the weight of machinery driving over it on such a shallow rock bed, I guess I could take that part out of crop land

 

[ch47dpilot]

Where I live frost line isn't an issue. How deep should I put water line. I'm thinking 2+ft. Not sure how much dirt needs to be above it to ensure vehicle traffic doesn't crush pipe. Also nobody really answered my original question on how deep a trace line can be before it won't be able to be picked up. My trencher goes 4ft deep so I'd like to go as deep as possible and still find trace line. Any other problems anyone sees with going too deep?

 

[Peter 315]

They run the trace line( copper wire) up to ground level so they can hook on to it to trace it , or foil trace tape 2 feet above DETECTABLE TAPE - 2", 3", 4", 6", and 12"

 

[Tigershark]

For those that run HDPE, what are you using to connect it ? The company recommend the heat fusion but no one around here does that or rents any equipment, I was thinking of brass connectors just wasn't sure. Spoke to a master plumber and excavator and he recommended PVC with rubber gaskets without glue. Just looking for advice. I just got done filling in the one trench I dug and decided to keep it closer to the driveway so I wasn't cutting across all the farm land and seems to be less rock

 

[justinramani]

For those that run HDPE, what are you using to connect it ? The company recommend the heat fusion but no one around here does that or rents any equipment, I was thinking of brass connectors just wasn't sure. Spoke to a master plumber and excavator and he recommended PVC with rubber gaskets without glue. Just looking for advice. I just got done filling in the one trench I dug and decided to keep it closer to the driveway so I wasn't cutting across all the farm land and seems to be less rock

Our builder had to replace a 1300' water line that was originally installed due to multiple leaks. I wanted HDPE roll pipe, but it just wasn't very popular in our area. Since the builder was footing the repair bill he decided to replace with 2" gasketed pvc. That was about six months ago and no issues yet.....

 

[Bikeman111]

I work in a public works dept doing a lot of this type of work.In this situation it would be faster, easier,to use 2" copper in large rolls,or even 2" black plastic rolls.This way you can dig a long trench,unroll it quickly,throw some sand on it,and under for a nice bed.Then once all pipe is layed finish back filling.This goes quick.Try to keep your pipe run in an area that doesn't run under a road,driveway etc as traveling on top of pipe will drive the frost a lot deeper than normal.Also when making connections at either end put a bit of a goose neck in the pipe. If the ground does move it will allow the pipe to move by straightening out some instead of pulling joints apart.Just my 2 cents from 25 years of pipe laying.

 

[Streetcar]

Charts from your county show frost depth at 18" to 24". If you use a lot of water, it may never freeze, but 8" is scary shallow. Around here we bury nearly four feet.

For older houses in Cincinnati, 24 depth is common

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I have briefly looked into the HDE pipe I will keep researching it , I know the price is double but it might have more benefits that make it worth it

The coiled HDPE pipe is the way to go. It is very flexible compared to PVC. PVC dos not take the stress of uneven ground, backfilling, an compaction. PVC, you have a vulnerable spot called a coupling, every 20'. I think the 2" (I consider as minimum for your application) HDPE is available in at least 100' rolls, possibly more if you have a way to handle. Roll it out and let it set a couple days to relax the curls before backfilling. I would either use welded connections or the mechanical joint connectors. Lots of info on the web.

Ron

 

[ch47dpilot]

what's the main difference between PEX and standard polyethylene pipe. They seem to have similar prices. Is one better than the other for underground water service line? I also can't find anything specific on how the pipe is clamped onto larger (2 inch) fittings. I know smaller (1/2-1") PEX have various versions of crimp rings but haven't seen anything similar for 1 1/2-2" pipe. I'd think for burred pipe you'll need SS clamps to reduce corrosion

 

[lennyzx11]

I rented a backhoe for mine and the company put a 12 inch bucket on for me.



It was surprising what the thing was bringing up!


Though I rented it for a week, most of the actual trenching was done in a day and a half. I dug out stumps with the remainder of the time.

 

[Bikeman111]

Pex is a more flexible, forgiving,tougher product,it does not get brittle as others can.We join rolls together with brass couplers(unions).But it's important to use a stainless insert in each end of pipe to avoid any chance of crushing,or distortion. The insert is just a round sleeve that fits snuggly inside and gas a flared end so it stays put.Very user friendly. Any plumbing supply (industrial) place should have them in stock.

 

[newbury]

what's the main difference between PEX and standard polyethylene pipe. They seem to have similar prices. Is one better than the other for underground water service line? I also can't find anything specific on how the pipe is clamped onto larger (2 inch) fittings. I know smaller (1/2-1") PEX have various versions of crimp rings but haven't seen anything similar for 1 1/2-2" pipe. I'd think for burred pipe you'll need SS clamps to reduce corrosion

PEX can't take sunlight, it USED to be a lot more expensive and required special tools. Still can't take sunlight. I had a 400' project main to house replacing "leaking like a sieve" 3/4 PVC. And like I wrote:

<snip>
So we got the water running with no new costs, total cost for water was about $1050, that included plumber and helper for 3 hours, excavator, operator and helper for 4 hours, 500' of 3/4 PEX, and probably about $50 to $100 of Sharkbite fittings and 12 gauge tracer wire.<snip>.

 

[Tigershark]

Thanks everyone, the local pipe manufacturer will sell me 1000' coils for .82 cents that means I will only have a couple connections which is good. Between all the snow and the monsoon we are getting today I doubt I will be trenching anytime in the next week but at least I have found everything I need, HDPE pipe and another company that sells the fittings. Trencher broke down but it is fixed and ready to go just hoping for some drier weather. We are still 3-4 weeks out on getting the main put in but was told I can go ahead and do the water line and backfill it and they will hook it up so as soon as we dry out a little I'll be digging.

Lenny, that backhoe looks like fun, I will probably be renting one to do a few projects around the farm when it warms up. I have plenty of stumps and other things I could use it on for a couple of days, that's cool they gave you a 12 inch bucket most around here are 3ft which is way to much for a waterline. I'm still trying to level out the ground from where I buried a 970ft electric line. It is more difficult to fill it back in and grade it properly than I was anticipating

 

[bigdeer2000]

Planning to replace 1400 ft of 2 pvc waterline that we installed 22 yrs ago. We snaked around whatever rock we ran into with backhoe that were to big to dig out. Planned to rent Vermeer rockwheel this summer to run a straight line to drive way. Thinking about setting 2 runs of pipe Incase 1 springs a leak. 1403 ft in straight line to driveway. Had a leak last summer in the section that runs under driveway to the house.( 285 ft) pushed 1 pex thru 2 pvc line and fixed the problem. So wanting to replace remaining waterline before I get another 1200. Water Bill and then have to fix in a hurry

 

[MidTn Mark]

Ch47, you might look for uponor in your area. Fittings are a bit more expensive but they are full flow. Standard pex uses inserts which gives you a reduced ID. For the 2" stuff you will want to rent the expansion tool. For the smaller stuff you can rent a tool or buy the Milwaukee or DeWalt version.

 

[ch47dpilot]

Ch47, you might look for uponor in your area. Fittings are a bit more expensive but they are full flow. Standard pex uses inserts which gives you a reduced ID. For the 2" stuff you will want to rent the expansion tool. For the smaller stuff you can rent a tool or buy the Milwaukee or DeWalt version.

I like the Uponor (ProPEX) fitting system. Does anyone see issues with using "plastic" connectors for underground connections. They make brass but a lot more $$$ plus it seems that they are limited on what they offer. My only connections besides start and end will be reducing tee's in the middle for things like garden and sprinkler system. I only found non-reducing tee's in Brass. Just found out the Milwaukee 2432-22XC expander ($459) has an awesome rebate. If you order it by April 30th you get 2 free 18v items (heat gun, PVC shear and 18v Battery, a $390 value) . The 2432 charger will also work with the 18v system(I believe)

 

[Tigershark]

I am using brass fittings from Waterworks Products, Pipe Supply, Water Meters - Ferguson Waterworks

I can't seem to get two days of dry weather for trenching it is driving me nuts