how deep is your waterline?

[firemanpat2910]

We are having all the stumps dug out at the farm. Loggers took 200 + pines and there were many stumps left from before. the water line was cut 5 times in one day. The pvc was run about 3 inches below the surface and meandered around trees and the old curves in the previous road. I now can run a straight line from the well house to the corner of the house, a mere 700 feet of 1 inch pipe. The ditchwitch will be delivered next week, I am thinking 3 feet deep would be good.

 

[ericher69]

Is freezing an issue?

If so 48" minimum

If not check local bylaw/regulations

 

[firemanpat2910]

freezing would only be an issue if I spilled the beer cooler, That aint gonna happen.

 

[oldnslo]

What other lines are in the same area? Gas, electric, phone, etc.

Most areas have codes that recommend a given depth for each one to reduce the chance of them contacting each other and also as an aide for future digging.

Around here five foot is minimum for water lines because of frost.

 

[Toyboy]

For a 700 ft run, I think I'd increase the diameter to at least 1.5" or more to start and drop to 1" about 75' from the house. I suppose one of the plumbers here would know better than me though.

 

[jonyyuma]

Here 18 inches to 2 feet is safe for water. Cable and phone is in at 8 inches???Mini-sneak plows??

 

[KYDan]

Code here in central Kentucky is 36 inches where they have adopted it. I ran 2" PVC for our place. 1,000' run and then dropped to 1" for the last 150'. Code for electric here is 48" depth and the telephone is wherever you put it, most of the time about 12".

 

[firemanpat2910]

power lines are above ground. no gas, phone wires have been cut also, so the phone wire will go in the same ditch as the water. since there is a filter at the pump that is only 3/4 I see no benifit on pipe being any bigger than 1 inch. And now when I get done, EVERY one will know exactly where the water and phone lines are. tie a string to the pillar on the front porch. run the other end to the eye on the door latch at the pump house, and there it is.:thumbsup: no more guessing and worrying when we do other projects. Oh and this is Gadsden Co, in rural fla panhandle. more tahn a mile down a private road, We aint got no code !!!! LOL

 

[Fixemall]

For your area I would 24" then partially backfill 2-4" lay 2 phone lines, then another 6" backfill then a line of cheap caution tape or flagging, then backfill the rest. I do a lot of trencher work with my Vermeer and have seen a lot of phone lines fail for no reason at all. Caution tape will save you if later on someone gets dig happy.

 

[Ken45101]

You really should check with your local building department to find out what code is, rather than getting info from all over the country, which will not be applicable for your area.

In general, there are specific requirements (not just recommendations) although with a private well line you can probably get away with whatever you want.

There are the standards so that they know how deep to dig for repairs, etc. I know on a house we had built, the contractor dug it too deep and the electric company made him backfill before they would approve the underground electric line.

Ken

 

[Obed]

Our waterline is 2 ft. deep. We are in Tennessee with a 12" to 18" frost line.

Regarding the diameter of your water line, having a larger dia. pipe than the 3/4" at the filter will make a difference if your waterline is long. Smaller diameter pipes will have a significantly higher coefficient of friction than larger pipes. The result can be lower water pressure for smaller pipes when you are running water. Yes, a 1 1/2" or 2" dia. pipe will give you better water pressure than a 1" pipe on a long run, even if the pipe at the water filter is only 3/4". I was a nuclear power and steam plant engineer in my former life so I know a little bit about fluid flow.

That being said, we ran a 1" water line 250 ft. to our garden and without water pressure issues. If I were running a 700 ft. long waterline, I might consider making the pipe a little bigger. My dad has a 500'water line running from the city water line to his house on basically level ground; his water pressure is not great. I think his waterline is 3/4".

I'm sure you will enjoy the new waterline. I'm amazed the original line was only 3" deep.

Obed

 

[RFB]

The 3/4 inch filter is an inconsequential restriction in contrast to the friction loss incurred by 700 feet of hose/pipe.

The member who suggested larger diameter is correct.

 

[CurlyDave]

For PVC pipe there are considerations other than pressure drop.

Microscopic particulates in the water supply will cause pipe erosion at velocities greater than about 7 feet/second. This is usually the controlling factor when sizing long runs of water supply pipe.

Essentially, make it too small, and it will actually wear out. You probably don't want to dig it up and replace with larger pipe in a few years.

In Florida, I would also check pressure rating vs. temp. With PVC pipe it drops pretty dramatically. For instance, see this chart:PVC Pipe | Standard & Custom Extrusions | Schedule 40 & 80 Temperature Derating

 

[blueriver]

No codes here either ... when I bought this place I had no idea where things where buried. Over the years I have found them ... some I hit driving T post in the ground ... at about 6" others I uncovered when plowing the garden.

I do like the caution tape idea and I also agree for your run to use larger diameter pipe.