heehaw
Veteran Member
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- russellville, arkansas
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- Kubota M4900, B7510 and RTV
can you describe that McDonald fitting a little better?? thanks for the info.
heehaw
heehaw
Sizing main water line for manifolds
- Thread starter 5030tinkerer
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Kays Supply
Veteran Member
McDonald is the brand name I use, there may be others in other parts of the country. It is a red brass compression fitting. It has a rubber gasket and a threaded compression nut. They are available in many different transition sizes. They can connect copper to plastic, plastic to plastic, brass to plastic,etc. They have a stainless steel lock bolt, that clamps the pipe at the compression nut to keep them from pushing off under pressure. That feature is what makes them better than the other compression fittings. They are great for repairs and new work. I keep several sizes on my truck at all times. They have just about stopped all my problems with connecting plastic water mains to my line at the house. I will look for a web site and repost later.
Kays Supply
Veteran Member
heehaw
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2000
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- 2,076
- Location
- russellville, arkansas
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- Kubota M4900, B7510 and RTV
does the plastic need added support inside using the compression fitting?? i can see what you mean about the clamp that keeps them from moving apart: thats a needed addition: i have used some of the pvc patches that are "sort of" compression fittings, and they seem to work well.
heehaw
heehaw
SpringHollow
Elite Member
Boy, things must vary by region. We hate gate valves around here and replace any with ball valves when working on that part of a system. Gate valves are always leaking after a few uses and the stems have to be tightened. Mineral buildup is also an issue. The ball valves we have installed have not failed in 25 years of use and no leaks. These are just the standard ball valves sold at the "big box" stores. Mustbe the differences in the water. I prefer threaded ball valves with a drain port on them but with the cost of fittings going up, customers have wanted to save by going to sweat. So far, no problems where we have used those.
On wells where chlorine is added, we have PVC ball valves. In those installs, the glued valves have worked better than the threaded PVC valves. I have a hard time getting metal male adapters to get a tight enough connection so that the connection does not leak but yet not so tight that the fitting distorts or cracks over time.
We have used the "Sharkbite" fittings on a few heating installs where we were transitioning between different types of materials and they have worked very well. We were quite surprised because you can spin the fitting but it does not leak. What's really nice is that they can easily be removed and reused. So they seem to be nice for some unique applications. Too pricey to use every where unless you are afraid to do routine plumbing but do not want to have to pay someone to come in for a repair.
Ken
On wells where chlorine is added, we have PVC ball valves. In those installs, the glued valves have worked better than the threaded PVC valves. I have a hard time getting metal male adapters to get a tight enough connection so that the connection does not leak but yet not so tight that the fitting distorts or cracks over time.
We have used the "Sharkbite" fittings on a few heating installs where we were transitioning between different types of materials and they have worked very well. We were quite surprised because you can spin the fitting but it does not leak. What's really nice is that they can easily be removed and reused. So they seem to be nice for some unique applications. Too pricey to use every where unless you are afraid to do routine plumbing but do not want to have to pay someone to come in for a repair.
Ken
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Interesting that you guys don't like gate valves. Are we talking about big lines over an inch? small fittngs or all gate valves? I don't have any issues with quality brass ball valves on small lines as long as they ar not PVC.
Eddie
Eddie
SpringHollow
Elite Member
These are for domestic and heating lines 1/2" to 1 1/4". We have even gone to ball valve boiler drains and sink shut offs.
Ken
Ken
OP
5030tinkerer
Gold Member
Just an update here: I went to my local supply house and showed them my layout pic. They liked the keeping with the 2" 'main' concept seeing as I already had 800 feet of it. They suggested a 2" Sch 80 PVC transition piece, glued on one side and female threaded on the other, but with a stainless steel collar over the outside of the threaded portion to prevent it from contorting when a bushing was screwed in. For bushings, they recommended brass threaded 2" x 1" bushings and then going from there with copper male adapters.
Kays Supply
Veteran Member
HeeHaw, if you are using sch 40 plastic or better you don't use the sleeves. If you are using Poly, PEX or pipe like that you do.
OP
5030tinkerer
Gold Member
Does anyone have an idea what pressures county water main lines typically are (or if there is a 'typical'?)? After I have now purchased absolutely everything for this manifold setup and saw the price edge ever north, I am wondering about sticking with the 2" main setup. While it is true that my 800' feed is 2" IPS to avoid the friction loss, I've confirmed that my tap is only 5/8" anyway (as was suggested in this thread).
The reason for the pressure at the main question is if my water pressure there is, say, 80psi (which I sort of think it is, really), would I lose anything in flow to a particular fixture by bumping the pressure at the meter to this max and dropping the line size down right where it enters the house? In other words, given the Bernoulli principle and all that, wouldn't the water just speed up at this 5/8" reduction without a loss in flow?
The difference in price between the two options is likely only $200, but I'd hate to blow the $200 if it is not going to benefit me. Then again, having 80psi into the house can't be good either - my $200 in 'savings' might be eaten up in a pressure reducer.
Any ideas?
The reason for the pressure at the main question is if my water pressure there is, say, 80psi (which I sort of think it is, really), would I lose anything in flow to a particular fixture by bumping the pressure at the meter to this max and dropping the line size down right where it enters the house? In other words, given the Bernoulli principle and all that, wouldn't the water just speed up at this 5/8" reduction without a loss in flow?
The difference in price between the two options is likely only $200, but I'd hate to blow the $200 if it is not going to benefit me. Then again, having 80psi into the house can't be good either - my $200 in 'savings' might be eaten up in a pressure reducer.
Any ideas?
