What kind of irrigation pipe ? HELP !

[bcarwell]

I'm in Central Texas and need to get water about 1000 feet down along a fairly level fence line for 6 cows and along the way a few stops for a little irrigation for a few acres of grapes, row crops, hay laterally up to maybe 300 feet wide but I don't plan on putting these lateral lines in yet. I could possibly have a collection tank or two along the way and maybe some sort of pressurizing pump but doubtful in the short term- its mainly the cows and grapes I need to get water to. I am assuming I will bury the line in a shallow trench.

What is the most economical irrigation pipe would you recommend- 1 inch sched 40 pvc 200 psi or what ? Maybe 1 1/2 inch or 2 inch ?

And where would be the most economical place to purchase it ?

Sorry I can't be more specific about calculating water usage and pressure yet. Right now most immediately I just need to get water to the critters as I'm tired of hauling it once every 5 days. But I'm trying to anticipate future demand. So far I've got about 30 grape vine plants and that's about it, but I expect I'd be putting in a large garden of row crop veggies (maybe 1/4 acre) and try to help 5 acres of natural forage pasture along with a little water, given our trend of drought here lately.

And there's another 1000 feet beyond that (also about 300 feet wide) that I would probably eventually also be trying to enhance the foraging in (e.g. another 5 acres or so where I might extend the line another 500 - 1000 feet but not any time soon- its mostly the thirsty cows).

And any recommendations on a pump (type, model, source ?) to get at least a decent water pressure down the line (maybe just for filling tanks, not supplying the pressure for irrigation).

Any other considerations ? Its river water my property line goes into the middle of, so I'd have a strainer but presumably no need for any backflow valve, etc. If PVC would I just glue the 10 ft. sections together like any other normal pvc installation (primer, 1/4 twist, etc.) and install capped T's every so often until I figure out in the future where I will need water, and stick it in the ditch, etc. ?)

Until I figure out more long term plans I had thought about that roll up black irrigation pipe for its temporariness and versatility, but I'm pretty sure it is cost prohibitive. And I know PVC doesn't like the UV of these hot Texas summer suns, so I don't think I can just leave it exposed on the surface for any length of time until I get my act together and figure out my eventual needs.

As you can tell I've never done anything like this before, don't want to have to redo anything, so any help and suggestions would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Bob

 

[Soundguy]

I recently put in a well and ran about that much line.. IE.. 1000' to get water to 3 paddocks, plus some faucets here and there.

I rented a walk behind self propelled trencher and had a couple friends helping me.. did it all in an 8hr day.

I used 1/2" sch 80 pvc.. had one guy trenching, one guy laying pipe by the trench and one guy walking along with a bag of couplers and a rag and a can of glue. got all the pip inthe trench by lunch and then pressure tested it for an hour while breaking for lunch and returning the trencher, and then took the rest of the day for 2 people to cover the trench while the 3rd person did the faucets, cut off valves and hookup for the float valves ont he water tanks. so far 4 water tanks ( 100g ) and 3 small animal water tanks (2g ) in the hog and chix pens are working fine. And we burried at 36" could have done it faster at something less.. but didn't feellike dinking with it again. was going to go 1" or even 3/4.. but the only supply house I have local is a hd or lowes.. and the price differential for 1" vs 1/2" for that many feet plus the couplers was a tad prohibitive. i used 10' pipe sections.. I found I could go sched 40 and 20' sections that had 1 molde din coupler, and the price came out almost the same.. I went for the thicker pipe..

soundguy

 

[Egon]

Consider some one inch continuous black plastic pipe and just lay it on the ground if it doesn't get in the way. Should meet the present needs but the future may /will require some larger diameter pipe.:thumbsup:

Places it would interfere bury it or cover it.

 

[CharlieS]

I'll second the vote for rolls of black plastic pipe. It's generally available in 250 foot rolls meaning many less joints to potentially leak. Then add taps off of it as needed. I'd go with 1" at least not knowing what all you may tap off of it.
If you do end up using white pvc, be sure to use pvc primer as well as glue for your joints. the last thing you want is a joint blowing apart underground.

 

[Arkaybee]

With all the future plans you have for irrigation it is essential that the main feed line be sized correctly in order to have an adequate flow rate and adequate pressure for you various irrigation needs. Of course, the mere filling of livestorck watering tanks would be well taken care of at the same time. I think a mere 1.5 or 2 inch line over those distances would not fulfill your needs (maybe for only fiilling tanks yes but not for all the other). And if you install the small lines then later you would have to do it again with larger capacity pipe (not recommended nor cost effective).

My recommendation is for you to contact an agriculture irrigation specialist such as www.irrigation-mart.com in Ruston, LA. They are very experienced and knowledgeable and were of great help to me when I was irrigating our nursery growing areas. Their phone number is 1-800-SAY-RAIN.

You may also find a similar irrigation specialist in the Austin area. Or, you could contact the Texas A&M agri site for expert advice (google them).

 

[Bud Soda]

I have about 2000 feet of 2" and 1000 feet of 3" I use for irrigating corn.
Ordered it here Darcy Rubber Corp. Darlite Products

You can get the couplings from agri-supply or other farm stores.

I use a 2" and 3" high pressure gas powered pump.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_water-pumps+engine-driven-pumps+high-pressure

 

[charlz]

Read up on friction loss. Basically the bigger the pipe, the smoother the pipe, the fewer joints, couplers etc the better. Black poly pipe is good for this as you can get it in long lengths. You can use saddle T's to easily tap into it later.

 

[Arkaybee]

Buy your PVC pipe in 20 foot length because the 20 footers come with bell ends on them and you don't need couplers. Just lay out and glue up the entire length of the supply run on top of the ground next to the trench and later you come back and cut the pipe whereever you need a tee or fitting and install it then. This makes the installation easier and more efficient. When finished with all the tees and fittings just kickthe pipe into the trench and backfill. Mark any capped and unused tees and other fittings with metal or wooden stakes so you can later find them easily to extend or continue your future irrigation circuits. Have fun.
Arkaybee

 

[rScotty]

I just did a lot of irrigation. I'd recommend that you buy 250 foot rolls of black plastic PVC - sometimes called well line and sometimes poly pipe. 1" 100 psi is my favorite for runs to 1000 feet. I've not gone farther. The black plastic poly pipe is smoother inside for better flow rate, it's lots cheaper, less joints, and will withstand freezing and rock pressure better than any of the more rigid PVCs without leaking. You can put in "T"s to get to white PVC pipe for laterals. The white PVC pipe (3/4" is a good size) does allow you access to a better selection of valves and specialized output fittings. I use a barb-to-barb T with a 3/4 inch female pipe thread in the center as a starting point for each time it needs a riser up out of the ground. But do use the black polypipe as much as you can. It's worth it anytime you worry about rocks or freezing and the friction reduction is noticibly better everytime the run is over about 20 feet. BTW, though not absolutely necessary, a little bit of heat eases making the barb connections (the slip-fit joints). You can even use a propane torch if careful. Put a worm clamp on each time that you make a barb connection.
To uncoil a roll, tie it between a tree or something like a car bumper and let it sit in the sun for half an hour. It will straighten right out. If you have really rocky ground to backfill with, or if the weather gets cold then the hot trick is to run the black poly pipe inside of black plastic corrugated pipe. You can buy the corrugated pipe inexpensively in 100 foot rolls. Tape a plastic soda bottle to the black poly to help guide it through the corrugated pipe. The soda bottle keeps it from hanging up on the corrugations.
good luck, rScotty