Water supply line question

[Bugsinrugs]

Baz, I did ask the water company and they recommended poly. Also, the pressure at the meter is so high they said I wouldn’t need more then 3/4 inch pipe. They told me to install a pressure reducer also.

[craigster59]

When I re-ran my water line to my 1929 home in Fillmore (SoCal) I went 18" depth, laid down a bed of sand and ran 1" PVC until 3' from the house and transitioned to copper (can't remember but think it was 1"). That was "code" according to building and safety. Then used 3/4" to supply the house.

[Bugsinrugs]

A plumber recommended the same. Transition to copper where it comes out of the ground and into the building.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by Bugsinrugs

Baz, I did ask the water company and they recommended poly. Also, the pressure at the meter is so high they said I wouldn’t need more then 3/4 inch pipe. They told me to install a pressure reducer also.

If the pressure is that high, I would absolutely use poly. With 300' coils you will only have 2 buried fittings, and you can mark them to find in the future. Frankly I would leave those sections of trench open until water pressure is applied. Get good quality compression fittings from the supply house.

[bob deluke]

I ran 1.5” type L coiled copper 250’ from the road to my house. City installed it to their meter in the house. They used mechanical, flared connections to join two sections of the tubing, no brazing. I live in upstate ny, had a contractor dig a 4’deep trench to get tubing below the frost line. That was 40 years ago though. $22K to install a water meter?

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Bugsinrugs

Baz, I did ask the water company and they recommended poly. Also, the pressure at the meter is so high they said I wouldn’t need more then 3/4 inch pipe. They told me to install a pressure reducer also.

Sounds like poly is what you should use then. I would be tempted to go with 1" myself, but depending on your water pressure, 3/4" may be OK.

700' is a long ways, so if it were my project, I'd probably go with 1".

[Bugsinrugs]

Originally Posted by Baz

Sounds like poly is what you should use then. I would be tempted to go with 1" myself, but depending on your water pressure, 3/4" may be OK.

700' is a long ways, so if it were my project, I'd probably go with 1".

I’m leaning in that direction. Thanks

[chrismorse]

If the soil is acidic, don't use metal.
If the soil is rocky - sharp edged, like occasional gravel, go with the tougher schedule 80 PVC, and/or bed in sand, (pita).
Depending on the pressure and the height of house above the meter, you may also want to go with Sch 80.
I would go with 1 inch, because of the length, place the pressure reducer at the meter, to reduce the stress on the line, not at the house.

I like to debur the cut edge or end, so the sharp corner doesn't scrape the glue off of the interior of the fitting/bell.. I also like to use a 220-150 grit paper to scuff the fitting and thepipe end before using the cleaner. I've not seen anything to validate it, but i feel that a bit more prep yields a more secure joint.

Draw a carefull, dimensioned map of the pipe location. If you ever have a leak, high water use, or want to tie into the line it is very nice to not have to drive around, digging exploratory holes looking for the pipe.

If you go with PVC, use small pots of glue and primer, have back up supply. for some inexplicable reason, bigger cans of goop always get knocked over fairly quickly.

regards,
chris

[908/930]

The normal here is also to bed in sand, did they say what the actual pressure at the road was? 700' is a long run. The only thing that will likely cause pressure drop is your garden hose, most other items in the house are pretty low flow. I used 1" poly on a 100' run and about 72psi at road regulated down to 50psi in house, 60psi for hose in the garage. The only thing that worries me is the fitting inside the house, that tube is quite slippery, I clamped and supported the tube near the fitting so it could not shift back.

Looking at a chart at 11GPM flow a 1" pipe will have about 21psi pressure drop over 700'

[Bugsinrugs]

The guys putting in the meter demonstrated the water pressure for me. After the meter was in they opened the valve and the water blasted a good 75 feet. Yes, they also recommended the pressure reducer at the meter.