Plumber help please

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Jun 3, 2018
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North Carolina
I have to run a waterline 500ft from my well to my new house. What size and type line would you run? I was thinking 1.5" but don't know if PEX or PVC would be better. Code here says bury minimum 1' here.
 
I have to run a waterline 500ft from my well to my new house. What size and type line would you run? I was thinking 1.5" but don't know if PEX or PVC would be better. Code here says bury minimum 1' here.
I would use 250psi PEP . You would need to use a compression coupler (NSF 61 Brass) between rolls . PVC is good pipe, but I'm not a fan of glue joints. It comes in straight sticks, but you would need to have someone butt weld those joints together. Without knowing your needs upstream, it's hard to judge what size you would need. An 1.5" pipe will turn a lot of water. If you aren't using much per day, that's a lot of water to sit in the pipe and go stale.
 
I have a little experience with this. 1" will work 1.5" would also. I would recommend PEX because it can freeze without busting. PVC is much cheaper but won't resist a solid freeze and sometimes over time the glue connections will leak. The leaks are mainly a result of expanding / contacting soil. I'm not a expert so for what's its worth.
 
I am a plumber and have been doing this for almost 30 years and have used all different types of piping, at the end of the day it depends on if you want to spend the extra money on pex and have the proper tool which is $1000 unless you can rent it somewhere. You can buy packs in a 300 foot rule so the nice thing is if you bought two of those you would only end up with one fitting.On my own house I was 1500 feet away and I ran inch and a half PVC. If you prime it properly and use heavy duty gray glue you will not have a problem and it is much cheaper than pex. If you’re not using the water a lot like irrigation or watering the yard inch and a quarter would be fine I will definitely run bigger than 1 inch inch and inch and a half will cover you if you’re going to also do some watering.
 
We use both. As Chad stated, key is good install technique.

If you do PVC yourself, watch the vid on the Weld On website, most do no assemble pvc correctly, ie the pipe must be chamfered and snaked on long runs.

I would use 1 1/2” with shutoffs and check valves at appropriate spots…and I would bury much deeper that a foot especially if in freezing climate.
 
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Yes I would go at least 18 inches and one of the things people do is they put strain on the fittings because the pipe is somewhat flexible when it is new. Do not put any strain on the fittings because they will eventually crack.
 
No glue joints, one solid run of pipe. Use NSF 61 brass fittings and you are good to go. If you have any kind of elevation gain, water gains .433 psi per foot of elevation gain.
 
No glue joints, one solid run of pipe. Use NSF 61 brass fittings and you are good to go. If you have any kind of elevation gain, water gains .433 psi per foot of elevation gain.
We ran 25 miles of 1 1/2 inch pvc with a ball valve every water trough and camp , ( but you got a joint every 20 feet)
the black poly line is great also, and is easily spliced to tee off to barns ect
we went 24 inch deep and have not had a problem even during the 2021 blizzard 0* for 8 days
 
We ran 25 miles of 1 1/2 inch pvc with a ball valve every water trough and camp , ( but you got a joint every 20 feet)
the black poly line is great also, and is easily spliced to tee off to barns ect
we went 24 inch deep and have not had a problem even during the 2021 blizzard 0* for 8 days
25 miles, that's a lot of glue! HDPE is about as resilient as it gets. The hardest part of it is dealing with the coil memory.
 
I am a plumber and have been doing this for almost 30 years and have used all different types of piping, at the end of the day it depends on if you want to spend the extra money on pex and have the proper tool which is $1000 unless you can rent it somewhere. You can buy packs in a 300 foot rule so the nice thing is if you bought two of those you would only end up with one fitting.On my own house I was 1500 feet away and I ran inch and a half PVC. If you prime it properly and use heavy duty gray glue you will not have a problem and it is much cheaper than pex. If you’re not using the water a lot like irrigation or watering the yard inch and a quarter would be fine I will definitely run bigger than 1 inch inch and inch and a half will cover you if you’re going to also do some watering.
I agree. I have run miles of PVC. Clean both pipe and inside of fitting, glue both, and be sure to give it a slight twist when you slip them together, and hold in place for several seconds. the twisting motion will remove and tracks the slipping together might make. It you push it together but don't hold hot in place it might pop back out slightly.
 
No glue joints, one solid run of pipe. Use NSF 61 brass fittings and you are good to go. If you have any kind of elevation gain, water gains .433 psi per foot of elevation gain.
This right here. I couldn't sleep at night worrying about all those PVC joints & fittings. How deep is your pump down in the well? Does the 500' include that too? Whatever you do make sure you use the one-piece black pipe down into the well to the pump. If/ when you have to replace/ repair the pump it will be 100x easier
 
I like the idea of no joints with the

1-1/2" IPS SDR11 PE4710 Black Hdpe Pipe 500' Coil​

If I can find the proper fittings to connect to 1" PEX and 1 1/4" PVC at the ends.
I can run PVC but if I can eliminate all those joints, sounds good to me. I guessed at the 500', so I need to measure.
 
I like the idea of no joints with the

1-1/2" IPS SDR11 PE4710 Black Hdpe Pipe 500' Coil​

If I can find the proper fittings to connect to 1" PEX and 1 1/4" PVC at the ends.
I can run PVC but if I can eliminate all those joints, sounds good to me. I guessed at the 500', so I need to measure.
An 1.5" brass male barb with MIP threads, then you can use whatever works to adapt down to your other pipe material. Don't mix any galvy pipe or fittings with the brass.
Wrestling a 500' coil of 1.5" poly will be a chore. Just try to back fill it as you go, so it doesn't want to coil back up to you. You'll also want to throw a couple of tablespoons of granulated hot tub chlorine in for disinfection.
 
An 1.5" brass male barb with MIP threads, then you can use whatever works to adapt down to your other pipe material. Don't mix any galvy pipe or fittings with the brass.
Wrestling a 500' coil of 1.5" poly will be a chore. Just try to back fill it as you go, so it doesn't want to coil back up to you. You'll also want to throw a couple of tablespoons of granulated hot tub chlorine in for disinfection.
Thank you for your suggestions and guidance.
 
One thing to consider on the size of the service line. A 1.5" line at 50psi will spin about 130 gpm. If you oversize the service line compared to the pump curve and capacity of your well, it will cause cavitation. This will give you milky water (entrained air in the finished water) but also will significantly reduce your pump life. Cavitation is mini explosions against your impellar in the pump.
 
Not sure where you're at in NC but definitely bury it deeper than 12". If you're renting a trencher it's just as easy to go 2' (just takes a little longer). When I was young my grandpa's line would freeze & we would have to build a fire on the ground along the path of the water line & thaw it out. I learned that lesson as well as several new cuss words. Don't forget to insulate your pump house / well cover.
 
When I did mine in PEX, I put in 2-12" pvc in and pushed the pex through. That way if I ever have to replace or repair it just pull it out.
 
Go deeper than 12 inches - find out what the freeze line is. We did a place where the freeze line was 6 feet.
 
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