Trouble with Underground Pipe to the Lake

Users who are viewing this thread

cottagefun

New Member
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I have a 200 foot long 1" PVC flexible pipe from the pump in the cottage out into the lake. About 100 feet is underground and 100 feet is in the lake. After not getting enough pressure during spring priming from my old Duro piston pump, I bought a brand new jet pump (again not building up enough pressure) and finally repaired the piston pump (again not enough pressure). By running another pipe OVERground bypassing the underground pipe, I determined the cause of the problem was the underground pipe. So I dug up the underground pipe. I couldn't find any leak or obstruction. There's only a 6 foot rise between the cottage and the lake. The only thing I can think of is that part of the flex pipe may have been lower then a straight line between cottage and the lake. Since I drain the line each fall before winter sets in, and the problem occurred during spring startup, is it possible that trapped water part way through the line could have caused both a piston pump and a jet pump to not prime properly.
 

Teets

CT pump guy
Messages
87
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Watertown, Connecticut
How old was the underground line. Could the foot valve have possibly rotted away? How did you prime the above ground line-what stopped the water from draining out of the line?
 

cottagefun

New Member
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
0
How old was the underground line. Could the foot valve have possibly rotted away? How did you prime the above ground line-what stopped the water from draining out of the line?

The line is at least 25 years old but I've dug it up and it appears fine. No obstruction or leaks. I normally use two footvalves - one at the end of the 100' underground or overground bypass line and one at the end of the 100' line in the lake. I removed and checked both footvalves which seem to be working fine.

It seems that it is important that the line be a straight as possible.
 

Thatguy

Homeowner
Messages
1,454
Reaction score
3
Points
0
Location
MD
I couldn't find any leak or obstruction.

It seems that it is important that the line be a straight as possible.

Assuming, on paper, that the line is vertically bowed one way [] and then bowed the other way [] or was wavy, how could you have cleared the problem without digging up the line?
By forcing water through the line? What if you added manual valves?

I can't quite see how this played out.

Here's another idea. A 200' line with 1" I.D. can contain 1890 in³ of water. Let's say the high end of this pipe is 10' above the low end and this is the pipe's highest point. You attach a 90° elbow and 10' vertical pipe to the low end. If you pour at least 1980 in³ [8.6 gals] of water into the high end you are assured that the entire pipe is full.
 
Last edited:

cottagefun

New Member
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Thanks Valveman, Gary Slusser, Teets and Thatguy for your comments. I'm now convinced that Valveman was right and that I had a high spot (an airlock) in the line. I inspected the underground line which I dug up and could detect no leaks or blockage. The ground at the cottage is shifting slightly with high levels in the lake the last few years and that could have contributed to a change of condition (since it worked fine for over 25 years).
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks