Main service ~250' run, what size/type of pipe

[b1gmb]

I have a 2 bath house with only tubs in each, clothes washer and dishwasher. We are currently on a well, but are about to get hooked up to county water. The meter will only be 5/8", but I know I need to upsize my pipe to reduce friction loss over ~250' to the house. The house sits about 5' higher than where the meter will be installed. I have been reading a lot and I think a continuous run will be better than PVC sticks and all the couplers/elbows. Also if I go with something on a roll I can do a slow radius to make a turn around the house. Our well is currently on the back of the house so I need to get around there to hook up.

So what size and type of pipe should I run? Also how hard is it to install the fittings? I am familiar with PVC, but not PEX ect.

 

[Shacko]

I would go with Pex, you can buy that in 300 ft. rolls and you should need only two fittings, you will have to find out what the proposed pressure is when they instal the tap, you may have to upgrade the meter, I would not run less then 1in. tubing.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hj]

For that distance, I would use 1 1/2" and the meter will be okay for what you have in the house.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I would run 200lb PE but not before I found out what you have for pressure in the main can you size it.

 

[b1gmb]

My neighbor and I are hooking up at the same time so we can share the cost of running across the street to the main. The line will be split on our side of the street and we will each have our own meter. They were told it will be 60psi at the meter.

I think I am definitely going with PE (200# most likely) so I can have a continuous run. I paced it off today and I think it will end up being closer to 300' to the house. If the cost isn't a ton different should I run 1.5" or 2", maybe 2" is overkill? My neighbor is about 75' to 100' closer than me and he ran 1" PVC, but I was worried it wouldn't be adequate. What if the pressure is lower I assume a larger pipe would be better?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Jadnashua]

Friction will reduce the running pressure (it will be the same, regardless of the pipe size without flow). A larger pipe has lower friction. One with fittings will have higher friction. So larger, continuous means the lowest pressure loss during flow. There are tables that show the pressure loss at flow with various pipes. If you ever want to fill a pool, or run a sprinkler system, larger pipe will come in handy. Still, 2" is probably overkill, but this is not my area of expertise.

 

[Terry]

You neighbor may be an engineer.

In the real world, you would want 1.5"
Most people like to be able to water their lawns "and" take showers.

 

[Ballvalve]

http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/faq/psi-loss-calculator.htm

1.25" sch 40 pvc flows 15 gpm with only a small psi loss. I would use 160 psi poly in one run. The meter is your big limiting factor.

http://www.sensus.com/Module/Catalog/File?id=45

You might want a 1" meter if you have large water needs and to limit psi loss and maximum flow.

Your pressure loss is over 7 psi at the small meter, much more than that of the pipe.

 

[Terry]

I forgot it was only a two bath home. I can't even remember the last time I was in a two bath home.
3/4" meter and 300 feet of length, 1-1/4" pipe gets you 32 units. 1" pipe gets you 19 units.
Your home with two tubs is 25.5 units.

1" meter and 1" pipe at 300 feet gets you 20 units
1" meter and 1-1/4" pipe at 300 feet gets you 36 units.

A standard three bath home would have been 34 units. Therefore the bump to 1-1/2"

By the way ballvalve, I was at a Chinese New Years tonight sponsored by Microsoft. There were about three thousand people there. The only guys I saw tonight that weren't Chinese were Steve Balmer, the Lt. Governor of the State of Washington and me.
It was a pretty fun evening, I went with my friend Songlin Wu.

 

[Ballvalve]

3,000 Chinese in one room [must be some room] in America must be a first. Hope they had a large fleet of Toto's in the bathroom! ....and a 8" water meter.

With all the T-bills they are holding, the Chinese are fair candidates to own Microsoft one day. Then the party is over for Washington state.

 

[Terry]

It was in Redmond at the Overlake Church. Pretty huge room all right. Bigger then the opera house in downtown Seattle.
Hanging out with Songlin is fun because she will speak a thought in Chinese, and then translate it to English for me. Between cultures, you have different ways of looking at things. I find the same thing with religions. They use different language to explain many of the phenomenons that we experience. I was reading about Einstein when I got home tonight, and some of the quantum physics stuff that I use in real life, that my friends don't believe in. You know, the instantaneous change in thought or action without regard to distance. I use it all the time, my kids call it my "thinking thing".

Please excuse the shaking on the video, I was hand holding my camera.
Steve mentioned that China will have 20% of the computers world wide.

[video=youtube;IR7vawzRlU0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR7vawzRlU0&hd=1[/video]

 

[Jimbo]

Find out what the difference in the install charge and the monthly base fee would be, for a 3/4" or 1" meter, especially if you will have a lot of lawn irrigated, or thoughts about ever adding on another bedroom/bathroom.

 

[hj]

1 1/4" is a "bastard" size which, at least around here, is not a popular size, and is seldom used. Not much larger than 1", and 2/3 the size of 1 1/2", but almost the same price.

 

[Terry]

hj,
You would be happy to know that on my mothers place in Bellevue, I ran two 1-1/2" lines. One for the home, and one for the irrigation. They replaced an old 3/4" copper line that was laid in 1952, but as the home added bathrooms and then the irrigation, it was like trying to suck a thick milk shake through a coffee stirrer.
I too find that if you are bothering to run a large pipe, you might as well put in 1-1/2"
She runs her irrigation in the Summer, early morning hours and doesn't even realize it's running.

 

[Ballvalve]

I don't care much for stocking odd pipe sizes, 1" and 1-1/2 is a good mix to keep parts stock down.

But if you have a run of 300' which is one stick of poly, it cant hurt to save 50 bucks. People stock it because pump outlets are 1.25".

I ran over a 1/2 mile of 1-1/4 pipe, and when you get into that length, there was a large savings, and the flow calcs worked fine with it.

Its a bastard, but can pay for "single use" runs.

 

[b1gmb]

Going to the county office today to get the rest of the details. My neighbor started talking backflow preventers and that means another pressure loss. Also going to pull my permit. I'll post back tonight after I talk to the county water department.

 

[Jadnashua]

A backflow preventer is usually required with an irrigation system. Some places require a check valve for a main supply, which is not the same thing.

 

[b1gmb]

I talked to the inspector and he told me a backflow preventer is required. It sounds like any time you have another pressurized water source, either reclaimed or a well they want a backflow at the meter. ASSE 1015 is acceptable.

I found a supply company that stocks 100' rolls and can get 300' rolls next day. 1.5" 200psi Blue PE for $1.57/ft. How does that compare to prices elsewhere?