PEX underground for main supply from the street...

[Boink]

Curious really (and apologies if endlessly addressed before, though I looked):

I plan to replace my water main from the meter at my property edge to inside the joists in the house. Most of the house has already had its piping replaced with PEX, but we never did the main line in to that PEX replacement.
The current supply is about 1" galvanized pipe dating from 1971, and I have to figure it's getting mighty crusty. No issues yet, but I was thinking I'd be pro-active.

Although a plumber will do this work, I've read that I can use PEX underground to replace that old pipe, but what if there ought to be a 90 degree turn in that line somewhere? Would usual PEX stainless clamps be OK buried or do they need special protection from eventual decay... or is it preferred to have a sweeping turn and avoid a fitting completely (though this might be difficult in my case)?
As one might expect the hardest part will be exposing a trench.

Inquiring minds?

 

[Terry]

A three bath home would need 1-1/4" PEX for a line less than 100 feet long. PEX is a smaller ID than copper, poly or steel.
Uponor uses expansion fittings, so no stainless clamps for those. What brand of PEX is in the home now?

Here are the type of charts I use for sizing water for a home.

A standard one-bath home with kitchen sink, dishwasher, water heater, clothes-washer, 1.6 tank toilet, lavatory, tub/shower combo and two hose bibs would be counted as 18 fixture units.

Most standard two bath homes consisting of kitchen sink, dishwasher, water heater, clothes-washer, two 1.6 tank toilet, two lavatories, one shower, one tub/shower combo, and two hose bibs would be counted as 23.5 fixture units.

Most standard three bath homes consisting of kitchen sink, dishwasher, water heater, clothes-washer, three 1.6 tank toilet, four lavatories, two showers, one tub/shower combo, one whirlpool bath and two hose bibs would be counted as 34 fixture units.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Boink]

A three bath home would need 1-1/4" PEX for a line less than 100 feet long. PEX is a smaller ID than copper, poly or steel.
Uponor uses expansion fittings, so no stainless clamps for those. What brand of PEX is in the home now?

Here are the type of charts I use for sizing water for a home.

A standard one-bath home with kitchen sink, dishwasher, water heater, clothes-washer, 1.6 tank toilet, lavatory, tub/shower combo and two hose bibs would be counted as 18 fixture units.

Most standard two bath homes consisting of kitchen sink, dishwasher, water heater, clothes-washer, two 1.6 tank toilet, two lavatories, one shower, one tub/shower combo, and two hose bibs would be counted as 23.5 fixture units.

Most standard three bath homes consisting of kitchen sink, dishwasher, water heater, clothes-washer, three 1.6 tank toilet, four lavatories, two showers, one tub/shower combo, one whirlpool bath and two hose bibs would be counted as 34 fixture units.

Thanks Terry...
As you may suspect, I'm out of my element here and was going to defer to a plumber, but I like to go into these projects with a bit of education. Attached is a photo of some of the PEX that was used... and I have no idea what type it is (though maybe these clamps give that away).
The total run to the existing PEX will be about 15-20' (tops): meter, thru garden, thru concrete foundation, into joist bay.

 

[Terry]

How many bathrooms?
That 1-1/2" galvanized drain will need replacing someday too.
I have not used that brand of PEX before, but maybe someone else has here. I do believe it's one of the common ones though.

 

[Boink]

2.5 bathrooms (2200sf home - fairly modest really - but very modern for 1971). Wish we'd gone to the trouble to replace all drain-lines; many were re-done with ABS, but some were just too difficult to get to.

 

[Paulypfunk]

Might I suggest using a plastic bend support on the PEX instead of doing a joint underground? Something like this:



If those are hard to come by you can put PVC electrical conduit bends over the outside of the PEX. Or if you have the swing, just dig your trench with enough of an arc that you don’t need to put in a 90’ turn.

Fewer joints = fewer opportunities for leaks.

 

[Boink]

Excellent idea (both that bender or electrical PVC as a conduit). The sweep of that bender looks right for my application.
I've bend large PVC electrical conduit before. I was wondering if I should consider some sort of protection anyway, which would be easy and harmless to add.
Thanks!

 

[Jeff H Young]

Absolutely a good measure to run through a sleeve of sorts. Traser wire and labeling to do it right as well. less joints less problems is my theory

 

[Boink]

Excellent. I will definitely sleeve and minimize fittings.
I recall on a previous house they required a tracer for gas, sewer and water lines (even color-coded)... though in Portland they may have waved that now. Still, it's so easy to do and I'll make a point of adding one.

 

[Paulypfunk]

Once I bought large diameter ‘bend supports’ from my plumbing supply wholesale house. They were just grey PVC electrical conduit fittings they had marked up 300%. Ha!

 

[Boink]

Years ago, I assisted a friend bend one of those PVC electrical conduits. Can't remember the details but it might have involved filling it with sand and then heating it up to a bending point. That sort of method strikes me as something one could find on-line nowadays.

 

[Boink]

I also just viewed a nice YouTube video where the crews covered/lined the entire supply with that standard foam insulation for pipes just to add some protection (not from freezing so much as from abrasion or future digging). Looked good.

 

[Breplum]

Technically, the UPC does not allow electrical PVC bend sweeps because the PVC must be rated for potable.
Of course, IMHO that is a silly, unnecessary detail, but I got flagged by an inspector and we confirmed it is in the UPC.
Even that inspector allowed me to keep the sweeps and nobody has PVC Sch40 sweeps, so you would have to make them by hand.
Electricians have a special electrical PVC heating oven for making sweeps and offsets.

 

[Jeff H Young]

not 100 percent required

Technically, the UPC does not allow electrical PVC bend sweeps because the PVC must be rated for potable.
Of course, IMHO that is a silly, unnecessary detail, but I got flagged by an inspector and we confirmed it is in the UPC.
Even that inspector allowed me to keep the sweeps and nobody has PVC Sch40 sweeps, so you would have to make them by hand.
Electricians have a special electrical PVC heating oven for making sweeps and offsets.

I could have gotten caught on that never knew that a sleeve had to be rated for potable water. I put abs or whatever going through block walls or stem walls leave it in and later run copper through.
Now heating up and bending potable water PVC to create 90s that I would expect illegal .

 

[Boink]

Weird (from a not-in-the-trades guy). If a shield isn't even needed, then I don't see why it would matter if the surrounding pipe that was used to rated "potable." Odd.
I'd only be looking to protect the PEX just a little.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Weird (from a not-in-the-trades guy). If a shield isn't even needed, then I don't see why it would matter if the surrounding pipe that was used to rated "potable." Odd.
I'd only be looking to protect the PEX just a little.

I thought good idea to sleeve PEX . but its more than a good idea its required I don't really work with PEX much . So it needs to be sleeved with certain material that's approved for potable water and impermeable to solvents or petroleum products. perhaps just poly sleeve? So these technicalities I'm not sure about look up UPC UPC 604.0 .
PEX is said to leech chemical or contaminants into your water . probably the reason for sleeve required

 

[Paulypfunk]

Never heard that one about an exterior applied sleeve needing to be approved material for potable water. Can you cite the code within UPC?

 

[Boink]

Never heard that one about an exterior applied sleeve needing to be approved material for potable water. Can you cite the code within UPC?

My thoughts exactly. By "sleeve" I'm referring to a conduit or chase that the PEX would go through simply to protect it.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Never heard that one about an exterior applied sleeve needing to be approved material for potable water. Can you cite the code within UPC?

UPC 604.0 its in the chart PEX little side notes numbered then at bottom the text on sleeving required

 

[Jeff H Young]

Go there read it and maybe OP or someone else can interpret differently? Something about that crap picking up contaminants I know it doesn't make sense why PEX is the only product that requires such sleeving. There is a reason whether its correct or not