Because friction in the pipe will reduce pressure by a bunch and watering relies on flow, which needs pressure. Again we a discussing this without the needed information. Rise? Drop? initial pressure?
Harry K
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Used all the time in farm irrigation. Also in the recycling business
- very popular with the midnight recyclers.
Harry K
I laid a "temporary line" some 200 ft with a 50' side branch with mostly 3/4" PVC (white) on top of the ground to water newly planted trees in 1977. Pulled it about 15 years later. Had a few leaks each spring but fittings are very cheap and patching is nothing but a hacksaw and tube of glue. Currently using pieces of that same pipe for another 'temporary' line to bypass a busted frost free hydrant (can't replace without digging through a mass of tree roots). That lien is also above ground and only needed one patch this spring (usually there are several). Line has been in place over 10 years.
Harry K
For a large job such as described by the OP 20' lenghts will cause lots of leaking problems, and short lengths can't be laid by machine... Home Depot, Lowes, and any plumbing supply emporium sells tubing in spools of several hundred feet. You can buy 300' rolls of
1" PVC from Amazon with free shipping:
Plenty black poly in the US, used for about every automatic sprinkler system... but in most all cases it's completely buried so UV is not a problem.
I never heard of buried poly moving from being pressurized... perhaps your system was prone to air locks, which is easy to eliminate by installing a simple device that cushions the system. Anyone installing an irrigation system from their domestic water needs to install an anti backflow valve or they are looking for big trouble.
A "bunch"... is that universally recognized scientific nomenclature? Internal turbulence does not occur to any appreciable degree in typical hard pipe, especially not with smooth plastic irrigation tubing. Fire hose is coarsely woven cloth so is rough and does cause turbulence but still reduction in volume is negligible considering the very high pressure pumps used for fire fighting... were it presenting a water volume problem you could bet your bippee that fire fighters would use something else. I can't imagine anyone using fire hose to water their garden. However gals like fire fighters watering their gardens because of their big rough hoses with all their volume and high pressure... and especially how they fold up so neatly for storage in their drawers. LOL-LOL
Use drip irrigation!
thanks for all the helpful posts....... I think that the 1 inch polypipe is the way to go !!
James
Why not set up a system for gravity flow irrigation, like the farmers that grow rice have? All you need is a laser level and some sheet plastic for ditch liners. Or if you simply prefer to spend money, have a small well drilled at the site needing the water. Then a couple of 100' hoses will serve any part of the acreage.
Joe
Oh it had a check valve at the pump but the pipe went straight for a distance then down into a gully where the spring was located. No matter what material a pipe is made of, it's going to move when pressurized. Pipe will also move with a change in temperature. Look at how metal pipe is supported in different situations. The longer the pipe the more movement becomes a problem.
TDD
You slip that in so nonchalantly... there is no such thing as drilling a small well on the cheap.
James
Could I make a couple of suggestions.
Don't change nyms from one part of a thread to another, nobody will know that you are the OP.
Answer some of the questions and provide more information. You haven't said where the water is coming from or how much you need at the destination. You haven't given us enough to make a guess if 1" polypipe will in fact be adequate. You don't want to go to the trouble of buying and laying the pipe to discover that it doesn't work.
If the inlet pressure is not very high 1" may be too narrow to give the outlet flow you want, if it is going up hill you might get a tiny flow at the outlet or none at all. Also 1" has a tendency to kink and get flattened very easily. If using 1" DON'T use push fittings (bayonet fittings) they will pop off all the time if put under pressure, use the more expensive fittings that clamp the pipe with a nut.
A knowledgeable irrigation equipment supplier will be able to advise you correctly, whether such is available near you is another issue.
David
Thanks David, and the others. First, I don't know what a "nym" is, but sorry....
My faucets at the cabin are based on the cabin water system, which is a well, with a pressure tank in the basement. I get good pressure (60 psi), and the poly pipe will not go uphill.
As for drilling a new well, come on guys, I am talking about watering a few plants and bushes, I just dont' want to constantly drag hoses around. That is all that this is about. I do appreciate all the help, and I think that the polypipe is my best bet, although David's last comments may make me consider smaller, perhaps 3/4 inch. BTW, I don't need much pressure at the end, just enough to do some light watering.
James
That's interesting and different from our experience.
We use 2 inch poly runnin goff the pump on our dam and leading up to the tank on the hill to gravity feed for the toilets and the garden and it'd be about 200 yards in distance. It's not buried , must have been there about
20 years by now and we've never had any trouble from it. We dont' ever run that pump flat out though - just putttering alone at about half speeed (dont' ask me why because I don't know). The ants use teh poly as an ant superhighway, but I guess their tracks aren't doing anything much to wear it. The only trouble we've had with any 2 inch poly was buried and was in the gravity feed section. It started leaking and had to be dug up and fixed and then reburied, but I think it might have been a tree root that caused it to rupture.I'm a huge fan of polypipe as I can repair most of it myself without ever having called upon Himself to do it.
For what you describe it would be asinine to install a grid of piping all over six acres... your idea is way over kill, it's beyond over kill, it's as stupid as stupid gets... you're not growing crops. And with shrubs and trees once they're established it's not a good idea to water them unless there is a protracted dry spell or young plants won't develop a strong deep root system... when properly planted and mulched you really shouldn't need to water such plants after the first growing season, unless as I've said, there's a real dry spell... and native wildflowers need no watering, most do better if not watered. A newly planted sapling/shrub doesn't need much watering, five gallons once a week is all, and that's if it doesn't rain. And you don't want to water fast and heavy, you want to water slowly, so it can sink in and not run off. And from experience I can tell you that it never fails, right after you finish a whole lot of watering because everything is so dry the sky opens up and there's a deluge. All you need is a garden tractor, a cart, and a bunch of buckets, a riding lawn mower will do for occasional water hauling. And with six acres a tractor and cart is manditory to save your legs, it will probably get used every day hauling you and a mess of tools and materials to do some project, but you'll hardly ever water that smattering of plants, once growing probably never. I were you I'd be much more concerned about critters eating your plants... and if you water you'll attract more critters, critters would much rather dine on the juiciest plants. Most critters are nocturnal, while you're sleeping they'll be ferreting out those nice moist soft spots you left them, they will dig down and eat your plant's roots, you won't even know until one day you notice your plant is dying. Oh well, most everyone learns the hard way.
Used all the time in farm irrigation. Also in the recycling business
- very popular with the midnight recyclers. __________________________________ So what do they do with it? I presume they have a market, but is it for the pipes or for the aluminium.
Poly is not PVC. Poly does not have problems from UV and doesn't need replacing every few years. I have poly that has been in use above ground for 20 years.
Everyone has recommended that the OP use poly not PVC. Poly is short for polyethylene.
My dad never knew I was responsible for leaks in some of the hose that was coiled up and not installed. It seems that a .22 bullet will travel a long way so you better know what's behind your targets. ^_^
TDD
It's sold for scrap. High value, low weight.
Harry K
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