The water pressure (measured 60 feet from the street where it enters my house) is 75-80 psi, un-regulated, pretty amazing considering the galvanized pipe is 56 years old. I think its 3/4 inch now, but it could be 1 inch.
I’m doing some work near the existing water pipe and want to replace the 56 year old galvanized feed from water meter at the street. I have fresh copper pipes under most of the raised foundation house. So, to avoid having less flow/pressure while sources such as sprinklers and washing machine and dish washer are being run simultaneously, what is the maximum copper water pipe supply should I run from the meter at the street 60 feet from the house ? 1.5 inch, 2 inch ? Also, should I run a seperate line just for the sprinklers or just put in a bigger line to feed both the house and tee it off to feed the sprinkler runs.
thanks
Replies
around here the inlet supply to your water meter is 1".so putting a 2" on your side to the house won't really gain you anything. i have a 1" poly from a well feeding my house. 40/60 lbs it will run 11 rotor sprinkler heads with no problem.pumps about 22 gal a min. even though your psi is high,hows the volume?to check get hose's on all the faucets you can. turn them all on and see how long it takes to fill a 30 gal trash can.i can't imagine what a pc of 2" copper pipe would cost now$$$$$$$$$.larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Amen to the pipe sizing overkill issue!
My 2" gas powered water pump is name-plated to deliver over 200 IMP gallons per minute through a 2" hose at less than 5 PSI. I haven't tried to calculate flow rate @ normal residential pressures, however it would be MUCH higher than that! My limitation is a HP one, not a pipe sizing one. The pump engine tops out at 5.5 HP.
I tend to agree that the additional expense for oversized piping is not needed unless tremendous lengths and/or terrible head loss from multiple bends and kinks are to built into the piping run.
Just my $.023 CAD.
On the homes that I've been involved with, the water supply size is determined by the number of fixtures it will be supplying. A home with two and half baths, washer, d/w and kitchen sink is normally supplied with a 1" line. Adding an island sink or additional bath fixtures usually requires an 1-1/4" line. When you say sprinklers, I'm assuming you mean irrigation. We usually "T" just after the meter or just before entering the foundation for irrigation. Water lawns and plants early in the morning so there is no conflict with domestic water use. What size meter do you have? Meter size will have some effect on flow. Gotta ask, are you using copper for a code compliance? If it's for electrical grounding, check with the electrical inspector. You may only need 10' of buried copper to comply. Black poly pipe should save you some money. Use brass barbed fittings with good stainless clamps or better yet, compression couplings. Bed the pipe in sand if you have rocky soil.
HV
Check with your water utility, first off. Sometimes, that line is "theirs" up to 5' from your foundation.
For sprinklers (lawn irrigation or fire suppression), your local water utility may bill the sewer rate base on the water volume used. This can mean that both lawn irrigation and fire suppression systems can be cheaper to operate from their own meter. (Some water jurisdictions will install fire suppression connections without meters, as the water use tends to be unbillable, and the 'safety' outweighs any other consideration.)
There is a lot of variation with water deptments.Many cities around here figure sewer rates based on winter water usages.And a couple of years ago I asked by nephew, a fire cheif in the Lousiville area, if they where seing an residentail sprinkers in any of the new upscale houses that where popping up in the area.He said no. And that it was expensive as they needed to go to a bigger meters that where very expensive to install and then they where on commcerial rates.
When you crack open that galvy pipe, you will probably find that is is so restricted with crud that it is operating as a much smaller tube, so if your volume is good now, there is no need to upsize. Around these parts they tend to not run bare copper underground. I have heard there is a special coated copper, and polyethylene is popular.
replace the 56 year old galvanized feed from water meter at the street
Do you mean the water valve not the water meter ? Isn't the meter inside your home ?
The size of your pipe will be limited by the size of the tap in the main which is commonly 1". If that's what it is and you want something bigger, then the main will have to be tapped for a larger connection. Retapping can be $2000 to $3000.
carpenter in transition
In many (most) places the meter is in a meter pit near the property line.Though I just worked on a 40's home that had the meter inside and with remote readout. And the house next to me is the same. It was built around 35.