Main to House size/type question? 850ft

[kcautodoc]

Hey all, new to the forum.

I recently purchased a house and would like to switch from well to city water. The house is on 6 acres and is about 850 ft from the main/meter. Since it is heavily wooded it may even be 1000-1100ft if I have to go straight to the road, turn 90 and run 200-250 feet to the main/meter. The tap and meter is 5/8 currently but can be switched out for a fee. The house is a 4 bath with 3 additional sinks. I'm in Florida so freezing is not an issue and the line only needs to be about 18 inches in the fairly sandy ground. From what I remember in speaking with the water dept, the main pressure is about 65psi.

My wife likes her water pressure so of course my first concern is pressure loss over the course of the 850-1100 foot run. Different charts online lead you to believe that a 3/4 inch line would only be dripping out water by the end of this run and a 1 inch run would not be much better. The first two plumbers I had out did not even mention upsizing from 3/4 inch until I mentioned pressure loss and even then seemed to play it off as no big deal. Both suggested 20ft sections of 3/4 inch Sch40. Can someone help me make a decision on pipe size? I just don't believe 3/4 inch is going to cut it.

Secondly, I was hoping to make a one piece run of PEX from the main to the house but it looks like Sch40 is the most commonly used down here and has been recommended by every plumber I've spoken to. The larger diameter and longer length PEX seems ridiculously overpriced compared to Sch40 of the same diameter. What price can I expect to pay for 1000-1200 feet of PEX in the size I would need?

Thank you for any help,
Richard

 

[chukar]

It depends on more then just basic house usage are you going to want to run lawn hydrants off it, what about lawn sprinklers. I am on 1/2 acre, my water service is 1" from the meter to the house, and 3/4" in the house. IPC 2009 says the minimum water service pressure is 15psi, if you have lower pressures then I would look at upsizing your line perhaps to 1-1/4". When figuring what you want for service piping consider your needs today and down the road. If you wanted say in door fire protection sprinklers. I would say a 2" service.

If you have the volume of water you can add a booster pump later, to the house system.

 

[camaroderrick73]

I agree.. I would bring the volume to your house and if you need more pressure use a booster pump. The difference between 1 in and 2 in PVC is pennies in the long scheme. You need greater volume for pressure higher in the house. My house is 1.25 PVC. And my main that feeds 2 houses is 2 in. Overkill for your one house yes. But why not?

 

[kcautodoc]

I think I'm going to go with the 2". The price difference does seem to be small. I may try to increase the tap size as well. I can increase from 5/8 to 1 inch for about $350 dollars and it should more than double the flow rate. I am hoping the quote I get from the last plumber will be low enough that I don't decide to do it myself. Thank you for the help.

I also have a large pool and it would be nice to have a 2 inch pipe somewhere close to fill that thing up next year since it will need to be drained for resurfacing at some point soon.

 

[Nukedaddy]

I would agree with 2 inch, and you may save a bit using a lighter schedule as 65 psi is no great strain. Do consider a flushing hydrant at the house end. They look like miniature fire hydrants, but when opened give full flow for the purpose of flushing settled solids from the line, plus a possible high volume flow source for fire protection outside the house.

 

[johnjh2o]

I would agree with 2 inch, and you may save a bit using a lighter schedule as 65 psi is no great strain. Do consider a flushing hydrant at the house end. They look like miniature fire hydrants, but when opened give full flow for the purpose of flushing settled solids from the line, plus a possible high volume flow source for fire protection outside the house.

Never use any PVC pipe less then SCH 40 for water lines.

 

[kcautodoc]

I think I will need to go with the schedule 40. I was speaking to another plumber who told me that during the tourist season they crank up the pressure for the increase in water usage and on Mondays when the new crowds are getting settled in the pressure can get to nearly 110psi.

I'll look into the hydrant too. That will certainly help with filling the pool too.

 

[Nukedaddy]

While it is true that sch40 is the most common water line, and likely I would prefer it for my own, it is not the only code approved wall thickness. PVC SDR 21 and 26 pipe are both cold water rated at 100 and 200 psi, respectively. In particular, SDR26 is a common SDR type for water mains used by the water district.