Pex for water line to frost free hydrant?

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goosegunner

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Oct 15, 2009
1,469
WI
Can Pex be used for underground water line to frost free hydrant?

It will also supply water to bathroom in the out building.

gg
 
The underground water service poly pipe is a bit different with a thicker wall than plumbing pex. I suppose if you are careful and don't have rocks or sharp stones in contact.

What about schedule 40 PVC? They use that for service lines, and schedule 80 on submersible well pumps around here.

hr
 
Never used pex for underground water supply but I would think it should be OK.
I know of 1,000's of feet of black poly my dad put in the ground, some 40 years ago with no problems... 160 or 200 psi test... not the cheap stuff. He always covered
the pipe a few inches by hand to avoid rocks cutting the pipe over time.
I don't care for sch 40 pvc underground for water supply, I would use poly for what it's worth.
 
I have black poly pipe buried to my hydrant, it appears to be close to the PEX I have buried for heat. The black poly is ~.090 wall thickness, maybe a little less. I don't know how this compares to what else is out there. I bought it at the local farm store, it's what they recommended for the application. It's been in the ground 8 years with no problems.
 
I talked to the guy that drilled my well. He said they use the blue poly pipe rated at 200 psi and have had very good luck. He said I could take a 300' roll use what I need and bring the rest back. Cost is $1.25 a foot and he has all the fittings I need so there won't be any chasing around and wondering if I have the right stuff.

Thanks to those that replied.

gg
 
I would definitely use the blue poly pipe your well driller recommended. I've installed thousands of feet of it (and before the blue we used the better quality black poly) with no problems. One thing I would advise though is to switch back to galvanized, with an adapter, where the piping enters the house or barn. You should do this because every time your pump turns on or off there is a small amount of vibration through the line that over long periods of time could wear a hole in the poly pipe.
 
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