Pex Tubing Outside/underground

Woodcrafter74

Anyone see any issues with using pex tubing underground outdoors? I'm setting up a workshop about 80' away from my residence and I'm going to trench to run the power to the workshop. I also want to put in some piping for water. I'm thinking of running 1/2" pex tubbing in some conduit that will also contain electrical wiring and phone lines. Just curious if anyone's every had any problems with pex or some other type of flexible water tubing.

Thanks!

mdshunk

It needs to be buried below the frost line, and bedded in sand or stone dust. PEX is approved for direct burial of those installation practices are observed. It is normal in my area to sleeve the PEX line in an oversized pipe or conduit of some sort. That will make future replacement, should it ever become necessary, a snap. It will require no digging. Just slide the old one out and slide the new one in.

CE1

I is a big no-no to put the electrical and water in the same conduit. Run the electrical and water in seperate conduits.

747

I know a guy who did his driveway in pex so he wouldn't have to shovel snow. Antifreeze circulates through it. I think its at 35 degrees.

Woodcrafter74

Why? Both the pex and the wiring are rated for direct ground contact, what's the problem with being in the same pipe? I'm honestly asking here, does it not meet code?

mdshunk

If you're pulling single conductors in a conduit that are required to be contained in a raceway, they need to be the only things in that conduit from point to point.

If you're sleeving a cable that is otherwise rated for direct burial with no conduit and you're only using that conduit as a handy sleeve, you can install whatever other pipes and wires you want. This is no different than if that pipe and cable were laying right next to each other in soil without a pipe sleeve over them. Matter of fact, it is somewhat common to sleeve UF cable and poly pipe in one larger pipe out to a well head. There is no prohibition in the code whatsoever with regard to the proximity of cables to any other type of pipe. To take this to an extreme, it would be permissible to take a cable rated for direct burial and a gas line rated for direct burial and sleeve them both in the same pipe from the house to the garage.

tzzzz216

I'm really trying to be nice here but do you know how dangerous that really is I've run across what your asking to do here in my town but only with pvc pipe you think your going to be cutting into a water line only to come to find out someone has ran wire in it, use elec
conduit for elec and pvc, pex copper piping for water!! You just might save a life !!!


Try to send these jobs overseas !!

All Clear Sewer

I`m with ya on that one tzzzz216

I`m gonna look it up but I think around here you can lay them in the same trench but they have to be 1ft apart? Running them in the same pipe is a bad, bad, BAD idea!

Ron The Plumber

Agreed, not in same conduit but seperate. Here line needs to be inspected for proper material, and needs to be seen, so guess you could say it would no be code approved.

Double-A

We can run sewer and water in the same trench but nothing else. Water can not go in the same trench with anything, electric in separate trench, gas in seperate trench.

Sometimes new construction looks more like a big kid's sandbox than a house.

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

mdshunk

But legal, according to most model codes.

plumber jay

Up in canada(ontario) you can't even run water and sewer in the same trench. Unless the sewer is pressure tested to 50 psi and the water lines have no conections underground. the water line must be on shelf in the trench and be 19 inchs higher than the drain throughout the length of the run. So it doesn't happen

a1plumbingyakim

and nobody else thinks he should run a 3/4" service to the shop...??....1/2" over 80' is asking a bit much for any kind of water requirement.

All Clear Sewer

I think it should be at least a 3/4" service to the shop.
Shoot, I ran 1" service line to my house and it`s about an 80` service line.
I want my tub on the 2nd story to fill when someone flushes down on the 1st floor. I can turn on everything in the house at one time and you dont notice and drop in pressure what so ever.

ncor

pex al pex rated for direct burial 5/8 is most common for snow melt will yeild a 400' loop no problem youll need crimping tools if you start in on pex

POOLMANinCT

i dont think we have the go ahead on pex in CT yet,
my uncle in PA swears by the stuff

Moscow

No matter what size of pipe you run the pressure is the same unless you have a elevation change in the pipe, it is volume that you are talking about. As for pex that is pretty much all you see in this neck of the woods they run it for service lins all the time have not had a problem yet but only time will tell.

Ron The Plumber

Code dictates the size of pipe required, it depends on three factors

Pressure at meter
Number of fixtures units supplied
Distance from meter to upper most fixture in house +/- elevatation change .5 psi per ft

Threse three factors give you your working pressure, once caculated then pipe size is determined in the flow charts.

Double-A

Don't forget to add to your developed length for fittings.

Elbows add resistance to flow, therefore they effectively 'lengthen' your pipe run.

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006