Suitable For Underground Use?

casey344

We built a dock for a lady 2 years ago, she contracted us to run the electrical work and we sub-contracted a licensed electrician to do the work. She asked if we could stub out a water line while we were there and we had our electrician run this water pipe.

She emailed me a few week ago saying, "They (her plumbers) seemed to indicate that these materials were not the proper ones to be used for the application. Several leaks had sprung."

I picked up a few of the pieces from her and am more than willing to reimburse her for what it cost to fix the leaks if the electrical sub was negligent in his choice of materials.

Could you please tell me if the pipe below is suitable for underground use. We are in South Carolina.

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Casey

threaderman

It probably is legal where you are,where ever that is.It's legal in many areas,but instead of repairing with the same material I would probably replace the bad sections with a different type of pipe (which doesn't require the use of the worm bands).

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Joe ---International Code Council Member

Your plumbing & gas specialist proudly serving Oklahoma City OK, Moore, Warr-acres, Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Bethany, Forest Park

Celtic

Looks like like sprinkler line....certainly suitable for UG, but probably "non-potable" ~ then again, maybe it's not sprinkler lines.

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Celtic

I'm confused...


Who picked out the piping?
You or the EC?
Why didn't you just get a plumber...was the landscaper too busy painting?

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casey344

We are just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Casey

casey344

The electrician supplied the piping. The landscapers came in after we were done our part.

Her original email to me was, "Who is the guy who ran the electricity and the water lines? We had a major water leak down there and our water bill is going to be outrageous. It cost us $436 to repair it."

I didn't sub a plumber because I though this would be a simple stub out. We were just running a line and then a plumber was going to come and do the tie-in at both ends.

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Casey

Celtic

That's one helluva spin you put on that.

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casey344

I have gone to school on this one and will not do it again. Next time we are asked I will hire a plumber.

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Casey

Celtic

I guess it's all about how you view what is "constructive and helpful".

If my pointing out your attempt to CYA by tossing the EC under the bus is not your opinion of "constructive and helpful" , so be it.
I'm sure the EC and HO would see things differently.


[Nice try on the edit, BTW]

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casey344

This is between me and the homeowner. Given the situation at hand I am trying to do what is right and have no plans of talking with the EC who did the work. I am the only one under the bus.

I did not manage this properly. I am trying to figure out whether their plumber was straight and identified a true problem with our choice of materials.

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Casey

threaderman

As Celtic pointed out,it is used for service lines,underground only,and should not enter the building.I assumed we were on the same page.

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Joe ---International Code Council Member

Your plumbing & gas specialist proudly serving Oklahoma City OK, Moore, Warr-acres, Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Bethany, Forest Park

Kgmz

That is poly pipe and is used and approved for underground water lines.

Was is all underground?

We use it all the time for the line running from the well to the house, etc.

I don't use the 160 psi as it is a little too weak and can be pinched off when buried if a big rock or something is sitting right on it. We use 200 psi.

And I won't use those plastic connectors. Only bronze with 2 SS clamps on each side.

bert0168

Ditto on that.
The trick is to eliminate underground connections if possible. Homerun from the source to the end.
I had a problem with the 160 psi stuff actually split. I tried to replace it with a splice instead of burying a new line.
BIG MISTAKE. had the same thing happen at the connection even using brass amd SS clamps. Buried a new homerun in the heavier stuff (200psi I think) No problems since.

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www.ddcontractors.net

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCCo. Yep, you guessed, sold by a fancy white guy, installed by the brown army.

bwalley

It is Polyethylene and is approved for potable water.

Where did it fail?

Is it possible it was nicked during installation or after installation?

It seems to have a bunch of splices in it, was it installed like this?

casey344

Yes it was all underground ...

I had a plumber who has done work for us in the past come by the office and he said other than the plastic couplers that's how he would have done it.

He didn't consider the plastic couplers the wrong way, just not the best way and added that he usually wraps the clamps with electrical tape.

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Casey

Celtic

What is the tape for?

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DuMass

Sorry... but why in God’s name you would leave it to the electrician to properly spec, supply and install underground piping for any potable water system is beyond me.
He probably didn’t know to use torch to slightly heat the ends of the pipe before installing the barbed fittings and clamps, so I would wager that there were most likely minor leaks from the get go that just got worse over time. A pressure test after installation would have exposed any problems rather quickly.
I agree that you can't blame him for not knowing what he was doing, as he really shouldn't have been doing it at all.

wyoming 1

Christ everyone he knows he messed up with hiring an electrician to do a simple plumbing job lets not have a beating fest on the dead horse and answer the mans question he has 138 post and it's not like a 1 timer asking a bail out or how much to charge question. Here in Wyoming I see a lot of that type piping the ranchers here love the low cost and cheap fittings, look at the band clamps and see if they are all stainless a lot of times the screws are not and rust and fail. I like to use copper tube size (cts) hi-burst it will take a all brass compression ftg just like k copper with a ss insert in the pipe so it will not crush when you tighten down the compression.
I do not know where you are but here we have what is called hot soil and a lot of guys use electrical or gas tape on anything metal. If we put a frost free hydrant in and do not gas tape it,at the bottom where the galvanised pipe meets the brass it will rust out a 1/4 hole within 2 to 3 years. I think that might be why your guy sugested the elec. tape onthe ftgs.

casey344

Thank you to everyone ... I can take the beating, I deserve it.

I am paying out the HO repair bill regardless, a $436.00 education. I will know better next time and I really learned some things with all of your input.

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Casey

Joemel

Even if it's approved for potable water it isn't suitable for burrying underground as it may easily break or leak due to factors like sharp stone sitting on it, so I prefer you use something else rather than that one, and by the way next time contact a plumber, not an electrician.

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building a french drain maybe a mind numbing task but you can just leave it to the experts~