[FrillyLily]

I have a garden area that is too far from the water spout to get water to. I wondered about burrying a pex line from under the house out to the area so I can hook a water hose up to it and water my plants. It would be drained out in the winter, I wouldn't need it, so no worry of freezing. I wonder how deep should I bury this since we occasionally will drive over the area w a small farm tractor, so it isn't damaged. Husband wants to bury the whole thing 18" to 2' deep but it will really be a big mess and tear up a lot of stuff. By digging it by hand we can avoid that, was thinking about going 8-10 inches deep. Any thoughts please.

 

[HotRodx10]

I don't know how PEX holds up to direct burial, but black poly pipe is usually used for that. PEX pipe is cheap, but connections for it are pricey, unless you already have the tools to do the crimp connections. The black poly is also cheap and so are the connections. The black poly comes in several different pressure ratings (wall thicknesses), so the burial depth would depend on what you get, and what you bed it in. If you get the heavier (200psi) pipe and put sand or soil around and over it (as long as there's no rocks against the pipe), 8" deep will be fine for a tractor, or even fully-loaded pickup. I'd recommend going at least a foot deep for the 120 or 80 psi rated stuff.

 

[FrillyLily]

I don't know how PEX holds up to direct burial, but black poly pipe is usually used for that. PEX pipe is cheap, but connections for it are pricey, unless you already have the tools to do the crimp connections. The black poly is also cheap and so are the connections. The black poly comes in several different pressure ratings (wall thicknesses), so the burial depth would depend on what you get, and what you bed it in. If you get the heavier (200psi) pipe and put sand or soil around and over it (as long as there's no rocks against the pipe), 8" deep will be fine for a tractor, or even fully-loaded pickup. I'd recommend going at least a foot deep for the 120 or 80 psi rated stuff.

We have all the stuff to do the PEX already, but it wouldn't matter what it is as long as it will not deteriorate with soil contact, and will hold up under occasional driving over, a few time a year. Plan on just putting the soil back over it after we dig it in.

 

[HotRodx10]

My guess is that the PEX will not deteriorate due to ground contact. Prolonged exposure to sunlight? I'm not sure, but I would suspect it wouldn't do well.


Across my driveway, I just buried a piece of 1-1/2" ABS pipe in a ditch about 6" deep, and fished a garden hose through it. No problems so far.

 

[Old Thomas]

What size PEX are you planning to use? If you can’t get water there with a hose you will need a much larger sized PEX.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... The pex will be just fine,.....

Buried is much better for it than direct sunlight,.....

 

[ron45]

No worries...

 

[FrillyLily]

What size PEX are you planning to use? If you can’t get water there with a hose you will need a much larger sized PEX.

I don't know, maybe an inch or so? I can get water to it, you mean as in pressure? I just don't want to keep having to drag around 100+ ft of heavy hose. So that is why I thought I could bury a pipe of some type and hook it up under the house to the water there. Will unhook and drain out for the winter since it is just for my garden. I will need to dig it in by hand if I can so I don't tear up too many things in the yard/garden. I don't see why it needs to be very deep but was worried about occasionally driving over it-if that would hurt it since it won't be very deep.

 

[FrillyLily]

 

[FrillyLily]

http://https://garden.org/thread/view/131779/My-garden/#end_of_thread

 

[FrillyLily]

this has some photos of the area I am needing to bring water into.

 

[Cedrus]

Lily......what distance is involved, 100 feet.....100 yards or ??. I don't think driving your small tractor over the line will hurt, if.....you place a piece of plywood over it. Are you concerned with the reduced flow at the end of your new line due to distance and hose/pipe size ?

 

[FrillyLily]

Mostly just concerned about driving over the area if it isn't buried very deep. And what product to use, sounds like it probably won't matter much since the sun won't be hitting on it.

 

[ron45]

Mostly just concerned about driving over the area if it isn't buried very deep. And what product to use, sounds like it probably won't matter much since the sun won't be hitting on it.

There's a reason why vibrating trenching is so popular.

When it's done its done. Watch the video.

If you have winters just blow out the pipe with air. No worries.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

We have a 4" PVC sewer line to the septic tank that's about a foot deep and the propane truck driving over it hasn't caused a problem in 37 years.


A quick way to make a trench a couple inches wide and about 8-10 inches deep without disturbing the soil/yard much. On an old chain saw, clamp a C-clamp on the bar for a depth regulator / stop. Skew the saw to around 10° and trench. You'll be done in a short while except for making a narrow trenching spade to do a little clean out.


Sleeve the PEX in poly if desired.


Install a freeze proof hydrant and forget about draining it for the winter depending on your frost depth for your climate.



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