Blue Water Pipe

[Motorhead]

Currently my water meter is inside the house but the water company are coming to fit a new one in an outside pit that I’ve excavated and lined. I’m pretty sure I know how to connect this to the plumbing inside but I want to branch off a line of the blue plastic pipe stuff to supply the barn. I’ve used the blue stuff years ago to run water out to field troughs but can’t remember much about it. So:

1)      What diameter of pipe and do I get the stuff that comes inside gaine?

2)       Is there a special sort of T joint for this?

3)       How do I fit the pipe to the joint?

4)       Do I need a pressure reducer.

5)       How can I even tell what pressure the water’s at anyway?

[Nick Trollope]

IANAP, but I will give it a go;

 

1)      What diameter of pipe and do I get the stuff that comes inside gaine?

It's 20 or 25mm - the black thick-walled stuff as I understand it. Very similar to that use in the UK (but a different size!). I don't think that buried water pipes need gaine, but I may be wrong - you can't do any harm by using it.

 

2)       Is there a special sort of T joint for this?

Yes, from the same source (no pun intended) as the pipe.

 

3)       How do I fit the pipe to the joint?

It's a compression screw fit.

 

4)       Do I need a pressure reducer.

Probably not, unless your pressure is high. Some C-E for example don't like pressures above 3 bar, in which case the trend is to reduce the pressure to the C-E only. This, of course can introduce it's own problems with pressure balance, etc.

 

5)       How can I even tell what pressure the water’s at anyway?

Measure it! A guage (for permanent installation) is less than 20E.

 

If you get wet, don't blame me!