View Full Version : City water
cndyb
Feb 22, 2014, 04:29 PM
I live in the country, just getting city water, the meter is 3/4" pipe some one told me that since I live 360 ' and up hill from the meter that I need to use 1" pipe to get from meter to house. I would think that would lower my water pressure can some one tell me what size pipe and why (if it's 1" )
Thanks
ma0641
Feb 22, 2014, 07:58 PM
You have 2 things to consider. Flow loss from friction and head pressure loss. 360 ft. doesn't correlate well, as "uphill" could be 2, 20 or 200 ft. My house, downhill from the main, drops 50 ft. and is 350 ft. from the meter box. It is 1". PVC. You will be better served by a 1" line but the meter should be sized that way too. Maybe your water dept. only supplies 3/4".
jlisenbe
Feb 22, 2014, 08:55 PM
I'd run 1" just because it's not a big deal cost wise. But if you're coming off of 3/4" from the city, I'm not sure it will help much. Ma has a good point about elevation. You lose about 4/10 psi per foot of elevation, so if you are 50' feet above the meter (unlikely), you would lose about 20 psi to that.
cndyb
Feb 23, 2014, 03:05 AM
You have 2 things to consider. Flow loss from friction and head pressure loss. 360 ft. doesn't correlate well, as "uphill" could be 2, 20 or 200 ft. My house, downhill from the main, drops 50 ft. and is 350 ft. from the meter box. It is 1". PVC. You will be better served by a 1" line but the meter should be sized that way too. Maybe your water dept. only supplies 3/4".
Thank you I thinks its about 60ft rise and the water dept. puts in only 3/4" meter.
speedball1
Feb 24, 2014, 01:10 PM
I would not only run the service line at 1" but I would also request the city to
increase the meter to 1" also. You need all the help you can get since you will be subject to friction line loss. In addition you will lose over 25 PSI due to the 60 feet of elevation so it's important to know what the street PSI is entering the meter. Good luck and let me know how you make out. Tom
massplumber2008
Feb 24, 2014, 04:01 PM
Couple options here:
You can request the 1" meter and if they won't budge ask them if you can BUY your own 1" meter...plenty of meter companies out there that sell these.
Otherwise, install the 3/4" as a minimum and then plan on installing a BOOSTER PUMP at the house to increase the pressure up to the desired pressure you will need.
Questions? Let us know, OK?
Mark