On Jun 1, 10:18*am, HerHusband wrote:
I've never worked with black poly pipe, some of the drains in my
basement are black pipe, but I honestly don't know the difference
between the black poly and PVC versus cPVC.

The black pipe in your basement is probably ABS. *It's a hard plastic
pipe, usually 2" or larger with fittings that are solvent welded (glued)
in place. It's not rated for water supplies.

Black poly pipe is usually around 1" diameter, and comes in big rolls.
You then use barbed fittings to transition to other pipe or fittings.

PVC is a hard white plastic, with solvent welded fittings. There are two
different versions for drain lines (usually 1-1/2" and larger) and supply
lines (usually 1" and smaller).

CPVC is a hard cream colored plastic that is designed for hot water use.
You can use CPVC for both hot and cold water, but for a buried cold water
line regular PVC works fine.

Note that PVC and CPVC can both be damaged by UV light so they should
only be used indoors, or buried underground (The grey plastic electrical
conduit is also PVC with added UV protectors, but it's not rated for
water supplies).

Black poly pipe is nice for buried lines as it is flexible and has no
connections other than the two ends. It works especially well for long
buried runs (over 100'). However, installation can be a little tricky as
the coiled pipe is like wrestling with a snake, and inserting the barbed
fittings can be a pain.

It's easy if you use a propane torch to heat the poly pipe
a bit before inserting the fitting.



Also, while the pipe itself works great
underground, the galvanized barb fittings do rust and corrode
underground.

There are also plastic barb fittings available.





If you need to repair a damaged line or add a tee in at a
later date, it can be kind of tricky to get the barbed fittings in place.

No more tricky than adding a tee or repair later to steel, PVC or just
about anything else. None are necessarily
real easy or real difficult.



Poly pipe does work nice in situations where you can't keep things dry
for solvent welding (working in the rain, etc.). It is flexible, but you
still need to use the barbed fittings if you need to make a sharp turn.

I like PVC for underground lines. It's light, easy to install, and can
make sharp 90 degree turns when needed (with the right fittings). Repairs
and later alterations are easy, and it's easy to adapt to other pipe or
fixtures.

4) When I want a riser with a faucet, use maybe 2-3 feet of metal, and
have the riser tee off from the middle of this three foot run of
metal. That way you can kick and hit the riser, etc., and it won't
break. Then back to PVC until we get to the next riser.

If the faucets are out in the yard (not in an insulated building), you
should use a "yard hydrant". *These are built so the flow of water is
actually turned off below ground, so the faucet won't freeze and break.
You should be able to find these at any home center, but they look
something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Watersource-Fr...ard-Hydrant-2-
Foot/dp/B0009XB4VM

Take care,

Anthony